Australia is fast producing world-class AI research in areas such as medical therapies and advanced manufacturing, but do we have the capability to transform that research into world-leading services, products and systems that deliver impact and ensure sovereign capability?
Australia is fast producing world-class AI research in areas such as medical therapies and advanced manufacturing, but do we have the capability to transform that research into world-leading services, products and systems that deliver impact and ensure sovereign capability?
To help meet that challenge, La Trobe University has launched Australia's first Bachelor of AI Engineering (Honours); a new industry codesigned degree that will prepare the next generation of engineers to design, build, manage and support AI systems that would be used to solve some of Australia's biggest economic and societal challenges, across diverse sectors from healthcare to financial services.
With the first cohort commencing in Semester 1 2027, the degree is the next evolution of the Digital Skills for Industry partnership established by Cisco and Rockwell Automation in 2024. The partnership was developed to address the growing shortage of workers with expertise spanning artificial intelligence, industrial automation, networking, cybersecurity and operational technology. It transforms that industry vision into Australia's first undergraduate qualification dedicated to AI engineering.
The new degree comes at a pivotal moment for Australian industry.
Rockwell Automation's 2026 State of Smart Manufacturing report found 90 per cent of manufacturers say digital transformation is essential to remain competitive, while more than half expect their operations to be AI-augmented by 2030. At the same time, Engineers Australia (EA) has emphasised that universities must play a greater role in equipping engineers with the critical AI skills needed to harness emerging technologies safely, ethically and effectively.
The Bachelor of AI Engineering (Honours) is designed around the engineering challenges of deploying AI safely and responsibly in the physical world. The program focusses on AI deployment across manufacturing, robotics, sensors and internet of things, automation, medical technologies, and intelligent production environments. It is also underpinned by strong AI software skills to build and deploy agentic AI systems and workflows using industry-standard tools.
La Trobe Vice-Chancellor Professor Theo Farrell said the degree reflects the next phase of Australia's AI journey.
"We have reached a point where AI is moving beyond experimentation into real-world deployment across every major industry," Professor Farrell said.
"It is critical that Australia has the engineers capable of designing, integrating and managing AI safely in complex environments.
"That's exactly what our new Bachelor of AI Engineering has been built to address, co-designed with two major industry partners, Cisco and Rockwell Automation.
"The new degree program draws on La Trobe's AI-first strategy and the University's growing capability across artificial intelligence research, industry partnerships and real-world innovation to prepare graduates who can lead the next generation of engineering.
"Skills developed through this degree can be applied to a diverse range of industries in addition to manufacturing, from financial services to healthcare, transport and logistics."
The course has been shaped by the University's broader AI ecosystem, including the La Trobe AI Institute, which brings together research, education and industry collaboration across fields including medical innovation, biotechnology, agriculture, digital infrastructure and advanced manufacturing. Through collaborations with organisations including Cisco, Microsoft, NVIDIA, CyberCX and other industry partners, students will help solve real-world problems in interdisciplinary areas.
An example that demonstrates the kind of multidisciplinary engineering and AI capability that the new Bachelor of AI Engineering (Honours) degree is designed to foster, is the AI-powered smart irrigation platform designed to help farmers reduce water use, and save energy. The project this year won a prestigious Australian Financial Review AI Award for sustainability.
Stefan Leitl, Vice President and General Manager, Cisco Australia and New Zealand, said the degree marks the next chapter in an industry partnership focused on Australia's future industrial capability.
"When Cisco and Rockwell Automation launched the Digital Skills for Industry initiative in 2024, we recognised that Australia's manufacturers needed people who could bridge operational technology, information technology and artificial intelligence," Stefan Leitl said.
"Two years on, that challenge has only become more urgent. La Trobe's Bachelor of AI Engineering (Honours) represents the natural evolution of that vision. Rather than responding to today's skills gap alone, we're helping build the workforce Australia will need over the next decade.
"This is what meaningful industry-university collaboration looks like: combining research excellence, industry expertise and education to prepare graduates who can confidently apply AI in the environments where it will deliver the greatest economic impact."
"The level of automation innovation in the industrial industry is paving the pathway to help Australian manufacturing to make a comeback, making these skills more important than ever."
Rockwell Automation Regional Vice President South Pacific Adrian Giecco said Australia's productivity and competitiveness will increasingly depend on engineers who understand both AI and industrial systems.
"AI is fundamentally changing how products are designed, manufactured and maintained.
"The organisations that succeed will be those with people who know how to integrate AI into industrial operations safely, efficiently and at scale.
"That's why this degree is so important. It's creating the engineering capability Australia's manufacturers and industrial producers have told us they need."
The Bachelor of AI Engineering (Honours) is another milestone in La Trobe University's AI-first strategy, which is embedding artificial intelligence responsibly across teaching, research and industry collaboration to prepare graduates for a future where AI will underpin every profession and every sector.
The La Trobe AI Institute provides a single front door to the University's AI capability across research, education and industry collaboration.
