A new Naval Architecture program has been created at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra.
The new program, which will commence in 2022, follows an agreement between Defence and the UNSW Canberra.
Once established, each year the Naval Architecture program will see up to 15 Bachelor of Engineering (Naval Architecture) students at UNSW Canberra undertake a specialised stream of courses in their third and fourth year of study.
Naval architecture is a specialist engineering role working at the forefront of high technology areas to design, develop, evaluate and calculate complex data to enable Navy vessels to operate effectively in a range of maritime environments.
“This program will enhance our university sector’s ability to support this important industry, by providing world-class education and training to future Navy, Australian Public Service (APS) and defence industry staff,” Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds said.
“UNSW Canberra’s co-location with the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) makes it the ideal place to prepare young Australians for future work in our shipbuilding industry.”
“Our ambitious shipbuilding plan is creating new jobs and developing new skills, and this program will help ensure we have the right people for those jobs,” Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said.
“At ADFA, our future Navy leaders can combine university education and ongoing military training as they begin their careers as officers in the Australian Defence Force and future careers in the maritime industry.
“For those who want to support naval shipbuilding by working in the APS or in defence industry, there will be opportunities to study alongside future Navy leaders at UNSW Canberra.”
Those interested in a career in naval architecture and who are looking to commence university in 2021, can to enter the specialisation in their third year of study in 2023.
Existing UNSW Canberra students entering their third-year of Mechanical Engineering in 2022 will be provided an opportunity to transfer into the specialisation, enabling the Naval Architecture program to graduate its first cohort in 2023.