Technology, Sustainability and Society

ENG2002

For engineers and surveyors to meet their responsibilities towards society they must be able to appreciate how politics, culture, economics and the law affect their work.

  •  
    Level
    6
  •  
    Credits
    15
  •  
    EFTS
    0.125
  • Teaching weeks 17 weeks
  • Workload Approximately 9 hours per week
  •  
    Prerequisites Check entry and other requirements under the qualification you are studying

They must also understand how their work impacts on different sections of the community and the physical environment, and be prepared to deal with the issue of long-term sustainability.

The goal of this course is to provide you with the opportunity to develop skills and attitudes that will help you promote and defend your work within your profession and within society at large.

What you will learn

When you successfully complete this course you will be able to

  • appreciate the history of technology, and assess the basis of common criticisms of modern technology and associated benefits to human society
  • understand the basic concepts behind environmental sustainability
  • justify the need to move towards more sustainable practices
  • understand the concepts behind, and apply the principles of effective environmental impact assessment
  • understand the role of politics, politicians, power and government and illustrate the political dimension of engineering and surveying activities
  • acquire a basic knowledge of economics and profitability forecasting
  • perform a simple Net Present Value (NPV) exercise using Excel spreadsheet
  • assess the likely effects of economic policies on technological enterprises
  • appreciate the relevance of social structures and cultural values, and deduce the causal factors behind technological developments during different periods of human history
  • propose strategies for working effectively in a multicultural environments
  • determine the relevance of social structure and cultural values to the engineering and surveying professions and demonstrate an awareness of the key factors that may influence the practice of engineering in an overseas country
  • acquire a basic knowledge of the International and Australian the legal system
  • identify ethical and legal constraints that are most likely to concern professional engineers or surveyors
  • examine the basic philosophies behind modern technological management management
  • identify and discuss conflicts between client and societal expectations and recognise the impacts of globalisation in engineering industries.

Assessment

Assessment for this course is:

  • 30% internally assessed
  • 70% exam.

For more information about exams, including a full list of exam times see our exam information.

Textbooks

No textbooks are needed for this course.

Computer and internet requirements

To complete this course you will need access to a laptop or desktop computer, reliable broadband internet connection and a data plan able to support online learning such as streaming of videos (including YouTube), downloading content, and writing and submitting online assessments. If you are unsure if your current computer or internet access allows you to complete your online learning with us, please contact us before applying to enrol.

How to enrol

Before enrolling in this course you need to:

  • choose the qualification you will study the course under
  • check the order that courses in the qualification should be studied in the Qualification Structure table. This is in the Choose courses and apply tab on the qualification page.

Work towards

Course availability over the next 12 months

Oct
Nov
Dec
2025
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
  •  
    Level
    6
  •  
    Credits
    15
  •  
    EFTS
    0.125
  • Teaching weeks 17 weeks
  • Workload Approximately 9 hours per week
  •  
    Prerequisites Check entry and other requirements under the qualification you are studying