Study engineering in Perth and gain hands-on experience in specialist laboratories designed to mirror industry environments. At Murdoch University's South Street campus, you'll work with industry-standard equipment, develop practical engineering skills and apply your learning to real-world challenges.
Bayer Pilot Plant
Our nationally renowned Bayer Pilot Plant, launched in collaboration with Alcoa of Australia, Honeywell and Control and Thermal Engineering, is an engineer’s playground.
As an engineering student you'll use a real-world engineering plant to develop practical skills in process operation and control. You’ll be able to use systems modelling and control design to implement dynamic control strategies to operate the plant, and gain a deep understanding about the software and hardware components which control the plant.
With very few other Australian universities offering this type of facility, the Bayer Pilot Plant provides you with an excellent training ground for process operation and control as well as industrial computer systems.
Renewable energy engineering facility
Planning on studying renewable energy? Our renewable energy engineering laboratory is a specialist renewable energy lab and facility where students gain hands-on experience with solar, wind and sustainable energy technologies.
As a renewable energy student, you’ll have 24/7 access to this facility, which has a computer suite in which you can design and analyse renewable energy systems, including solar thermal and wind.
You’ll perform investigative photovoltaic (solar power) experiments, analyse renewable energy systems, assess the performance of solar-water pumping systems, and measure and analyse solar and wind resources.
You’ll also have access to our roof-top solar-power facility, which comprises four 2kW grid-connected photovoltaic systems with which you can complete system performance studies and comparisons. These practical engineering labs will set you up to become job-ready when you study engineering in Perth.
Renewable energy outdoor testing area
Get hands-on in our renewable energy outdoor testing area, where you'll test renewable energy technologies using industry-standard equipment and build practical skills for your future career. Develop your skills in the following:
• solar/wind/diesel/battery hybrid systems
• low temperature solar thermal systems
• a standalone inverter test setup for efficiency measurements
• mobile weather stations with a range of sensors and data logging devices
• a 10kW photovoltaic trough concentrator system
• various grid-connected PV systems
• three-phase and single-phase test areas, including power analysers and an AC source for grid-connected inverter testing
Instrumentation and control engineering laboratory
Our purpose-built facilities include an instrumentation and control laboratory that gives you the opportunity to configure a range of experiments using real-world instrumentation, process equipment and data communication systems.
You’ll work with industrial sensors, actuators and digital and analogue outputs to control air, water and power and investigate process dynamics and control systems engineering techniques.
You’ll also investigate your own design strategies and take the lead on developing, commissioning and upgrading systems that are commonly found in the professional context.
Industrial computer systems engineering laboratory
Deepen your knowledge of computer-based communication, measurement and control systems engineering in our industrial computer systems engineering laboratory.
You’ll work alongside your peers in the laboratory’s workstations, in which you’ll learn how to work with low voltage power and complete your own wiring and programming to design, commission and operate systems commonly found in the resources, energy and manufacturing industries.
The laboratory’s computer suite features much of the same specialised software packages that are used by industry to ensure you’re career ready by the time you’ve complete your degree.
Electrical power engineering laboratory
Gain hands-on skills in power engineering by learning how to design, deploy and maintain sustainable power systems while developing skills in power systems engineering.
You’ll use the laboratory’s workstations to build and test circuits and conduct experiments using different systems and equipment, including:
• three-phase systems
• transformers
• transmission lines
• rotating machines
• fault protection
• power electronic converters
• machine drives
The facility also features the SELS smart protection relay systems. These are the future of most electrical protection systems and ensure you’ll have the practical exposure needed to launch your career.
Environmental Engineering Facilities
Murdoch University provides specialised Environmental Engineering laboratories within both the main campus buildings and the on-campus Environmental Technology Centre research facility.
The main campus laboratory features the teaching rigs specially designed for undergraduate and postgraduate education, supporting key environmental engineering experiment, such as biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand analysis, odour removal, membrane separation, sand filtration, and rainfall/soil runoff demonstrations.
The Environmental Technology Centre (ETC), located on the eastern side of Murdoch University's South Street campus, is a research and teaching facility that integrates a range of environmentally sustainable technologies. The Centre demonstrates the technologies of climate-responsive building design, renewable energy systems for power generation and water pumping, and small-scale wastewater treatment.
The ETC also houses Murdoch University's Mudlark Geopolymer Laboratory, an innovative materials research facility focused on the development and commercialisation of geopolymer binders and concrete products.
Guided by experienced staff and peers at our lab facilities, you will learn how to design, plan, construct, operate, and monitor environmentally sustainable systems that efficiently use natural resources. You will also gain the skills to apply best-practice approaches to resource management, economic performance, and environmental sustainability in support of a circular economy.
Robotics and Autonomous Systems Facilities
Interested in robotics and autonomous systems? Our Robotics Teaching Laboratory gives you hands-on experience with robotic manipulators, mobile robots and the technologies used to model, program and control them.
You’ll work with robotic manipulators and learn about coordinate systems and transformations, kinematics and dynamics, trajectory planning, machine vision, sensing, system interfacing and human–robot interaction.
You’ll also use the Robot Operating System (ROS) to program and deploy mobile robots, developing practical skills in autonomous navigation, path planning and control.
Through those intensive practical activities, you will be able to design and test robotic solutions for manufacturing, monitoring, inspection, data collection and autonomous task handling. These experiences will help you prepare for careers in intelligent robotics, automation and autonomous systems.
