The University of Newcastle will launch its new surveying program in 2027 and adopt a hybrid learning approach.

Due to falling enrolments, the University of Newcastle (UON) last year pressed pause on the intake of new first-year surveying students and began a review of the course’s future.

Extant second-year-and-later students continued their studies uninterrupted during this interval.

With the review now completed, the good news is that first-year enrolments will recommence next year, with the course-as-a-whole having been revamped into a more efficient, more cost-effective hybrid-delivery model.

The new model will see a large portion of the content delivered remotely, accompanied by essential on-campus practical activities.

Specifically, it will comprise:

• Online learning with flexible content provided through the semesters, with live connections to tutors and academic staff;
• On-campus experiences in labs and hands-on activities with equipment;
• Concentrated, practical field intensives;
• Industry exposure through site visits, projects and work-integrated learning.

The aim is for students — particularly those from rural and remote areas, and from interstate — to be able to stay in their hometowns and not need to relocate to Newcastle for what would have been the duration of a standard-delivery course, with all the disruption and expense which that involves.

Indeed, the difficulty of packing up and moving to study in a different city — whether Newcastle or Sydney or any other city — was determined to be one of the factors for the falling enrolments.

It is thought that fixing this problem will remove one of the primary barriers for potential students to consider surveying.

“Surveyors are critically important to Australia,” said Dr Lloyd Pilgrim, Head of the Discipline of Civil Engineering, Surveying and Environmental Engineering at UON.

“The current academics of the program have worked with the profession and the industry very closely over the last 12 months, and we have worked with the University administrators to develop a new approach to teaching surveying at the University of Newcastle.”

Adopting the hybrid teaching model

At the launch ceremony held at UON last Friday afternoon, Associate Professor Mehdi Khaki outlined how the new surveying program suite was put together and what its characteristics will be.

With the high demand for more surveyors, coupled with difficulty in attracting students to surveying degrees, plus the high costs of the traditional enrolment model along with relocation pressures and changing student expectations, the question became: How can surveying education be made more accessible, practical and sustainable?

The answer was the hybrid teaching model, which will:

• Enable UON to widen the potential pool of students to areas farther from Newcastle, such as those in other regions of NSW, those interstate, and those unable to relocate;
• Make the courses more attractive to mature-age students, those wishing to change careers, and part-time learners; and
• Enable those already in the workforce in other roles to study while they work.

The new program suite has been put together following consultation with a wide range of interested parties, such as an industry advisory group, BOSSI, ISNSW, surveying employers and the broader profession.

Importantly, the aim is to produce graduates who will be familiar with a wide range of technologies, and equipped with practical skills that will enable them to undertake a variety of roles.

As well as acquiring fundamental surveying skills, graduates will be schooled in GNSS, UAVs, LiDAR, GIS, remote sensing, programming, automation, AI, digital twins and more.

Multiple pathways to a surveying career

Getting to the specifics of the courses, there will be four flexible pathway options to account for different entry points and career goals.

The first will be a one-year, full-time surveying diploma, which will set the basis for progression to further study if so desired and will be suited for those wanting to get started or upskill themselves.

The second and primary course will be the four-year, full-time Bachelor of Surveying (Honours) professional degree.

Then there are two, five-year, dual professional pathways: A joint Bachelor of Civil Engineering (Honours)/Bachelor of Surveying (Honours), and a joint Bachelor of Surveying (Honours)/Bachelor of Business.

UON says that, while maintaining a strong professional surveying core, the programs will also provide opportunities for students to develop complementary capabilities in areas such as water and the environment, spatial science, engineering and infrastructure, and data and computing.

The University says it hopes the new model will significantly broaden the program’s reach and build a sustainable student cohort over the coming years.

“The launch today represents far more than the introduction of a new academic program,” said Kevin Young, UON’s Deputy Chancellor, at the launch ceremony.

“It represents a shared commitment between the University, industry and governance, to ensure surveying education continues to thrive in NSW, and to prepare the next generation of professionals for what will be a broadly evolving sector.”