Headed for innovatively cool career

By Cameron Cooper    

First-year University student Kimberley Manning ticks off the usual joys of campus life: socialising with friends, joining special-interest clubs and studying mechatronics.

Mecha-what? Described as the future of engineering, it combines the principles of mechanics with electronics and computer systems and is used to help design and develop smart machines or products for a broad range of industries.

Consumer products such as microwaves and DVD players owe their existence to mechatronics, along with applications for cars, boats and aircraft. Best of all, perhaps, students get to play with games and robots.

Armed with dual scholarships, Manning is seeing her love of maths and robots pay off through her engineering and science degree at the University of Queensland. She agrees it seems a left-field choice for a young woman, but a career assessment survey sealed her fate.

“I was leaning towards science, maybe, and I did this career quiz and it said ‘mechatronics engineer’, and I didn’t really know anything about engineering,” she says. “Then I saw mechatronics and that was just like, `Wow, that is totally what I want to do.’

“Giant robots and cool stuff and making things that go and make your house really awesome and electronic-y.”

The former Ipswich Girls Grammar School whiz admits scholarships have helped shape her study choices. Courtesy of her outstanding leadership qualities and academic achievements, she has picked up a Queensland Resources Council scholarship, offered in combination with a UQ Excellence Scholarship Scheme and worth $40,000 in total.

In return, she gets to study mechatronics. “It’s a relatively new [discipline] so a lot of people say don’t go into that, you should stick to mechanical, electrical, civil or mining, and then you’ll definitely get a job.”

However, Manning is confident her ties with the QRC will lead to interesting work.

“In mining and that sort of stuff, they need their digging equipment and factories to be automated, and there’s a big thing with research and development if you get into that side.”

While the scholarship money is welcome, Manning also appreciates the doors that have opened for her, with the QRC inviting her to industry events and networking lunches. There is also an opportunity for work experience.

Given that she had no prior knowledge of mining, Manning was surprised to get the QRC scholarship. “I thought that would be something [for] all those people who lived in mining towns their whole life. I didn’t really think I’d get it, but I suppose they just wanted the interest. The whole point is that they want to recruit people who don’t know about it.”

Now settled in at university, Manning is quickly getting her head around mechatronics and the world of engineering. A Queensland government research initiative, titled Women in Hard Hats, noted in 2007 that women made up only 14 per cent of students undertaking engineering degrees. Manning is unfazed.

“Apparently in first year there are more girls than usual, but there are not all that many girls [it seems] because I went to an all-girls [high] school. After a few weeks I started getting used to it, but then I brought a couple of my friends who were bored to sit in on my lectures, and every single one of them said, `Where are all the girls?’, and I said `What? Really I hadn’t noticed.’ I have a few girlfriends in engineering so it’s interesting the way the other guys perceive you: you sort of feel like the token girl in group assignments.”

It is early days for Manning, who is still in her teens, and she admits she doesn’t know how her career will unfold.

“Electronics and mechatronics sounds really good for me, so I figure if I like it now then I’ll like where it takes me.”

At present Manning is in serious study mode, solving “pages and pages of electrical circuit problems”.

Despite the pressures of her course, she manages to enjoy campus life.

“Uni is uni, I’ve been looking forward to the whole university experience of sipping coffee on campus and lying on the great court reading a great book or just a Cosmo magazine.”

Article from The Australian, June, 2010.