ENGGEN 403 Systems Thinking - Course Outlines

Course Prescription

An introduction to the commercial drivers and business practices which prepare students for successful roles in the commercial, government, and non-profit sectors after graduation. Students are presented with a systems thinking approach to managing large, complex, multidisciplinary challenges. Professional issues (such as health and safety, sustainability, resilience, ethics, leadership, and cultural diversity) from previous courses are expanded.

Course Overview

This course centres on Systems Thinking, integrating Engineering knowledge with important theories, practices, and frameworks from economics, environment, social responsibility, sustainability, and governance. Building upon other ENGGEN courses, it introduces key concepts important to merge Engineering knowledge and skills with other disciplines to solve complex problems, create value, and improve society. Using case studies, individual assessments, and group projects, ENGGEN 403 applies engineering discipline knowledge and learnings from the course prerequisites to consider, understand, and develop complex solutions, improvements, interventions, and innovations to large-scale systems-level challenges. Building upon Innovation principles developed in ENGGEN 303, students work with key systems concepts such as GDP, productivity, cost-benefit analyses, causal loops, leverage points, the New Zealand Living Standards framework, and machinery of government, applying these to major group projects tackling complex problems.

ENGGEN 403 helps to equip students with the complementary knowledge and skills important to apply Engineering computational, foundational and problem-solving approaches to prepare them for the workplace, government, and decision-making roles and responsibilities. The course meets the criteria set forth by Engineering NZ and the International Engineering Alliance, qualifying graduates to tackle major projects across the globe. Further, it delivers important attributes necessary to prepare graduates to take on key roles in contemporary firms and organisations, offering the platform for students to develop as innovators, managers, policymakers, and leaders.

Building upon collaboration and communication foundations, the course integrates success mindsets, management tools, operations research, and organisational theory in practical and applied contexts to support students' ability to identify and understand large-scale problems. Working at systems scale, students identify multifaceted root causes to wicked problems, consider a complex range of stakeholders, analyse alternatives, synthesise solutions, measure impact, and make comprehensive multidimensional recommendations seeking to address these challenges.

The course culminates in Systems Week - a focused week-long intensive team project in which students are given a major problem to research, analyse, synthesise, and develop appropriate recommendations. Systems Week teams offer the opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration, providing a capstone experience integrating learnings from across Engineering degree programmes, discipline knowledge, Part IV research skills and industry internships.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: BUSINESS 101 and 102, or BUSINESS 111 and 112, or DESIGN 220 or 221 or 222, or ECON 151 and GLOBAL 101, or COMMS 320 or ENGGEN 303 or LAW 241 or MUS 186 or 365 or PROPERTY 231 or SCIGEN 201 or 201G

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

Develop and present a value-adding and sustainable solution that applies the principles of systems thinking and innovation to a real-world Systems-level problem. (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1)
Actively contribute to a large team working towards the preparation of a report and a high-level presentation suitable for Government officials, senior decision-makers, or boards of directors. (Capability 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1)
Demonstrate and understand the application of the concepts of teamwork, collaboration, and leadership in managing a large complex challenge. (Capability 6.1 and 7.1)
Prepare and present a business case which includes an analysis of the background and root cause of a complex problem, a recommendation supported by a Desirability/Feasibility/Viability framework, financial analyses, sustainability frameworks, stakeholder considerations, and opportunity analyses. (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 5.1 and 6.1)
Develop and apply the Engineering New Zealand Washington Accord competencies (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1)

Assessments

Assessment Type	Percentage	Classification
Assignments	40%	Individual Coursework
Systems Project	40%	Group Coursework
Team Project	20%	Group Coursework
3 types	100%

Assessment Type	Learning Outcome Addressed
	1	2	3	4	5
Assignments
Systems Project
Team Project

A passing mark is 50% or higher, according to University policy.

All assessments are due by the submission time listed on Canvas. Late assessments will not be accepted. Extensions are at the discretion of the teaching team and special circumstances must be submitted via the courses contact form.

The Systems Project, week 9 of semester two, requires active in-person collaboration and engagement.

Marks are generally released within three weeks of the assignment's due date. Marks can be queried for two weeks after the grade is posted on Canvas unless otherwise stated via Canvas Announcement. All mark queries must be submitted via the contact form.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

This course is scheduled over 12 weeks. Most weeks, there are 3 one hour lectures. It is expected the student spends approximately 3 hours a week reading and thinking about the content. In week 9 of the course, students will participate in a full-week immersive consulting style project in which students collaborate with a large team to understand, review, consider, and synthesise a large-scale "wicked problem" to develop a senior-level recommendation and report. During this week, other taught Engineering papers are cancelled to allow students to spend about 40 hours working on this important project that brings together discipline, systems, and professional practice knowledge, skills and mindset.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at scheduled and some ad hoc activities including lectures, team meetings, and online collaboration platforms to complete components of the course.

Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities will not be available as recordings.

The course may include live online events including lectures, help sessions, group discussions and workshops.

The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Health & Safety

Students are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with University health and safety guidelines at all times during the course and to be respectful and inclusive in all coursework and activities.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Based on the 2024 SET Evaluation, some students have requested an increase in depth and applications of the content covered. This will be addressed in the 2025 course, with increased depth of analysis and case study applications delivered alongside the lecture content.

From the 2024 SET Evaluations, most students enjoy and gain insightful experience from the Systems project. This is captured in SET comments like, "I found the team project and systems week enjoyable, useful, and engaging as they provided the unprecedented experience of working in a 37–member team, and navigating both the advantages and challenges of working in such a large environment. Overall, I believe this assignment/assessment structure should be continue in future iterations of the course.”

Some students don't initially always see the connection of this course to their overall BE(Hons) programme, "What I found most challenging was trying to see how this was relevant to my degree. I felt that solving the project topics had nothing to do with my software engineering degree." However, once graduates are in the workplace, many remark on how this was one of their degree's most useful and relevant courses.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Capability 1:	People and Place
Capability 2:	Sustainability
Capability 4:	Critical Thinking
Capability 5:	Solution Seeking
Capability 6:	Communication
Capability 7:	Collaboration

ENGGEN 403 : Systems Thinking

Engineering

2025 Semester Two (1255) (15 POINTS)