Civil and Environmental Engineering BEng (Hons)

The aim of the module is to enhance your understanding for two key subjects within civil engineering: hydraulics and transportation engineering. For hydraulics, you will study all the essential theory required to understand pipe and open channel flow, at a basic level. For transportation engineering, the module will deepen your knowledge and critical understanding of highways and transportation, covering relevant content on highway and rail engineering at an intermediate level.

Compulsory

The module aims to develop your knowledge of the methods of structural design, with the underpinning principles and structural analytical methods. This module will provide you with fundamental knowledge and skill in structural modelling using industrial standard computer software⁴. You will be encouraged to make maximum use of knowledge and experience gained in other civil engineering modules for the solution of design problems. Consideration for sustainability in design will be highlighted. This module will consider aspects of structural modelling, design and carbon reduction considerations embodied in the design process.

Compulsory

The aim of this module is to apply core civil engineering theory to a 'real' civil engineering project, demonstrating the link between theory and applied practice. This will incorporate theory previously learnt and applied practice taught through the module, supported by examples of industry practice. The project will allow you to choose between addressing some of the Sustainable Development Goals 9, 11, 12, and 13, or all of them.

Compulsory

This module will give you more advanced knowledge of the characteristics of construction materials, their application and their environmental impact in a sustainable and durable built environment. Additionally, you should achieve a further understanding of the strength and behavioural response of soils, incorporating core engineering knowledge with practical application. This module will also help develop the necessary skills to acquire and analyse experimental data, for use in solving engineering problems of a routine nature commensurate with the IEng pathway.

Compulsory

The aim of this module is to provide you with the ability to apply a range of techniques to the management of projects and systems in the energy industry. The module introduces the key issues and language involved in managing projects by exploring project management tools, techniques and terminology. The module will explore the role of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as a process for identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the environmental impacts of energy developments, prior to major construction decisions being taken. An introduction to the development of EIA and the current legislative requirements are followed by an examination of risk and impact assessment methods, and data sources. The module will help develop the skills and knowledge of the processes required, to predict significant environmental impacts and propose mitigation measures, along with the plans of how to implement them.

Compulsory

In this module, you will undertake a critical analysis of a specified location and associated project that has been influenced by the UN's SDGs. Your analysis will explore the impact, success or failure of the project, alongside possible solutions that will be fundamental to the positive future development of the location. You will research, appraise, critique, develop and then communicate to a wider audience, the impact and implementation of the identified SDGs for the location/ project. The focus of the review will be linked to your academic discipline within the built and natural environment, and draw upon prior learning from your previous cognate knowledge.

Compulsory

This module provides you with an opportunity to reflect upon and gain experience for an approved placement² undertaken during your programme. A placement should usually be at least 26 weeks or equivalent; however, each placement will be considered on its own merits, having regard to the ability to achieve the learning outcomes.

Optional

This module provides you with an opportunity to reflect upon and gain experience for an approved international study/work placement² undertaken during your programme. A work/study placement should usually be at least 26 weeks or equivalent; however, each placement will be considered on its own merits, having regard to the ability to achieve the learning outcomes.

Optional

The aim of this module is to demonstrate your skills base through the continued development of critical, transferable study skills that are of practical benefit in the workplace and that promote and enable continued professional development. You can also expect to apply skills you've developed in other areas of the course(s) to a practical project delivered as part of a group, as well as incorporate globalisation, drawing from the wide range of nationalities and experiences of other students, as appropriate to the professional body guidance.

Skills are developed through a continuous review of collaborative and communication experiences while tackling an interdisciplinary group project that aims to further develop your understanding of industrial collaboration within a 'Building Information Management' scenario. The purpose of the project is to develop key learning skills and personal attributes that are required within the civil engineering, environmental engineering and built environment professions. These skills and attributes will also prepare you for professional work, demonstrating teamwork, project planning, critical and research evaluation as well as technical and personal reflection.

Compulsory

The aim of this module is to enable you to develop your research skills by conducting primary or secondary research focused on a specific problem of relevance to your discipline. You would use different methods and research skills, gained over previous years of study, to effectively communicate research novelties and ideas to the academic and non-academic communities. It will contribute to the research training aim appropriate to your level of study and requires you to demonstrate an understanding of the principles of research and to show an appropriate level of competence in the design, execution and reporting of a research project. It will enable you to understand the importance of correct and critical analysis of all the factors involved in a problem and develop your initiative as you pursue and execute the investigation, demonstrating originality and creativity. You will be required to ensure that your work conforms to appropriate codes of practice and standards, meeting the ethical requirements of the university. Successful completion of the research investigation will require a methodical approach and planning, self-management and effective communication. Support and guidance will be provided by a supervisor who will be your primary point of contact on this module.

Compulsory

There is a strong need for engineering graduates who can solve problems such as flooding and pollution. This module is designed to cover essential engineering principles like environmental fluid mechanics, hydrology and hydraulic engineering to enable you to apply mathematical and fluid mechanics principles to solve a range of hydrological problems. The course will prepare you for work in areas such as the water industry, sustainable urban development, flood and environmental management.

Compulsory

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and Negative Emission Technologies (NETs) – 20 credits
To have a chance of limiting global warming below 1.5°C, most recent scenarios from integrated assessment models (IAMs) require large-scale deployment of negative emissions technologies (NETs). These are technologies that result in the net removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. This module will first provide an up-to-date status report of the global carbon budget and the role of NETs in meeting climate targets. This is followed by a technological overview of each of the various NETs. The module also explores how we quantify the potential global impacts of the different NETs on various factors to determine the biophysical limits to, and economic costs of, their widespread application.

Emerging Hazards – 20 credits
This module will assess the impact of what might be described as ‘emerging hazards’. Such hazards are those which appear to be becoming more common and/or widespread and which often fall into the categories of biological, geological and chemical (indeed, biogeochemical). Common features of such hazards include their wide spatial distributions and significant numbers of people affected. The causes of these emerging hazards will be examined, along with compounding factors that influence their impact and an overall investigation into the risk of their occurrence. A critical evaluation of the possible remedies to alleviate the scale, intensity and impact of such hazard events will then be explored, along with a consideration of the prospects for the future.

Pressures on our Planet – 20 credits
The aim of this module is to explore the role of earth science in its relationship with contemporary environmental change. Specifically, the module will lead you to better understand how environmental processes, products and hazards interact with the human environment to produce new and ever-evolving challenges for society. Our response to such challenges will be examined, as will the identification of opportunities to mitigate these impacts and adjustments to how we interact with the natural environment. Throughout the module, emphasis will be placed on how the learnings will inform meeting the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets for 'Good Health and Wellbeing for all' (SDG 3), 'Sustainable Cities and Communities' (SDG 11) and 'Climate Action' (SDG 13).

Optional

Renewable Transport – 20 credits
The transport sector (with the exception of freight and heavy-duty vehicles) is more amenable to decarbonisation than other sectors of the global economy. Transport therefore poses one of the most difficult and emotive challenges to energy system decarbonisation. Through studying this module, you will take a detailed look at the global transport sector by an examination of the various transport modes and their outlook, in light of the transition to a decarbonised world.

One of the key themes that you will explore, is how the transition to decarbonised transport within the wider energy sector will be increasingly influenced by electrification and the commercialisation of hydrogen as a transport fuel. You will use case studies and your own research on evolving fuel technology, to demonstrate your understanding of the progress towards sector-wide improvements in transport sustainability.

Armed with an understanding of transport principles, you will learn about the influence of electrification and hydrogen as fuel in the transport sector. Case studies, as well as evolving fuel and vehicle technologies within the transport sector, will be used to illustrate and evidence progress and policy recommendations for achieving sector-wide improvements, especially in freight and heavy-duty vehicles in this age of digital, physical distribution management.

This module will majorly link to the UN's SDG 11 'Sustainable Cities and Communities' because transport contributes significantly to global carbon emissions: it will contribute towards parts of SDG 9 'Industries, Innovation and Infrastructure' by developing more efficient uses of resources to reduce carbon emissions, as well as SDG 13 'Climate Action', by reducing transport demand and thus reducing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions.

Nature-based Solutions – 20 credits
This module will give you the opportunity to evaluate the approaches of conservation, restoration and improved management of ecosystems across a catchment scale that can alleviate the impact of contemporary challenges such as climate change, habitat loss, urbanisation and sustainable development. We evaluate a range of nature-based solutions, evaluating their benefits, costs, and mitigation potential. You will also be required to participate in a mandatory residential field trip² (at no extra cost to you) to explore nature-based solutions in action and also to design your own nature-based solution. Your learning will be informed by module staff’s research experience.

Optional