Civil Engineering: Construct a meaningful career with one of these universities

26 Feb 2020

There’s no shortage of investment in infrastructure. From China to India, a growing middle class is driving demand for better roads, more airports, modern office buildings and power grids to light the most remote villages.

Add to this the swift advancements in technology, software and solutions and we’ve got a civil engineering sector poised for a dynamic future ahead.

According to the latest report by Grand View Research, Inc, the global civil engineering market size is projected to be valued at US$12.08 trillion by 2025.

For its qualitative and quantitative analysis of the industry, the business consulting firm looked over various aspects of the market, such as industry landscape and trends, and market revenue estimates and forecasts up to 2025.

GVR found that the market is anticipated to be driven by “an expanding residential sector in the emerging economies of Asia Pacific,” especially by China and India’s thriving real estate sectors.

GVR also discovered that ongoing infrastructural development has also favoured the global civil engineering market, along with strict government regulations and rise in international investments in developing regions such as Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa (MEA).

In India, the government plans to build 20 million affordable houses for the urban poor by 2022, a significant boost to its residential construction sector.

Yet, a lack of civil engineers with the skills and expertise to realise these ambitious projects persists.

Baker McKenzie’s Global Head for India, Ashok Lalwani, last year highlighted a problem with the country’ engineering workforce, ie. its lack of technological innovation, despite having one of the most promising and young workforces in the world.

“A recent employability report on engineers in India showed that fewer than four percent have the technical, cognitive, and language skills necessary for technology start-ups and only three percent have new-age skills in areas like artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science and mobile development,” he wrote in a World Economic Forum article.

With these factors in play, aspiring civil engineers in developing economies – with the right educational background – stand to enter a job market in dire need of their skills and knowledge.

To join this in-demand occupation, start your journey at these five universities which have trained some of the world’s best and brightest engineering minds:

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING – CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY

Flexible, supportive and technologically-focused – The Carnegie Mellon University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) stands distinctively apart from other engineering departments.

It is ranked ninth and 12th nationally for its civil engineering graduate and undergraduate programmes respectively by US News & World Report 2020.

Carnegie Mellon University CEE

Several interdisciplinary programmes at the undergraduate and graduate level are on offer at this top-tier school, such as the MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering and PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Unlike other engineering schools whose graduate programs are 24-28% female nearly half of the current CEE graduate student population at CMU are women. With a department culture that is welcoming and collegial, the CEE program offers an inclusive and diverse environment to develop professional and leadership skills.

A supportive and collaborative community makes the opportunity to plan an individualised and structured course of study that tailors to one’s career goals possible.

Graduate students get to select coursework in traffic engineering, sustainable design, water quality engineering, energy, climate change, air quality, smart infrastructure, etc. They can also apply to joint programmes in architecture and construction management or dual MBA/MSCEE degrees at the Tepper School of Business or Porto School of Business in Portugal.

For an interdisciplinary education in civil engineering with a distinct Carnegie Mellon University stamp, contact CEE today for further information.

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING – THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

While studying at the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia, you will learn valuable analytical and design skills from industry leaders while gaining practical experience from their state-of-the-art laboratories.

Through their Master of Civil Engineering programme, you can specialise in environmental systems engineering, geotechnical engineering, hydrotechnical engineering, project & construction management, structural & earthquake engineering and transportation engineering.

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Or, you can opt one of two specialised Master’s of Engineering Leadership degrees: the Master of Engineering Leadership (MEL) in Urban Systems and the Master of Engineering Leadership (MEL) in Integrated Water Management.

And with all the Department’s postgraduate programmes focusing on team-based project work, design experience and professional development, engineering graduates leave the university with a strong set of transferable skills.

Sazid Zaman, a Master of Applied Science in Civil Engineering (MASc) alum said: Course work at UBC and the professional environment at BC Hydro helped me learn how to correlate my educational background with a professional and highly technical setting and to grow my confidence for the future.

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING – EPFL

Located in Switzerland, EPFL is one of Europe’s most popular science and technology institutions.

At their School of Engineering, trainee civil engineers acknowledge the vital needs of society by designing, building, managing and maintaining complex infrastructure projects, while taking into account socio-economical and environmental interactions.

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The School’s two-year Master’s in Civil Engineering also allows students to perfect their fundamental knowledge and specialise in one of the four proposed programmes: Structural Engineering, Hydraulics and Energy, Geotechnics, and Transport and Mobility. The programme includes an eight-week compulsory internship.

According to EPFL graduate, Benaboud Haroun, this Master’s degree in civil engineering provides the perfect balance of theory and practice.

“I could work on projects in the seismic design field using the advanced numerical modeling application in a lab at EPFL. I also worked on a real estate project for a couple of months. This allowed me to see the broad career opportunities offered to civil engineers,” says Haroun.

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING – UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK

International students who are looking to study civil engineering in the UK should make the University of Warwick and its School of Engineering as their first choice.

The School’s flexible degree programmes allow students to experience a range of engineering disciplines before deciding to specialise. During their first year, all students will undertake a general engineering programme before proceeding to specialise in after the end of term one in the second year.

University of Warwick

In their third year, they will take on a design project with construction management (for BEng students) or an individual project (for MEng students).

“This year my individual project has been based around the performance of timber structures in fire. I’m pleased that I’ve been able to carry out research related to sustainability and efficiency of design. It has prompted me to consider the wider implications of a civil engineer’s work,” said third-year civil engineering student Ollie.

Students can also switch from the three-year BEng to the four-year MEng degree if academic requirements are met, and from the MEng to the BEng if they prefer to graduate earlier.

MELBOURNE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING – THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

The Melbourne School of Engineering is where students evolve into engineering graduates fully equipped to meet today’s challenges with strong business, technical and interpersonal skills.

Dean Professor Mark Cassidy said: “Our graduate model of engineering education provides depth, breadth and flexibility to a world-class curriculum that is informed by real world, problem-based learning, industry experience and a generous program of scholarships for both local and international students.”

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For the MEng in Civil Engineering, students develop unique skills and knowledge to apply to urban developments, environmental protection, water resource and energy conservation.

In this industry-aligned and internationally-recognised degree, students gain advanced civil engineering skills, guided by experts in infrastructure design, water resource management and transport engineering.

Examples of breakthrough projects range from prefabricated housing for a more efficient and sustainable construction industry to applying geothermal energy for greener and cheaper heating and cooling.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International