SRC Aus has partnered with the Defence Trailblazer to provide an internship for a young professional to gain industry experience in the development and testing of electronic warfare sensors to support Defence capability.
Mission data is crucial to keeping our warfighters safe. Electronic warfare (EW) relies on data intelligence to detect communications and analyse electromagnetic signals to recognise threats and inform decision makers. This signals intelligence provides for situational awareness and informs future operational plans.
SRC Aus has brought intel-driven threat simulation to Defence since setting up Australian operations in 2016. Their parent company SRC Inc commenced in 1957, starting as the Syracuse University Research Corporation to support US federal government organisations and agencies.
The situation
Access to students to support a pipeline of workers is a high priority for the Australian Defence Force and industry. The current work-skills shortage in defence calls for new ways to address how students engage with industry and work on interesting projects to provide skills that will lead to future careers once they graduate.
The solution: internship placement
Through the Defence Trailblazer’s Student Placements & Projects Program, SRC Aus hosted an internship to support critical research into an EW support system.
The Defence Trailblazer Electronic Warfare Support System (TESS) project is preparing systems for high-volume testing of machine learning algorithms for signal detection, clustering, deinterleaving, and classification.
Stacey Heng, a University of Adelaide (UoA) Space Science and Astrophysics graduate undertaking further studies in Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering, was chosen for the internship based on her strong abilities demonstrated in her Honours degree and her interest in signal processing.
I first heard about SRC Aus through an event held by the university’s Women in STEM Careers (WiSC) Program, and found out about this project to develop broadband electronic warfare sensors for signal detection and direction finding after that
— Stacey Heng, SRC Aus intern
During the internship with SRC Aus, Stacey worked on engineering development, test, and evaluation of systems in support of the TESS project. The goal was to prepare the system for high-volume testing of machine learning algorithms for signal detection, clustering, deinterleaving, and classification.
“Stacey communicated effectively, kept the team informed of her progress, and actively participated in group discussions. She displayed her efficiency and innovation by consulting academic literature to review pulse detection methods and selecting suitable approaches for her assigned tasks. Her self-guided learning of Python and signal processing was commendable, as was her ability to apply these skills to complex engineering problems,” said SRC Aus Engineer, Michael Sadler.
The EW research lead at SRC Aus, Dr. Vichet Duk, noted Stacey’s perseverance, confidence, and willingness to seek clarification when faced with technical challenges.
Stacey’s internship exemplifies the spirit of innovation and collaboration that drives progress in the engineering field. We are confident her experiences will inspire her to continue the pursuit of excellence in delivering results in future for Defence
— Dr. Vichet Duk, SRC Aus research lead
While Stacey’s internship is now complete, she has found new ways to break down, understand and approach problems, and looks forward to facing new challenges and learning new skills as she finishes her studies.
Strengthening Australia’s defence capabilities
The Student Placements & Projects Program is helping to drive defence-ready skills of the future through strong engagement with industry, ensuring research and development activity and education qualifications are aligned to defence needs.
Undergraduate and post-graduate coursework students can engage with industry partners, to deliver outcomes for defence, while exposing students and helping them to prepare for future work in the Australian defence industry.
By placing students directly into live projects, companies are equipped to support student development and timeframes that best align with industry needs.
For more information on industry workforce programs visit: dtb.solutions
