Making the most of Melbourne’s engineering credentials

Melbourne School of Engineering took the chance to put its leading research initiatives and plans for new facilities before an audience of 3000 engineering professionals including international academics, researchers, business leaders and policy-makers at the recent World Engineers Convention (WEC) 2019.

In a pre-convention technical tour on 19 November, delegates visited the world’s largest urban transport test-bed, known as the Australian Integrated Multimodal EcoSystem (AIMES) across six square kilometres in the inner city suburb of Carlton. AIMES is a partnership between researchers, industry and government founded by the University in 2016.

Delegateswearing hi-vis being shown the AIMES autonomous bus
Delegates are shown the AIMES autonomous bus as part of a technical tour

As part of their tour, delegates were shown a demonstration at the world’s most intelligent intersection on the corner of Nicholson and Elgin Streets by project partner CISCO.

AIMES research underpins one of many the University’s initiatives to engineer smarter and safer cities, aligning with the World Engineers Convention theme: Engineering a Sustainable World: The Next 100 Years.

The University was a WEC premier partner and its stand at the exhibition hall drew a steady stream of visitors to test two thought provoking research projects on show. These were the Digital Twin, a virtual reality experience of Australia’s largest urban redevelopment at Fishermans Bend, and the Biometric Mirror, which uses a deliberately inaccurate AI algorithm and facial recognition software to assess a person’s physical and psychological characteristics.

A World Engineers Convention attendee using Biometric Mirror
A WEC delegate tries out the Biometric Mirror

The Digital Twin and AI issues were also part of presentations at the Industry Connections Breakfast on 21 November as part of WEC, attended by 100 invited guests, including delegates, university staff, alumni and industry partners. Other MSE research highlighted at the breakfast included developments in water resource use, biomedical implants and networked autonomous systems.

MSE Dean Professor Mark Cassidy delivered a keynote address during WEC outlining the University’s increasingly multi-disciplinary and industry-connected approach to both engineering and IT education and fundamental research for societal benefit.

Mark Cassidy on stage presenting his keynote at World Engineers Convention
Professor Mark Cassidy presents the keynote at WEC

Professor Cassidy highlighted the University’s efforts to increase the diversity of engineering students, its work in Indigenous engineering, its support of student creativity and entrepreneurial initiatives and encouragement of cross-disciplinary projects which proactively partner with industry.

Professor Cassidy says the University’s involvement in WEC exposed staff and students to the latest sustainability innovations, to research and engineering challenges through the presentations and panel sessions. Separately, MSE Enterprise Fellow Greg Adamson presented on international efforts to develop ethically aligned design principles for AI progressing towards an international standard. He says governments and businesses are already drawing on this work to inform both policy and engineering practice.

A crowd at the University of Melbourne stand at World Engineers Convention
WEC Delegates at the University of Melbourne stand

Promoting research underway at MSE and opportunities for students and industry to engage with us has generated interest from delegates keen to know more, potentially leading to new engagement and partnership opportunities.

By the time the next WEC comes around in Prague in 2023, MSE will have much more to report, with Melbourne Connect in operation for three years and the new Fishermans Bend campus and research laboratories nearing completion.

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