Acting executive dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Physical Sciences & Architecture, professor John Eccleston, said there was currently an unprecedented demand for engineers at state, national and international levels.

“Engineering graduates are experiencing employment rates of almost 100% and Engineering at UQ is reacting to this industry demand by increasing its first year student quota to 700, a substantial increase from previous intakes of between 550-600.

“UQ's engineering program offers the widest range of engineering specialisations in Queensland and is extremely comprehensive. Our revamped curriculum for 2006, strongly supported by industry, will include several new options to allow students even greater flexibility.”

A number of new state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities will support the increased intake including:

An Engineering Learning Centre, dedicated to first year students, with state of the art equipment supported by extensive networked IT facilities. The centre will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for individual and team interactive projects.

The Australian hub for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) iCampus initiative. MIT is a world-leader in engineering education and is working closely with UQ on this project.

Professor Eccleston said a number of new Queensland government, industry and UQ scholarships would also be available for first year engineering students next year.