Since the industrial revolution, technology has been changing at a rapid pace. In the twenty-first century globalisation has created enormous pressure on both the corporate and public sector in terms of market reform and privatisation, which have resulted in short to medium term contracting in engineering and management.

The scope of jobs for engineering graduates also has been increasing: engineers often are expected to have the skills to perform duties outside the conventional, technically related engineering work. Companies have combined engineering and management jobs so as to flatten the organisational structure. Engineering industries are increasingly required to exploit their expertise and resources more systematically and more intensively. Hence, a priority of an organisation should be to network and manage their internal knowledge so that they will be even more efficient and provide even greater benefits to their customers. All these factors have increased the need for engineers to upgrade their skills in the area of management and management technology.

Engineering education encompasses the understanding of the technical knowledge employed in the utilisation and improvement of natural resources for human fitness of purpose. It combines scientific method (in terms of the why's and the wherefores) and the application of technology in the natural as well as constructed environments.
Engineering management education aims to provide engineers with the advanced skills and knowledge to manage engineering activities and engineering organizations.

This specialised area involves:

Planning of physical infrastructure and resources
Organising material and human resources
Controlling systems and processes
Communicating with people for information, technological know-how and logistics
Co-ordinating activities of people and systems
Leading and motivating people, providing training and developing necessary skills
Effective decision making with a focus on quality, time, money, socio-economical issues and environment

Undergraduate engineering education programs deal with structured problems and data. However, in real life data are often subjective and there is always some degree of uncertainty of outcome. Traditional undergraduate engineering courses do not prepare graduates to tackle these issues although, through existing curricula engineering students obtain appropriate training to solve technical problems usually based on individual skills. There is a need to educate engineers in the management of engineering activities so that engineering systems and processes can function effectively and efficiently.

A handful of universities around the globe already share this vision and offer programs in engineering management at the postgraduate coursework level.

The School of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Medical at Queensland University of Technology has developed an appropriate and cost effective engineering management program for preparing its graduates to deal with real life applications. The Master of Engineering Management (MEM) course enables students to fast track their career in today's competitive, global market. Subjects in the course include:

Total Quality Management (TQM)
Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP with hands on SAP)
Cost Analysis and Asset Management
Reliability and Maintenance Management
Engineering Project Management
Engineering Knowledge Management
A variety of elective subjects

To cater for students from different engineering disciplines, students with an area of particular interest can take up to two electives from other schools/faculties, for example in electrical engineering, civil engineering, information technology, business.
The Master of Engineering Management course has been offered in Brisbane since 1993 and has attracted many international students, particularly from Norway, Thailand and India. The School welcomes enquiries from applicants who are interested in furthering their career in management, or exploring a new career path in this exciting area of engineering.