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Does Engineering Need More



Right-brain Thinking?
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 by Marc Howe
POST ARTICLE
 June 23rd, 2015

Australia’s
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education
system
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should place greater
emphasis on using the right-hand
side of the brain in order to produce
more creative and capable
engineering professionals.
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That’s the contention of Sebastian

Immaraj, a former project manager with
MMG who has taught engineering and
project management to students at the
University of Melbourne’s Faculty of
Architecture.

According to Immaraj, engineering

education in Australia is excessively
focused on analytical and numerical skills,
to the immense detriment of the types of
students ait A
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generally attracts.

“Traditionally, engineering courses have

attracted left brain students – those who
are more analytical and mathematical, and
made them even more left brained,” said
Immaraj. “This should not be happening –
all it does is produce boring and
introverted individuals.”

Immaraj asserts that the education system RELATED COVERAGE

needs to train budding engineers to engage
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in more imaginative “divergent thinking”
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given the innately creative demands of
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their profession.

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 “Creative thought is not just about artists
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and musicians – engineering is inherently
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creative because it takes ideas and makes
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them real – whether it’s building a bridge, Plant
putting humans in space or designing a
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production line,” said Immaraj. “We need
to take creative, right brained students and
left brained students and teach them to be
proficient with both sides of their brains –
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particularly the right side.”


Immaraj’s insights are the result of his
personal experience as a project manager
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in the international mining sector.

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“I have been impressed by the technical
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knowledge possessed by engineers, but
often find them getting lost in detail, as
well as somewhat tunnel-visioned and at
times incapable of seeing the bigger
picture,” said Immaraj. “Part of the reason
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for this is the narrow education that

engineers have received.”

He also points to what he considers to be

the shortcomings of his own training at the
outset of his professional career.

“One thing that staggered me in my own

education was the amount of non-visual
learning – considering that engineering is
so visual,” he said. “My education was
predominantly
a A scientific and mathematical
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with some minor application – I had no
idea how a project fits into a broader
picture. LATEST NEWS

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“When I graduated as a civil engineer, I
knew how to solve differential equations Australia Has Massive
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but I had no clue about how to design and
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build something.”
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In addition to being more creative, Australia’s Construction Cost
Immaraj believes courses need to confer Pressures Vary According to
engineers with a more rounded skill set Different Projects

and a better understanding of the broader

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takes place. 4 ways to Protect your
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“The content of courses needs to reflect
the wider areas that engineers are involved Landmark Housing Bill Set to
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with – such as business, law, contracts,
human resources, project management,
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marketing and finance,” he said. “These  Property
are taught in MBA courses, but they need
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to be brought into the undergraduate 6-Star Green Star Buildings
engineering degree so that young Certification
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graduates can be more fully rounded
professionals.”
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In order to address the needs to confer


students with more creative as well as
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pragmatic capabilities, Immaraj advocates
the use of project-based teaching and
systems thinking.

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“Project-based learning addresses some of
the existing shortcomings. In 2007, I went
with a team of architecture students to the
Cook Islands to develop a concept design
for a concept building,” he said. “The
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students worked in teams to investigate

local materials, cultural aspects,
appropriate aesthetic designs,
environmental issues and functional
aspects before presenting them to the
Prime Minister.”

“This form of learning took account of

many of the broader aspects of engineering
and required the use of lateral thinking.

“Systemsa A
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thinking also needs greater
emphasis in our education, as engineering
deals with many technical and other parts
working together for a common objective.
Understanding the relationships and
complexities between the parts is
paramount.”

In addition to advocating for greater

creativity in his area of professional
expertise, Immaraj also pursues creative
pursuits in his personal life, moonlighting
as a live blues musician who both sings
and plays guitar.

“Music adds further dimensions to develop

broader and better ideas,” he said. “I
believe being creative in the arts helps us
 to be creative in the sciences and
engineering.”

Marc is a junior technology

 and business journalist
by
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Marc covering Australia's built
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Stu
Walesh
 30/06/
2015
POST ARTICLE

As suggested in the editorial, active

participation in visual or performing arts is
 one way to engage both sides of the brain
— to take a more whole-brain approach.
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David A
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HOOD AM
24/06/ 2015

Couldn't agree more Marc. And, that's also

why we need far more women in our
engineering ranks. Because of the left
brain influences, engineers struggle with

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Michelle
Farley
24/06/ 2015

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Relevant editorial, with which I completely
agree. The same, I think, can be said for
the level of teaching around transferable
competencies such as the ability to form
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Harry
Fletcher
24/06/ 2015

Appreciate this editorial an absolutely

agree. Engineering and design demands
creative thinking and I think the
educations system needs to ensure we
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