UNDERGRADUATE ASSOCIATIVE COURSE
Associate Degree in Applied Technologies
Gain the skills to deploy Industry 4.0 technologies across manufacturing and extractive industries.
Develop programming, control, and digitalisation knowledge and technical ability through real-world problem solving.

Quick Details
- Course code
- AU001
- CRICOS code
- N/A
- TISC code
- TBC
- Intake
- February and July
- Duration
- 1.5 years
- Domestic fee type
- Commonwealth supported and/or HECS-HELP
- Location
- UWA (Perth), South Metro TAFE
- Related study areas
This course is currently available for domestic students only.
Co-delivery by UWA and South Metropolitan TAFE
- You'll gain hands-on skills development at South Metropolitan TAFE, and will deploy these skills on industry-facing projects at UWA’s ERDi Industry 4.0 Testlab in your final semester.
- As a graduate you will have a cutting-edge understanding of how advanced sensors are integrated to build and virtualize control environments across relevant technology industries.
- SM TAFE classes are offered at night, while most UWA classes are offered online.
- The course outcomes are guided by industry expectations and deploy industry-standard tools, ensuring as a graduate you can immediately apply outcomes in current and future roles.
About the course?
Industry 4.0 represents the world’s fourth industrial revolution and is changing the way companies manufacture and deliver services by integrating sensors, data analytics, and intelligent control systems. This course is designed for professionals with industry experience, who want to participate in the development and deployment of these technologies to enhance the competitiveness of sovereign manufacturing, extraction, and export industries.
Developed alongside industry partners and co-delivered between UWA and South Metropolitan TAFE, you will develop or refine the foundational mathematics and programming skills required to implement Industry 4.0 technologies, alongside hands-on practice in deploying these technologies toward industry projects.
In your final semester, you will apply your foundational and practical knowledge on an industry-facing project of your choosing, using UWA’s ERDi Industry 4.0 Testlab, guided and evaluated by academic and industry experts. You will have the opportunity to propose your own capstone project, if you are working part time in a relevant industry, or choose from established industry projects requiring the deployment of Industry 4.0 technologies.
The course is designed to provide early- or mid-career professionals with an opportunity to explore the university environment: the flexibility of the course gives you the option to explore foundational physics, chemistry, or engineering units, enabling opportunities for further study in these disciplines.
You'll learn to...
- Understand the “Industry 4.0” paradigm, and how it applies to energy, extractive, and manufacturing industries;
- Design and integrate sensors required for Industry 4.0 through practical, hands-on skills development;
- Deploy digital interoperability standards, and learn how to efficiently collect and manage data across an Industry 4.0 deployment; and
- Apply mathematical and programming frameworks that inform practical engineering tools within the Industry 4.0 paradigm.
Course structure
- 72 points comprising 12 six-point units. Students take four units in the semester.
- Students who have completed a Diploma in Applied Technologies, or similar, at South Metropolitan TAFE may apply for a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL): if accepted, the RPL would require students to study a total of 48 points, comprised of 8 six-point units.
View the UWA handbook for more information on the course structure and units.
Accelerated pathway
Diploma of Applied Technologies Graduates
If you who have completed this Diploma at SM TAFE, you are eligible to apply for a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) at UWA:
- Recognition can be granted for completion of UEECD0007, UEEIC0013, and UEEIC0015 at SM TAFE, as well as equivalency to MATH1720 at UWA;
- Students are only required to pass 8 units (one year, full time) for their Associate Degree in Applied Technologies.
Diploma of Engineering Technical Graduates
If you who have completed this Diploma at SM TAFE, you are eligible to apply for a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) at UWA:
- Recognition can be granted for completion of MEM23109A and MEM22013A, as well as equivalency to MATH1720 at UWA;
- Students are only required to pass 8 units (one year, full time) for their Associate Degree in Applied Technologies.
Hands-on experience
With a major industry project on your resume, you’ll be an attractive candidate to future employers. As part of your studies, you’ll complete a capstone unit at UWA that deploys UWA’s Industry 4.0 ERDi Digital Interoperability Testlab, which was established by and operates in cooperation with the Future Energy Exports CRC.
The capstone work-integrated learning unit in course provides a unique opportunity for you to apply the skills acquired throughout the course to a real-world industry project of your choice – whether that’s delivering a solution to an industry-orientated problem from your workplace, ERDi testlab partners, or through case studies.
Mentored by local experts and academic leaders in Industry 4.0 technology, you’ll practice various project management techniques and communications skills.
Careers and employability
Industry 4.0 broadly applies to any industry where the measurement, modelling, and control of systems can be improved through the application of technology, with obvious applications across the manufacturing, extraction, and export industries.
Potential jobs
-
Service Technician
-
Application Services Associate Engineer
-
Systems Architect
-
Mechatronic/Manufacturing Technologist
-
Data Analyst
-
BIM Manager
While current “Industry 4.0” jobs have largely associated with consulting and management firms, this course provides greater flexibility for early- or mid-career professionals to embed such technology within their firms, as the internal development and deployment of these technologies emerges within end-user companies.
Fees and scholarships
Tuition waivers available
Limited partial or full tuition waivers are available for this course in 2022 and 2023. Applicants are invited to discuss this with the Program Chair during application.
Student contribution amounts are charged by unit. For a fee estimate, go to the Fee Calculator and select “I want to price my units”. Annual fees are subject to annual indexation.
Scholarships are available to students from a diverse range of backgrounds, including academic achievement, financial need, educational disadvantage, leadership and community service, artistic or sporting achievements, and being from a rural or remote area.
Domestic Students
Domestic students who are eligible for a Commonwealth-supported place can use the HECS-HELP loan scheme to pay their tuition fees.
- Course credit points
- 72
- Average annual fee - 2022
- $8,825
Admission requirements
(1) To be considered for admission to this course an applicant must have:
(a) completion of a TAFE Diploma in a relevant field;
or
(b) at least 5 years of relevant work experience undertaken in an English-language environment (including manufacturing or mechatronic technician, service technician, system architect or technician, data analyst, or a similar field across the manufacturing or service sectors);
(2) Interview with the Program Chair
(3) Demonstrate English language competence
We offer a number of other pathways for you to gain entry into our undergraduate degrees if you do not meet the standard admission requirements. Find out the admissions pathways for School Leavers and Non-School Leavers.
Students who have completed a Diploma of Applied Technologies from South Metropolitan TAFE, will get an RPL for the following units: MATH1720 Mathematics Fundamentals; GENG1203 Prepare Mechanical Models for Computer-Aided Engineering; and GENG1204 Develop, Enter and Verify Discrete Control Programs for Programmable Controllers.