Broadening the Perspective of the Roles of Civil Engineers – A Freshmen Module on How Engineers Solve Real-World Problems

Taking the role of a team of civil engineers, students working in a group of five prepare a bid for a civil infrastructural project for the government to address a pressing need in society. Students were guided using a framework where they identify, define, set goals, generate solutions, and evaluate alternatives from the financial, economic, environmental and society perspectives. This Year 1 module was conducted using a flipped classroom approach in the second semester over a 13-week period. A different theme could be assigned for every new semester and the theme of “Designing Infrastructural Solutions to Tackle the Effects of Climate Change” was adopted for the most recent run of the module to reflect the current interest on this topic. This paper will outline the philosophy behind the development of this module and other details including the format and learning support provided for students, student activities and deliverables, assessment and student feedback. A discussion of the main lessons learnt and some recommendations for future adoption of this learning approach in a civil engineering programme will also be presented.