MABY5000 Specialization in Civil Engineering Course description

This course introduces students to real-life challenges and recent research advancements closely related to their specializations. It provides an opportunity for students to refine their master’s thesis topics and identify a suitable supervisor, effectively laying the foundation for MABY5900. The course includes a series of seminars delivered by experts from academia and industry. These sessions cover a diverse array of topics, including but not limited to:

• Analysis and design of buildings and large structures (e.g., bridges, offshore installations, high-rise buildings)
• Building physics
• New building materials
• Transport infrastructure
• Geotechnical engineering

A central element of this course is the project assignment, in which students will prepare a supervised specialization report. The topic for the report may be inspired by the seminars presented during the course. MABY5000 offers opportunities for students to select a suitable project and a relevant supervisor. The project will allow students to apply both theoretical knowledge and practical skills to address complex, real-world issues. The specialization report can be a literature review, preliminary studies (experimental or numerical), or case studies as part of a larger research initiative. This report (MABY5000) may serve as a foundational work for the master’s thesis (MABY5900). Students may keep the same topic for their master’s thesis or explore a new topic and supervisor, depending on their evolving interests and career goals.

Language of instruction: English

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge:

The student can

• demonstrate a thorough understanding of current research and key theories relevant to their topic area through a state-of-the-art literature review.

• identify gaps, challenges, and opportunities in existing literature for further research.

• can analyze a specific topic using scientific research methods

Skills:

The student is capable of

• conducting systematic literature searches to identify key scholarly and technical sources.

• critically reading, assessing, and synthesizing findings from literature to understand gaps, trends, and theoretical foundations in their topic area.

• designing and executing a small pilot study (numerical, experimental, or case) within a defined scope.

• effectively presenting relevant scholarly and technical findings from a literature study in a clear written form.

General competence:

The student is capable of

• identifying limitations in the literature and proposing directions for further study.

• working in teams and communicating their own work.

• carrying out a project assignment and preparing a well-structured report.

The teaching will include physical and digital (if any) seminars and discussions with invited lecturers. Additionally, students will work on their specialization report under the guidance of a supervisor.

Online lectures, if any, could be recorded (if the guest lecturers allow it), and the material will be made available to students on Canvas.

The following coursework requirements must be approved in order for the student to sit the exam:

• submission of a draft specialization report by the deadline published on Canvas
• submission of a copy of the feedback on the draft report

Mandatory physical attendance at the following two seminars:

• The faculty seminar
• The Industrial seminar

Students who fail to meet the coursework requirements can be given up to one re-submission opportunity before the exam

The exam consists of:

A specialization report, which is prepared either individually or in groups of up to two students, consisting of approximately 5,000 to 8,000 words.

The exam grade can be appealed.

All aids are permitted.

Pass/Fail.

Two internal examiners.

External examiners are used regularly.

Awais Ahmed