Leading the charge towards engineering a better world
Effective leaders are needed to navigate projects and assets, and guide the teams that are reshaping our world for the better. Will you help lead the charge?
In an era of perpetual change where our global population continues to grow and age and the effects of climate change persist, visionary leaders in engineering are essential to bring new ideas and implement the projects that help us keep up with our ever-changing world.
The University of Auckland’s Faculty of Engineering is dedicated to equipping our students with the necessary skills and knowledge to transform into effective leaders who can lead the charge and drive significant change in industries that need it most.
Our postgraduate engineering leadership and management programmes are ideal for returning students who are in the early or middle stages of their career and young professionals. These programmes well-prepare our students to lead and manage pivotal projects both within New Zealand, and globally.
Addressing health infrastructure challenges through innovative leadership
We are seeing growing and ageing populations across the globe. In New Zealand, it’s projected that by 2028 our population will increase to up to 5.5 million. In addition, the number of people in our population aged over 65 years will likely hit 1 million within this timeframe. This number is expected to continue increasing over the next 50 years.
To ensure that we have a resilient and responsive healthcare system capable of meeting the evolving needs of our population, the Ministry of Health has allocated a substantial investment towards improving Aotearoa’s health infrastructure over the next two decades. But with a shortage of skilled health project managers across the country, the question of who will lead these critical health infrastructure projects arises.
As a solution, Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand (Northern Districts) established the Centre of Health infrastructure (CEHI) and collaborated with the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Engineering to create the Master of Engineering Project Management in Health Projects (MEPM-Health).
This programme provides an immersive learning experience for students, which includes courses on health system organisation and leadership, and draws on responsibilities to minimise health disparities by improving health outcomes for Māori and Pacific people.
The Centre of Excellence - Health Infrastructure (CEHI) also provides eligible University of Auckland students studying the MEPM-Health programme with paid traineeships, offering trainees the opportunity to work on a variety of health infrastructure projects and receive ongoing support and professional development from experienced project managers at Te Whatu Ora.
Harrison Roberts, who studied a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Auckland, returned to the Faculty of Engineering to take the next step in his career and become a project manager. While completing his studies, Harrison is also working as a trainee with the CEHI.
One of the projects that has been a highlight of the traineeship for Harrison, was the opportunity to support the commissioning of a new maternity unit. The efforts that went towards designing a facility to deliver a cutting-edge model of care, which not only improves the capacity of the healthcare system in Auckland, but also maintains a comfortable, and almost homely experience to accommodate mothers and their new-born, is something that really stood out to him.
Another key project for Harrison was supporting the upgrade of a medical gas system. Preparing the new system for construction and commissioning showcased to him the amount of care that is required before working on any of our hospital systems.
Having the right people in the room at the right time to ensure the right decisions were made, was important. Infrastructure projects like this one allow for the construction of new facilities, which in turn improves capacity, allows for new ways of working, improving efficiency and care.
The projects that Harrison has been able to work on through the CEHI’s paid traineeship, paired with studying the MEPM-Health programme, have enabled him to apply his knowledge and skills to a variety of real-life projects which collectively contribute to building better healthcare infrastructure for future generations.
Shaping resilient infrastructure in the face of a climate crisis
The climate crisis is another pressing issue that needs immediate attention at both national and global levels. For New Zealand, 2022 was recorded as the country’s warmest year yet, and our people and our ecosystems continue to feel the effects. We are experiencing fewer frosts, the South Island glaciers are melting, and we are having to deal with an increasing number of extreme weather events.
Temperatures will continue to rise over the next 30-100 years, and with this we expect more detrimental effects including more droughts and water shortages, increased heavy rainfall and risk of flooding, and greater erosion in coastal areas.
Greenhouse gases are the main driver of climate change, and despite being a small country, New Zealand produces a considerable amount of greenhouse gases. Our emissions per person are substantial and make us one of the largest emitters in the world.
The infrastructure industry is in need of leaders who can develop new ideas to manage its assets into a more resilient and sustainable future, especially through Aotearoa’s substantial growth in infrastructure over the next 20 years.
With transport being one of our biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 17% of our country’s overall emissions, Gemma Mathieson, doctoral candidate in Infrastructure Asset Management, is finding new ways to help the transport sector adapt to climate change.
While roads are typically constructed using asphalt or with chip seal and bitumen binder, Gemma is researching methods to increase the durability of roads by utilising alternative materials. Through her research, Gemma is exploring the use of an epoxy which can be added to bitumen binder. This epoxy would be more heat resistant, less susceptible to cracking, and has the potential to extend the lifespan of our roads from eight years to 40 years.
With this, emissions would be reduced as a result of less traffic associated with road and closures during road replacements and maintenance, along with the lack of commuting construction trucks and crews. Gemma aims to bring C02 emissions and greenhouse gases into predictive performance modelling, to further determine the effect her research has on decreasing emissions.
Gemma’s work is a commendable example of resilient infrastructure which implements innovative materials to pave the way for a greener and more efficient transportation network and infrastructure development.
Alongside her doctoral study in Infrastructure Asset Management, Gemma is also currently working as the Chief Operating Officer at Infrastructure Decision Support.
In terms of my current PhD studies, I would say there are a few parallels to my industry role, which helps me to better serve the needs of my clients, and the end users of our infrastructure.
Initially studying the Master of Engineering Studies at the University of Auckland in 2014, before the Master of Infrastructure Asset Management was introduced, Gemma says “the [programme] helped me a lot in my infrastructure asset management career, as I do not come from a Civil Engineering background, my undergraduate specialisation was in Engineering Science.
For Gemma, one of the key messages about studying Infrastructure Asset Management is that “you don’t need a civil engineering background, or even an engineering background to do the course. Anyone can be an Infrastructure Asset Manager and we embrace the wide range of backgrounds people in the industry have.”
Our engineering leaders and managers play a critical role in navigating the projects and assets, and guiding the teams that not only improve the world we currently live in, but steer us towards a better, brighter and more sustainable tomorrow for future generations to come.
Find out which Engineering masters programme might be right for you by taking our postgraduate Engineering quiz.