Centre for STEM Education and Innovation

We are leaders in education. We invest in high-quality, innovative educational experiences, providing staff training and a vibrant community of practice for STEM educators. We work collaboratively to deliver education that breaks down traditional silos and develops the transferrable, professional competencies required of 21st Century STEM professionals.

We are dedicated to teaching STEM skills to broad audiences, including industry employees, sole traders, undergraduate and postgraduate students.

CSEI acts to:

• Deliver high-quality courses, modelling best practice in education.
• Create and deliver short courses which support sector and societal needs.
• Foster a vibrant, inclusive and STEM education community of practice.

Our history

CSEI was founded in 2020 to bring together teaching and STEM experts from across the faculty to deliver multidisciplinary and sector-facing courses and programs, while being a focal point for industry engagement. CSEI has since expanded to incorporate short courses and micro-credentials for industry partners, specific teams, individuals as well as students looking to complement their award studies with specific skills training.

Our highly experienced education specialists deliver both core and bespoke courses in STEM-related topics – everything from programming, design, communication, and project management to targeted engineering skills such as digital and systems engineering.

We deliver superior educational experiences including:  

• Award course offerings with a focus on transferable professional capabilities.
• Bespoke short course and micro-credential offerings for industry, responding to sector needs.
• Internal staff training to enhance the skills of our emerging and established STEM educators.

We provide:

• A place for discussions on best-in-class education and forward-looking pedagogy.
• Educational leadership, investing in innovative education experiences.
• A vibrant community of practice for STEM educators.

Our award courses for undergraduate and postgraduate students

We offer a range of courses specifically designed for STEM undergraduate and postgraduate students that contribute to STEM degree programs. Courses range from fundamental professional capability building to advanced STEM-specific skill building.

Courses include:

• Essentials of Humanitarian Engineering
• Complex Systems Engineering
• Systems Engineering and Industry Practice
• Defence Leadership
• Introduction to Engineering / Introduction to Engineering EAL
• Programming (Matlab and C)
• Programming (Matlab and Excel)
• Communication and Critical Thinking
• Research Methods and Project Management

We are also responsible for coordination of the Bachelor of Engineering - Flexible Entry and Bachelor of Engineering - Pathway programs.

Short courses and custom training for industry participants

We are specialists in short courses. We develop highly engaging training courses for industry partners, tailoring them to specific needs. Our courses are taught by a mix of award-winning STEM professionals and world-class academics.

Our custom courses can cover the breadth of Science, Engineering and Technology topics – from space to safe road management. Our short courses are available for those considering University through to mid-career professionals looking to broaden their knowledge.

Courses open for registration now include:

• Space Resource Fundamentals
• Safe System for Road Engineers and Managers
• Critical Evaluation in Data Science (coming soon)

Industry training topics include:

• Configuration Management Fundamentals
• Naval Design Engineering
• Systems Engineering
• Carbon Capture and Storage
• Radar Theory
• Gas Conditioning
• Digital Engineering
• Advanced Digital Signal Processing
• Introduction to Data Science and Data Literacy

We can tailor courses to your workforce’s needs. Please contact our team to develop a specialist STEM short course.

Contact us

We are education innovators and world-class STEM professionals. We lead the development and delivery of targeted short courses, custom training, and micro-credential offerings.

Dr Bree Bennett

Director, CSEI

Dr Bree Bennett is passionate about the growth of the STEM industry and believes upskilling is key to its growth. Dr Bennett has led the Centre for STEM Education and Innovation since its launch in 2020, establishing CSEI as a trusted partner for STEM education and industry training. In addition to being Interim Director at CSEI, she is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering with a background in Civil Engineering. She is passionate about the application of advanced modelling and simulation to engineering problems in areas such as water resources, agriculture and life-cycle assessment of construction materials. Dr Bennett has a wealth of experience in teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well as training industry professionals across a wide variety of STEM topics.

Contact us  Staff directory

CSEI education specialists

• Dr William Robertson, Director of Engineering Programs, Senior Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering
• Dr Jessica Scott, Lecturer, STEM Communication
• Ms Catherine Irving, Lecturer, STEM Communication
• Dr Hiromi Teramoto, Lecturer, STEM Communication
• Ms Claire Simpson-Smith, Lecturer, STEM Communication
• Dr Cheryl Pope, Senior Lecturer, Computer Science
• Dr Hong Gunn Chew, Lecturer, Electrical and Electronic Engineering 
• Dr David Harvey, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
• Dr Madhulika Tripathi, Adjunct Lecturer, Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Dr Cristian Birzer, Senior Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering
• Eric Fusil, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
• Dr Kim Harvey, Senior Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering
• Dr Matthew Welsh, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Petroleum Engineering
• Ms Gayani Fernando, Lecturer, Civil Engineering
• John Culton, Associate Professor, Civil Engineering
• Dr An Deng, Senior Lecturer, Civil Engineering
• Dr Aaron Zecchin, Senior Lecturer, Civil Engineering
• Dr Dmitri Kavetski, Professor, Environmental Engineering
• Dr Michael Leonard, Senior Lecturer, Environmental Engineering
• Ms Dorothy Missingham, Senior Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering
• Dr Diana Tran, Lecturer, Chemical Engineering
• Dr Eric Hu, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
• Dr Brian Ng, Associate Professor, Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Dr Melissa Humphries, Senior Lecturer, Mathematical Sciences

CSEI Business Manager

• Dr Jacqui McRae

We collaborate with a wide range of experts from across the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology to deliver world-class short courses in STEM.

Our partner schools include:

• School of Architecture and Civil Engineering
• School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences
• School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
• School of Biological Sciences
• School of Chemical Engineering
• School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences
• School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering
• School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Science