embedding sustainability in to the civil engineering curriculum: a design-based approach tom...
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Embedding sustainability in to the Civil Engineering curriculum: a design-based approach Tom Bramald Senior Teaching Associate Prof. Stephanie Glendinning Dr. Jaime Amezaga. Programmes. H290 MEng Civil Engineering H200 BEng Civil Engineering - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Embedding sustainability in to the Civil Engineering curriculum: a design-based approach
Tom BramaldSenior Teaching Associate
Prof. Stephanie Glendinning
Dr. Jaime Amezaga
Programmes• H290 MEng Civil Engineering• H200 BEng Civil Engineering
• H242 MEng Civil and Structural Engineering• H210 BEng Civil and Structural Engineering
• Joint Board of Moderators Accredited• Civil Engineers• Structural Engineers• Transport Engineers
Drivers and Process• Started in 2007• Research informed teaching• Large and diverse staff
profile• Meeting (and surpassing)
accreditation targets• Realise an ambition
• Embed not “tag on”• Paradigm and Provision
(Sterling, 2004)
• Strategy Group• Professoriate-led
• External Review• Academic• Industrial
• Staff consultation and engagement
• External Funding• Royal Academy of
EngineeringSterling, S. HE, Sustainbility and the role of systemic learning
in Corcoran & Wals (ed.) (2004) Higher Education and the Challenge of Sustainability. Kluwer
Thematic Structure
New Programme - Extract DSES Credits
Modelling and Information systems (PDG)
Credits Infrastructure Systems Credits Environmental
Systems CreditsHuman and Management
SystemsCredits
Stage 1
Design of Sustainable Engineering Systems 1
20 Engineering Mathematics 1 20
Engineering Mechanics and Materials
20 Environmental Systems 10
Human System Demands and Impacts
10
Geographic Information Systems
10 Fluid Mechanics 10Geotechnical Properties of Soils and Rocks
10
Engineering Surveying 1 10
Stage 2
Design of Sustainable Engineering Systems 2
30 Engineering Informatics 10 Structural
Analysis 10Treatment of Water and Wastewater
10 Land Traffic and Highways 10
Statistics and Numerical Methods for Civil Engineers
10 Steel & Concrete Structures
10
Engineering Surveying 2 10 Geotechnics 10
Hydraulics 10
External Review• Bill Powrie, Southampton
• our proposal was up-to-date, exciting and novel• we had put our finger on what was needed - an
excellent proposal
• Colin Bailey, Manchester• our vision was excellent, and that it would definitely
attract 18 year olds to come and study civil engineering at Newcastle
• it would become what defines a Newcastle graduate
Design of Sustainable Engineering Systems 1• Two projects
• Semester 1• Small groups• Theory to practice
Design of Sustainable Engineering Systems 1• Two projects
• Semester 1
• Semester 2• Larger groups• Industry-led project• Sustainability principles• Detail:
• SUDS• Transport• Space
Design of Sustainable Engineering Systems 1Governance
Transport and Connectivity
Services
EnvironmentalEconomy
Housing and Built Environment
Social and Cultural
1
6
11
Average Rank (Community)Average Rank (Civil Engineer)
Design of Sustainable Engineering Systems 3
• Masterplanning of the Science Central site
• A spatial layout including the buildings and transport layout, plus:
• Sustainability framework• Geotechnical Appraisal• Surface water plan• Environmental Statement • Carbon footprint appraisal
Student Quotes……the sustainability framework concepts were a useful approach……
……we now have an appreciation of the very complex and conflicting issues surrounding design ……
……we have enjoyed the application of the sustainability issues in real case examples ……
…the input from industry offered a much wider insight to employment opportunities available……
Interdisciplinarity and Sustainability
Jones et al. 2010. More than the sum of their parts? In Jones et al. 2010.
Sustainability Education Perspectives and Practice across higher education.
Earthscan.
SustainabilityNormative Dimensions
Ontological Dimensions
Interdisciplinarity
Epistemological DimensionsMethodological Dimensions
Sustainability
Literacy
Read society, its structures and its trajectories critically
Engage, reflect and rewrite self and audiences
Act on knowledge
Stibbe & Luna. 2009. Introduction. In Stribbe (ed.) The Handbook of
Sustainability Literacy: Skills for a changing world. Green Books.
Assessment - examplesS1 Design Groups write their own Sustainability CharterS1 Essay – demands and impacts of a CE
project – why not how
S2 Design Using Government standard assessment toolsS3 Design Produce their own Sustainability framework + evaluateS3 Critique SD in UK, Developing, and
Developed Countries
• Changing scale• Changing context
The virtue of embedding rather than “tagging on” …
Where are we now?Glendinning et al. Embedding sustainability into the Civil Engineering
Curriculum – a design based approachBramald et al. Exploring first year undergraduates’ perceptions of
conflicting parameters and complexity in civil engineering through three different learning experiences
Plus others including student paper competitions …
A USP for us … Design-centric, sustainability approach is part of our positioning for recruitment
A USP for our students … Feedback suggest that the design tasks and sustainability challenges are helping at interview
Where are we going?• Opportunities to use the campus and Science Central more?
• Starting … flood risk
• Ensure currency of design projects
• Maintain the industry-led approach
• But … balance/manage the relationship with employers
• Delivery mechanisms
• PEARL project
• Constructionarium