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Build your CPD experience hours

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Monash University

Last checked: 25 Oct 2026 UTC

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To pass your CPD you need to complete a minimum of 420 hours of work related experiences outside the classroom during your Monash course.

An Engineering-related internship is a great way to get your CPD hours, however there are a multitude of other professional development activities that can also count towards the total hours required.

Some restrictions apply to these 420 hours, as noted in the graphic below.

Definitions:

  • Curriculum Experiences: active work directly related to a Monash unit, but outside the regular classroom hours. (eg: group work outside class, research, homework, assignment preparation).
  • Passive Experiences: watching videos or workshop recordings, solitary reading of reports / cases / scenarios with no output or deliverable.
  • Individual Project Work: work not directly related to a Monash unit that a student undertakes themselves and works on individually. (eg: building a machine at home that you apply engineering knowledge / skills to, individual tutoring).

Throughout your degree, it's important to start thinking about how you can build your CPD hours from the outset. CPD is an essential part of your academic and professional growth, and the earlier you start, the easier it will be to accumulate hours over time. Building your CPD hours early will not only prepare you for future career opportunities but also enhance your employability.

Please keep in mind - a minimum of 420 hours of professional practice experiences outside the classroom need to be completed, with a minimum of three different experiences.

Once you have access to the ENG CPD ePortfolio collection, you can directly add your experiences, skills, and reflections. In the meantime, we recommend recording your experiences, skills, and reflections using a Word document, notepad, or any tool of your choice.

It’s best to update your ePortfolio regularly, adding experiences as they happen, rather than waiting until the end of your degree. This will help keep the information fresh and accurate.

It's also easier to gather supporting documentation for your experiences right after you've completed them. If you wait until your final semester, you might find that the business you worked with has closed, making it harder to obtain the necessary documentation.

Please see the CPD experience suggestions list, Work experience webpages for ideas on how to build your experience hours.

For tips on how to use the ePortfolio platform please see the Monash ePortfolio webpage.

So what counts as an experience?

Any experience that has resulted in you developing or applying one or more of the 9 Employability Skills listed on the Skills and reflections.

You have to explain how participating in that experience allowed you to develop or apply whichever skills you’re referencing. If you can explain how you exercised those skills in that experience when you write your reflections, then you’ll have satisfied the CPD ‘eligibility’ requirement and submitted a valid CPD experience.

Examples of experiences

  • paid work
  • volunteering
  • virtual internships
  • unpaid work experience
  • holding office or being an active member of a Monash Engineering team or club
  • attending a seminar
  • networking events
  • industry visits
  • project work for one of your units
  • completing an online program

As you can see from the examples above, there is a wide range of experiences that can count towards your CPD activity hours.

For ideas on ways to get your experience hours for CPD, please see the CPD experience suggestions list as well as the Engineering Student Career Hub website.

Experience categories

Your CPD experiences will fall into one of the activity categories below.

You need to make sure that at least 210 hours (50% of your total hours) will be from Engineering-related experiences.

Curriculum Experiences

A curriculum experience is active work directly related to a Monash unit, but outside the regular classroom hours.

You can count a maximum of 70 hours Engineering Curriculum experiences and no more than 70 hours of Non-Engineering Curriculum experiences.

Curriculum examples

Work Experiences

A work experience can be paid or unpaid.

Engineering work experience examples

Non-engineering work experience examples

  • Work experience in an Engineering-related company without being supervised by an engineer (i.e. cleaning or administration)
  • Part time employment
  • Another Faculty’s Industry-Based Learning (IBL) or Work Integrated Learning (WIL) equivalent
  • Non-Engineering Monash Summer/Winter Research Programs

Professional Development Experiences

A professional development experience is any activity or event that helps you to develop or apply your professional skills or knowledge.

Engineering Professional Development Examples

Non-engineering Professional Development Examples

Passive Experiences

A passive experience is something with no input or output. (This does not include Virtual Internships which are considered engineering related work experience)

You can count a maximum of 35 hours of passive experiences towards your CPD.

Passive experience examples include engineering related seminars, videos or workshop recordings

Individual Project Work Experiences

Individual project work experiences are engineering activities not directly related to a Monash unit that students undertake independently.

You can count a maximum of 35 hours of individual project work towards your CPD.

Individual Project Work examples include applying your engineering knowledge to build a machine or product in your own time, or individual tutoring work that has some relationship to your engineering skills.

Professional Practice units & CPD

Hours from the Professional Practice units can be counted towards your CPD in the following categories:

ENG4801 Professional practice (Curriculum embedded)

  • Engineering Curriculum with a maximum of 70 hours.

ENG4802 Professional practice (Student Teams)

  • Engineering Professional Development and no restrictions on the hours that can be claimed. Any claim beyond 35 hours needs a Student teams supporting document signed by an academic supervisor.

ENG4803 Professional practice (Industry Experience - IE)

  • Engineering Work Experience. The usual claimable hours without supporting documentation for Industry Experience is 115 hours. Any claim beyond 115 hours will need a Work related supporting document.

ENG4804 Professional practice (Co-op)

  • Engineering Work Experience. The usual claimable hours without supporting documentation for Co-op is 115 hours. Any claim beyond 115 hours will need a Work related supporting document.

Limits & Restrictions for CPD Hours

To pass CPD you must complete a minimum of 420 hours of experiences outside the classroom and there are restrictions on which categories of hours you can claim, as outlined below.

Of your 420 required hours:

  • At least 210 hours must be from Engineering-related experiences
  • No more than 70 hours of Engineering Curriculum experiences can count
  • No more than 35 hours of Passive Experiences can count
  • No more than 35 hours of Individual Project Work can count
  • No more than 210 hours of Non-Engineering-related experiences can count
  • No more than 70 hours of Non-Engineering Curriculum experiences can count
  • Note that you do not need to accumulate hours in each category, your experiences just need to meet the 420 hour total taking into account the restrictions noted above.

Eg: there is no limit to how many hours of Engineering-related work or professional development experiences can count. 12 weeks of engineering work experience would meet your full 420 hours requirement, but 12 weeks of Non-Engineering work experience could only count as a maximum of 210 hours towards your CPD hours.

Definitions:

  • Curriculum Experiences: active work directly related to a Monash unit, but outside the regular classroom hours. (eg: group work outside class, research, homework, assignment preparation).
  • Passive Experiences: watching videos or workshop recordings, solitary reading of reports / cases / scenarios with no output or deliverable. Does not include Virtual Work Experiences.
  • Individual Project Work: work not directly related to a Monash unit that a student undertakes themselves and works on individually. (eg: building a machine at home that you apply engineering knowledge / skills to, individual tutoring).

Jump to ePortfolio submission for all the details on how to record your CPD hours

There will be severe penalties for anyone caught falsifying claims on their CPD. Failure to supply accurate and honest details about the activities you have attended, the hours you spent at those activities, the skills you have developed, the experiences you were exposed to, or accurate contact details and supporting documentation for verification purposes, would put your graduation in jeopardy if you were suspended or excluded from the university. Monash University’s policy on Academic Integrity applies in each of those instances, and for all CPD submissions. Furthermore, as a future Engineer, you should be upholding the Engineers Australia Stage 1 competency of ethical conduct and personal accountability.