Building success from the ground up

Landing a job at one of Victoria’s most innovative Government departments, Graduate Engineer Kav Dassanayake equates his success to VU’s Problem Based Learning.

“I am currently rotating through the Safety Team at the Level Crossing Removal Authority. Part of my job is to manage activity, issues, risks and incidents.

Looking back, VU was the perfect choice. It made me workforce ready. VU’s Problem Based Learning was key to preparing me for my current role. It taught me to understand the problem first, research, consult and develop the right solutions to execute.

Though I didn’t compete an internship while at VU, I completed my study units in 2015 and was successful in a Graduate Program at Optus Administrations in 2016.

I was industry-ready thanks to VUs facilitators. John Chlond - and his practical approach to teaching - was heavily influential. A notable example was when we developed and replicated a traffic light system, specifically the road light sequencing when the pedestrian crossing button was pressed. This was a real eye opener for me.

My final year project ‘A Keyless Home’ utilised coding skills learnt from John’s classes which I still practice on the job today.

That project was critical to my professional development. It taught me valuable skills in problem solving, multi-platform coding, interfacing via machine-to-machine communication and soft skills such as project management and reporting – all of which I learnt at VU and which helped me to secure my current position.

I love being able to visually see the progress of my contribution from the ‘ground up’ – from a sketch to a set of requirements, to a working operational system. Plus, I get to give back to the community which is even better.

My goal this year is to further develop knowledge-based skills in rail systems and soft skills in project management to contribute fully as a Project Engineer in the Metro Tunnel Project and more.”

Kav studied

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical and Electronic)

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