This module introduces you to the profession of civil engineering. By the end of this module, you will gain an understanding of what civil engineering is and will have taken a critical look at its history, enabling you to recognise the role and responsibilities of civil engineers to effectively tackle the challenges of the 21st century. You will take on a high-level view of a civil engineering project, by considering its environmental and societal impact, ethical considerations and financial implications. You will be familiar with the institutions and the standards, codes of conduct as well as practice and legislation that regulate the industry. The module is designed to develop your communication skills where you will present your work and ideas using a variety to techniques to a variety of stakeholders.
A fundamental aspect of a civil engineer’s job is to address problems. This module will introduce you to the problem-solving process and equip you with the tools available to engineers needed to address technical problems. Mathematics is one of the languages of engineering and you will develop the fundamental skills required to use mathematics to model physical phenomena and to solve applied technical problems. Algebra is the spelling and grammar of the language of maths and your algebraic skills will be essential to understand the mathematical models used in all branches of engineering analysis and design. The maths in the module will be taught through application so you will always understand the context of what you are learning. You will also learn how to use trigonometry, geometry and vectors to address technical problems. You will be introduced to calculus, the mathematics of change, and will learn to use this to solve basic engineering problems and, importantly you will understand what calculus is doing in mathematical expressions. You will become adept at using digital tools such as spreadsheets and coding to do the maths for you, so you can focus on the problem-solving process.
This module introduces you to computer aided design. You’ll gain the fundamental skills to produce technical drawings using specialist software and learn how to interpret technical drawings. As you progress through the course, you’ll continue to practice and apply these skills during a number of other modules, beginning with an introduction to computer aided engineering, with an overview of how computers are used for engineering analysis and design. In the second half of the module, you’ll learn to manage and interpret quantitative data using statistical and digital tools. You’ll understand the importance of data security, what is meant by terms like big data, and the impact of data on the industry and society. The concept of qualitative data and how this can be gathered, interpreted and used to complement quantitative data analysis will also be introduced.
This module is designed to develop the fundamental engineering concepts that apply to structures, hydraulics and geotechnics as you progress through the course. Dimensional analysis (units) is a core concept in engineering and by the end of this module you’ll be familiar with all the common units, understand which properties and parameters these relate to, and how to track them through calculations. Lectures throughout this module will introduce concepts from the three main areas of civil engineering science: statics, materials, and fluid mechanics. In workshops, you’ll learn to apply these to real engineering problems. Statics is a fundament of structural engineering and the concept of equilibrium will be applied throughout your structured modules. Understanding material behaviour is essential for all civil engineering projects, principally the basics which will be expanded upon in future modules related to structures, highways and geotechnics, amongst others. You’ll finish the module with an introduction to some of the fundamental fluid mechanics concepts, which will be applied to subjects including hydraulics, hydrology and geotechnics.
The End Point Assessment (EPA) of your apprenticeship is the professional review of the competencies or attributes, defined by the relevant Professional Body (Institution), which you have achieved during the programme. Success in the EPA will lead to membership of your Professional Body (RICS, ICE etc). To successfully complete your Apprenticeship EPA, you are required to submit a portfolio that will demonstrate and showcase how learning and work experience have been applied to achieve the competencies or attributes during the apprenticeship programme. The portfolio is a collection of evidence which you’ll build throughout your apprenticeship. As part of your apprenticeship, you are required to keep a record of the Off the Job (OTJ) learning time that you undertake, which should, over the course of your programme up to the point of Gateway, be equal to at least 20% of your contracted hours. To support you in your completion of your apprenticeship, you are required to participate fully in tripartite review meetings between you, your employer, and a representative of ARU. These tripartite review meetings will act as a vehicle for formal on programme review and assessment of your progress against targets.
This module introduces you to the civil engineering project and will start by using case studies of infrastructure projects to examine the project holistically from not only a technical point of view, but also considering the financial and ethical implications, the environmental and societal impact, and sustainability aspects. You’ll learn about the initial pre-construction studies in terms of the site investigation, business case development and design stages. You’ll also learn how to carry out topographical surveys through field work and then how to transfer the data to CAD. This module also includes an introduction to construction project management techniques and the methods used for planning, managing and resourcing civil engineering projects. You’ll understand the design control processes including the factors that affects design and compliance with building safety and health and safety legislation, codes of practice and industry standards.