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Advanced Civil Engineering Education Initiative The Background . Richard Jardine Professor of Geomechanics Director of MSc Programme. Civil Engineering Counts! Societal challenges. Health and quality of life: water supply and treatment, transport, buildings
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Advanced Civil Engineering Education Initiative The Background Richard Jardine Professor of Geomechanics Director of MSc Programme
Civil Engineering Counts!Societal challenges • Health and quality of life: water supply and treatment, transport, buildings • Energy supply and conservation: offshore oil and gas, wind generators, nuclear etc • Protecting the public: road safety, earthquakes, floods, landslides…..
Aberfan 1966
Civil Engineering Counts!Economic challenges • UK Construction: £74.7bn per year! High risk; low profit; low share values; 30% too expensive? Can it be better organised/managed? • UK Construction services £7 to £8bn! Much of it in exports. But can these knowledge businesses remain competitive without high level skills?
Civil Engineering Counts!Environmental challenges • Industry’s perceived negative impact • At odds with actual role in protecting natural environment and enhancing towns & cities • Crucial now to develop rational strategies for sustainable future
Civil Engineering teams and skillsGPs and specialists • Longstanding recognition of need for specialism. Suite of Imperial College MScs set up in 1940’s • Growing need for specialist education that cannot be provided by BEng, MEng, or CPD • PhDs are valuable but rarely required for practice • Specialist MSc courses most cost-effective means • Example of demand: half UK geotechnical specialists have MScs; 50% from Imperial College
Civil Engineering Human Resources crisis • Highly skilled professionals needed to meet technical, managerial, environmental challenges • Skills shortages cited as major problem in surveys, limiting ability to deliver - from transport to deepwater energy • Example of AGS. Among top 4 problems facing industry were: • Quality of work • Skills shortages • Cuts in funding for MSc students
Applications to Imperial College Civil MSc courses Enrolment down from maximum of 160 to 125 Now 71% non-UK domiciled entry
Trends in undergraduate applications for Civil Engineering degrees: 1994 = 100 MSc applications lag several years behind UGs
Civil Engineering Human Resources crisis • Cultural drift away from physical sciences: `A’ level and degree choices; fewer graduates • UK graduates less inclined to undertake specialist MScs: • Four year MEng • Student debt • EPSRC/NERC funds cut for core topics • Low salaries & status issues • MSc gives little financial benefit • Decades needed to repay personal investment
Civil Engineering at Universities • Courses are expensive to run; able students and staff are hard to attract; MSc studies have a low priority; economics don’t add up • General trend is to contract; many courses closing or under threat • Strategy at Imperial College: to swim upstream! • First step was to survey 300+ MSc and MEng students
Advanced Civil Engineering Education Initiative • Reconfiguring Imperial courses to optimise: • Appeal to able students • Educational topicality, relevance, quality • Economics, flexibility of delivery • Interact with ICE, ISE, RAEng etc; Research Councils (EPSRC, NERC); Industry; Government – seek participation & support • Build funding for Imperial College courses and student bursaries; create opportunities • Publicise our findings and opportunities on offer
Reconfiguring our MSc coursesWise up, don’t dumb down! • Regrouping of 9 existing courses into 4 clusters: • Advanced structures • Environment • Geotechnics • Transport • Introduction of two new courses: • Integrated structures • Earthquake Engineering • New options in all four clusters for dual degree titles. 25 MSc titles created by adding 25% of: • Business Management or • Sustainable Development
Advanced Structural Concrete Structures Engineering ClusterConcrete Structures & Business Management Concrete Structures & Sustainable Development Structural Steel Design Structural Steel Design & Business Management Structural Steel Design & Sustainable Development Earthquake Engineering Integrated Structural Engineering Geotechnics Cluster Soil Mechanics Soil Mechanics & Engineering Seismology Soil Mechanics & Environmental Geotechnics Soil Mechanics & Business Management Soil Mechanics & Sustainable Development Engineering Geology Engineering Geology& Business Management Engineering Geology & Sustainable Development Environmental ClusterEnvironmental Engineering Environmental Engineering & Business Management Environmental Engineering & Sustainable Development Hydrology for Environmental Management Hydrology& Business Management Hydrology & Sustainable Development Transport Cluster Transport Transport & Business Management Transport & Sustainable Development
Advanced Civil Engineering Initiative: other steps • Part time and CPD extension options on all MScs • MTP funding from EPSRC for geotechnics & transport, also NERC funding for hydrology • Industrial bursary group. 12 geotechnical members; recruitment inside track; liaison groups for other MScs • Seeking further funding and liaison with Industry and Research Councils • www.cv.imperial.ac.uk/courses/msc/pg_index.asp
Finally • Skills shortage is impinging on quality of professional work • Claims against PI cover are soaring, frequency doubling in last decade in some sectors • MSc course recruitment will become more difficult with time: fewer graduates, more debt etc.. • Concerted effort needed if courses are not to fold and skills stream dry up altogether • Our `call to arms’ to Institutions, Research Councils, Government and Industry; help us with funding and student recruitment!
Civil Engineering Counts Earthquake Engineering An Example of the need for technical specialists Nicholas N. Ambraseys Senior Research Fellow
[EARTHQUAKE RISK] = [SEISMIC HAZARD]*[VULNERABILITY] (LOSS) Seismic Hazard Probability of occurrence of earthquake at a given site & period of time Reflects Regional & local seismotectonic activity It is beyond human control, but knowledge of it is possible (long-term seismicity) Vulnerability Physical characteristics of structure It can be assessed, controlled and reduced Loss Cost of restoring structure to its state just before the earthquake Any other form of loss/value
MSc in Earthquake Engineering (Structures Cluster) MSc in Soil Mechanics & Engineering Seismology (Geotechnics Cluster)
Sustainable Cities The New MSc David Fisk RAEng Prof Engineering for Sustainable Development
Urbanisation Still Growing GEO 02
Engineering Can Make a Difference Municipal Waste Asia and Pacific 2030 UNEP ‘GEO 3’ Scenarios
Engineering Can Make A Difference Percent Land Area Impacted By Infrastructure 2030 GEO 02
Engineering Can Make A Difference Percent Land Built Up Area 2030 GEO 02
From Problems to Practical Solutions The Sustainable Development Module Learning to Think in 4 Dimensions
Tight Tolerances Create Costs Thinking in Three Dimensions Space Space
Thinking in Four Dimensions Lifetime consequences of design decisions for Economic Social Environmental Capital Space Time Space
Creating future options Going Further in Four Dimensions Space Time Space
Matching the Design Process Space Delivery Needs Vision Space
Matching the Design Process Balanced Scorecard techniques Space Delivery Needs Vision Space
Matching the Design Process Life Cycle Analysis Techniques Space Delivery Needs Vision Space
Life Cycle Analysis Key Issue Axes Benchmark Values
Matching the Design Process Value Engineering Techniques Space Delivery Needs Vision Space
Detailed Studies • Water supply and management • Waste management • Transport infrastructure • Energy • Sustainable construction • Developing Country Infrastructure • Urban Air quality and pollution • Sustainable city