The Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies list includes sixteen competencies that should be demonstrated by professionals in the field of engineering. In the area of Knowledge and Skill Base, it is important to determine for the analysis such competence as “Knowledge of contextual factors impacting the engineering discipline”; and in the area of Professional and Personal Attributes, it is necessary to identify such competence as “Professional use and management of information” (Engineers Australia, 2014, p. 2). This reflective paper discusses the personal accomplishments in the sphere of engineering in the context of determining competencies.
The knowledge of contextual factors is important for a person to successfully operate within the sphere of engineering because the role of contextual aspects is significant, and they can often influence the success of the whole project. I am inclined to act according to this competency when I plan the engineering project for the academic courses while taking into consideration all the contextual factors like the impact of the project implementation on the environment and society; its contribution to the idea of sustainability; and its potential success from the point of business management.
Therefore, while working at the project during the study and while practising, I focus on the principle of sustainability and try to use my knowledge in the area of engineering in order to propose the most sustainable plan. Developing a project, I refer to the proposed conditions, resources, and materials. From this point, I not only understand the relationship between engineering systems and people but also try to plan projects appropriate to address their needs in terms of sustainability (Harris, Pritchard, & Rabins, 2013, p. 29).
In practice, the planning stage is directly associated with predicting the influences of the engineering projects on the public, economic growth, and on the environment (Martin & Schinzinger, 2004, p. 54). In this context, the knowledge of contextual factors is important to plan the whole process effectively.
The professional manipulation of different types of information is also important in the area of engineering because of the necessity to make decisions supported by the appropriate data. I meet this element while completing the course tasks and working at a range of assignments because I need to analyse and apply a lot of literature in the field of engineering. The efficient work with databases and different types of sources provide me with the opportunity to monitor the researches in the field of engineering, select the most reliable and accurate data and findings and made my practical engineering decisions while developing projects based on this information (Engineers Australia, 2015).
This skill is also important for future work practice because professionals in the field of engineering make evidence-based decisions and constantly monitor changes in control and measure procedures or document formats.
From this point, the discussed competencies are important to succeed while studying the principles of engineering, and then, while working and planning the engineering projects based on the accurate data and efficient analysis of the contextual factors.
References
Engineers Australia. (2014). Stage 1 Competency Standard for Professional Engineer. Web.
Engineers Australia. (2015). Assessment of qualifications and competencies. Web.
Harris, C., Pritchard, M., & Rabins, M. (2013). Engineering ethics: Concepts and cases. New York, NY: Wadsworth Publishing.
Martin, M. W., & Schinzinger, R. (2004). Ethics in engineering. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.