Best practice or business as usual? Whose interests are served by the Engineering Science paradigm?

From the excitement of common1st year engineering courses and other designbuild/ project-based learning units, there is a massive drop in student engagement with the engineering curriculum as the students enter the 2nd/3rd year barrier courses, and a concomitant high rate of attrition or lack of progression. The early excitement is often never rediscovered, as by the time the students start their 4th year they have lost some of their enthusiasm, and much of their ability to solve ill-structured problems. Although there are several examples of innovative engineering programs in Australian universities, the majority of engineering faculties follow a deeply traditional curriculum model that has not changed for decades, despite major shifts in technology and industry in the outside world. This paper presents perspectives from industry, academics and students on the current engineering curriculum across four Australian universities and suggests a change model that could provide authentic learning experiences for students by developing a formalised nexus between industry and academia.