Undergraduate Civil Engineering Research Articles

Community engagement enhances undergraduate civil engineering capstone design projects

Abstract Over the past several decades numerous studies have shown the value of community engagement in global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs. Engaging and collaborating with communities through the design process enables wider community acceptance and ownership of WASH interventions, ensures a more functional and impactful design, and opens the door for co-benefits of these systems. Accounting for a range of dimensions within a community is critical to creating WASH designs that provide the most benefits. Undergraduate engineering curriculums focus on design, but often do not explicitly account for the social, environmental, and economic elements that affect the success, efficacy, and sustainability of a design. There is increasing emphasis on educating engineers on sustainability and systems thinking so they are equipped to solve complex, multidisciplinary problems. To understand how social, environmental, and economic elements fit into engineering design and how to create sustainable WASH interventions, undergraduate engineering students benefit from participating in WASH design projects that engage and collaborate with communities. This perspective highlights the value of community engagement with partners in Uganda in teaching water resources and environmental engineering design to undergraduate civil engineering students.

Embedding Building Information Modelling in the Construction Area: A Case within an Undergraduate Civil Engineering Program

Undergraduate programs face the challenge of staying up-to-date by responding to globalization, internationalization, and regionalization processes. Civil engineering programs should meet the requirements of the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operation (AECO) industry. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a methodology that involves shared digital representations of built assets to facilitate design, construction, and operation processes within the construction knowledge field. The present research describes a methodology with six mechanisms to develop and consolidate BIM-related competencies within the construction area from an undergraduate civil engineering program. It also explores students’ perceptions about the subjects within this area and their relationship with the training and reinforcement of the competencies. The study follows a descriptive scope with an action research design. The principal result is the methodology, which has six mechanisms: (1) BIM implementation into topics and syllabi; (2) use of collaborative platforms; (3) professor training programs; (4) establishment of student organizations; (5) development of a BIM application project; and (6) area and subject meetings. The validation process, which included professors, enrollment, employability and research rates, and the curricular proposal and students’ perceptions, revealed that the mechanisms could effectively support the development and reinforcement of BIM-related competencies.

Assessing the relevance of an Indian undergraduate civil engineering programme: a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process approach

Assessing the relevance of an Indian undergraduate civil engineering programme: a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process approach

Augmented Reality for the Development and Reinforcement of Spatial Skills: A Case Applied to Civil Engineering Students

The architecture, engineering, construction, and operation (AECO) industry has brought transformations within the field. Despite the changes, traditional teaching methods such as analyzing two-dimensional plans and models are still being used in training processes, which do not effectively promote the development of spatial skills. In this context, augmented reality (AR) can be used as a tool to translate two-dimensional information into three-dimensional space. Thus, the present study explores the use of the VT-Platform AR tool to develop and reinforce spatial skills among undergraduate civil engineering students. The study follows a quantitative approach with a descriptive scope and an experimental design. Students in the sanitary engineering subject were divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. A short-term teaching-learning methodology was proposed for the experimental group using the VT-Platform AR tool. Both groups took the differential aptitude test (DAT) to measure their spatial skills. The experimental group showed a higher average score compared to the control group, with a difference of 29.8%. Furthermore, the use of the VT-Platform AR tool helped standardize the level of spatial skills within the experimental group. It was concluded that using the VT-Platform AR tool can effectively develop and reinforce spatial skills among students.

Immersive engineering instruction: Using Virtual Reality to enhance students’ experience in the classroom

With the growing complexity of construction projects, the Architectural, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector increasingly requires a skilled workforce. This need is magnified by the challenge of less than ideal retention rates in engineering fields, prompting a search for methods to enhance the learning experience. Virtual Reality (VR) has emerged as an effective tool in this context, offering immersive and interactive learning environments that improve the grasp and retention of complex concepts in engineering. This research assesses the benefits of implementing a VR solution for building inspections in an undergraduate civil engineering program. It compares the use of a VR system against traditional desktop-based inspection techniques and considers cognitive load, user experience, and usability aspects of this implementation. Additionally, it examines how students’ spatial abilities affect their performance with both methods. Results demonstrate that VR does not increase cognitive load and is often perceived as requiring less effort by student users. While both the desktop and VR options produced similar usability scores, the VR implementation provided a much more engaging user experience. These results were replicated and echoed in a second study with actual engineering instructors, who likewise held a strong positive attitude towards the VR system, consistent with student attitudes. Taken together, these results highlight the potential for VR to revolutionize educational opportunities, suggesting that its further adoption and exploration should be prioritized as a useful and viable academic tool. Specifically, these results suggest that VR can enhance the learning process in civil engineering and make collaborative virtual building inspections more efficient and engaging.

Developmental Changes of the Responses to Peer Assessment of Group Projects: a Case Study of Civil Engineering Undergraduates

The changes in the responding behaviour to peer assessments of group projects as students progress through their studies were explored to assist educators in designing peer assessment tools to suit students’ maturity levels and better understand the students’ responses to peer assessments. We collected and analysed the responses to a peer assessment tool after group project assignments of a group of civil engineering undergraduate students in their second and third years. The responses displayed a relatively higher satisfaction level by the students on their peers’ contribution to the group projects in both units, with a markedly higher satisfaction level in the third year of study than in the second year. The data also suggests that smaller groups tend to have higher peer satisfaction levels among group members than in bigger groups. Average peer rating versus group mark comparison was identified as a reliable indicator to identify groups that had internal issues while working on group projects but were not openly disclosed. Responses to individual criteria of the peer assessment tool confirmed that the group members are highly satisfied with each other’s attendance in group meetings and are increasingly satisfied with each other’s intellectual contribution towards the group project as the year level progresses. Given the participants in this study belong to one specific discipline, the results may not be generalisable to the entire student population, and we encourage more research in this area.

An international initiative on geosynthetic education

An international educational initiative to facilitate the exposure of geosynthetics to undergraduate civil engineering students has been conducted by the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) for over a decade. Geosynthetics is a comparatively new topic within geotechnical engineering and, consequently, has only been sporadically introduced into undergraduate Civil Engineering curricula. In particular, geotechnical engineering professors themselves may have not been exposed to the basics of geosynthetics to be able to comfortably transfer such knowledge to their students. As part of this educational program, civil engineering professors are invited to take a course on geosynthetics, for which they receive fellowships covering their expenses. The course also includes complementary components such as a workshop consisting of practical demonstrations, pedagogical material, and technical documents. Implementation of the program involves multiple parties, including the IGS, its national chapters, and geosynthetics industry, who are allotted the responsibilities of supporting the program instructors, offering practical project-oriented input. This paper describes the course structure, the educational tools employed, the impact on the program caused by the pandemic, and results from feedback surveys that assessed how the knowledge on geosynthetics acquired by the participants was transferred to their students in terms of new courses on geosynthetics, inclusion of geosynthetics topics in existing undergraduate disciplines, etc. Emphasis is given on the experience of the Brazilian Chapter of IGS, which has already conducted programs. The educational outcomes of the programs currently offered are being evaluated and they suggest excellent acceptance of the course by participants and undergraduate students at the universities.

Development of 3D models with augmented reality for steel and reinforced concrete structure subjects

In the academic sphere of undergraduate Civil Engineering courses, students find it difficult to abstract three-dimensional visualisations from two-dimensional images presented in project documentation. The aim of this article is therefore to present an alternative to assist in the teaching and learning process of steel and reinforced concrete structural design content. Three-dimensional models of steel connections and reinforced concrete structural elements were developed with functionality for the application of Augmented Reality (AR). The models were developed in Revit software and exported to the Sketchfab platform, where it is possible to use the AR feature via an application. Additional information, such as texts, can be added to the models, which expands the possibilities for developing didactic activities. Both tools used proved to be very suitable for the purpose of developing digital objects for teaching engineering.

Exploring the impact of feedback on student performance in undergraduate civil engineering

ABSTRACT A major focus of teaching and learning in undergraduate civil engineering is the enhancement of student performance. Feedback is vital for the improvement of students’ performance. However, relatively few studies were conducted specifically to establish the relationship between feedback and student performance in engineering education, especially in civil engineering. Also, the impact of feedback on performance has not been explicitly measured in engineering education. The context of two undergraduate civil engineering subjects at a University of Technology (UoT) in South Africa was used in this study to examine whether feedback to students on their work enhances performance, to what extent it improves performance and what kinds of feedback are more influential. Case-study analyses of the performance of students were conducted and a perception survey was administered to the students, followed by relevant statistical analyses. Findings suggested that students’ performance is likely to improve with structured and constructive feedback. Although both oral and structured written feedback were found independently statistically significant with enhanced students’ performance, the combination of both oral and structured written feedback is most influential. This study contributes to establishing the relationship between feedback and student performance and the comparative impact of different types of feedback on student performance.

State of Programming and Data Science Preparation in Civil Engineering Undergraduate Curricula

State of Programming and Data Science Preparation in Civil Engineering Undergraduate Curricula

Applying Project-Based Learning (PBL) for Teaching Virtual Design Construction (VDC)

Learning-centered models, which rely on active methodologies such as Project-Based Learning (PBL), should be adopted in undergraduate programs to potentiate the development of collaboration skills within future industry professionals like civil engineers. Thus, this study reports the implementation of PBL in two successive Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) courses from an undergraduate civil engineering program: 1) VDC I, in which the VDC methodology implementation was applied theoretically in an already-built project, and 2) VDC II, in which the VDC methodology implementation was applied in a currently-under-construction project. The study's objective is to identify students' perceptions of PBL influence on their learning experience, degree of acquisition of generic competencies, and project development under the VDC methodology. To assess the PBL and VDC implementation, a survey was applied to measure students' perceptions of the three mentioned variables. Results show an increase in their perceptions about the benefits of implementing VDC and PBL for the generic competencies acquisition process by more than a third, compared to other studies which implemented Building Information Modelling (BIM) with PBL. This is due to the theoretical background of the VDC methodology in terms of collaboration, processes, and tools. Besides, VDC II students' perceptions of the generic competencies' development process, degree of learning, and project development improved by 6.13%, 7.15%, and 3.44%, respectively, compared to VDC I students' perceptions, which is owed to the natural interaction between students and stakeholders of the projects adopted.

Enhancing the Construction Site Safety Knowledge and Awareness Amongst Civil Engineering Undergraduate Students

Enhancing the Construction Site Safety Knowledge and Awareness Amongst Civil Engineering Undergraduate Students

Integration of Excel VBA with professional software for the structural analysis and design of civil structures

AbstractA feasible combined approach between structural analysis program (SAP) 2000 and Excel software is proposed in this article to develop customized numerical tools for the analysis of civil engineering structures. For such scope, the Open Application Programming Interface from SAP 2000 software is linked to the Visual Basic for Application (VBA) environment embedded within Excel. Three computer applications resembling industrial situations related to size optimization of trusses, soil−structure interaction in buildings, and automatic design of reinforced concrete slabs are presented. As the tools are parameterized, students can observe the effects of the various parameters on the output response of the structures because geometry, loading, and material properties can be easily varied. As the main concern is the educational aspect, the novelty of this research is to present the proposed combined approach in a stepwise manner with explained codes. The source codes of the developed tools are made freely available so that the applicants can modify them according to their priorities. The tools present a friendly user interface that made them attractive to use in daily design tasks at the office, but certainly, they are the result of the integration of student knowledge as part of a bachelor's dissertation in an undergraduate civil engineering educational program. The tools have been preliminarily introduced into a reinforced concrete course at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), searching for a better understanding of theoretical concepts, while integrating technology into the classroom and reducing time constraints as new configurations for the studied structures can be easily explored during class.

Cognitive Outcome Attainment of The Undergraduate Civil Engineering Students before and During COVID-19

This paper describes the performance of cognitive outcomes attainment of the undergraduate diploma in civil engineering students at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Johor Branch, Pasir Gudang Campus. Specifically, this study examined the different cognitive outcomes attained among this population from before until during the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) starting in the March 2020 semester. The study utilised data from the Programme Outcomes (POs) analysis by the Outcomes Based Education Committee every semester. This study identified different cognitive outcome attainments both before and during the COVID-19 semesters among students. The attainments used for the students are based on the Averaging Model, in which all courses contributing to the achievements are considered in the calculation of the cognitive outcomes average. The increase in percentages recorded from the result indicates that the shift to online learning has a useful effect on students’ performances in cognitive attribution. Findings also show that some assessment grades, such as assignments, quizzes, and tests during COVID-19 semesters, can possibly improve greater achievements in cognitive level among students. The study discusses the implementation and functional descriptions of the findings and how they would be beneficial to stakeholders.

Online Distance Learning (odl) Behavior During Covid-19: Socio-economy Perspective of Civil Engineering Undergraduate in A Malaysian Public University

Abstract: This study examined the entrepreneurial knowledge and skills of engineering graduates and the entrepreneurial mindset of engineers. It also examined how entrepreneurial knowledge and skills affect the mindset of the entrepreneurial engineer. The study population consists of twenty-five Jordanian public and private universities that offer engineering programs. Based on the results of an overview of the engineering study plans of these universities, four universities were selected (The University of Jordan, Princess Sumaya University for Technology, Al- Hussein Technical University, Al-Hussein Technical University, Al-Ahliyya Amman University). The total number of engineering graduates participating in this study and whose responses were valid for the analysis was 65 students who graduated between 2016 and 2022. The results of this study indicated that the average entrepreneurial knowledge and skills of engineering graduates ranged between average and good. The findings also indicated that there is a statistically significant positive correlation between the entrepreneurial knowledge and skills of engineering graduates and their entrepreneurialmindset. The study concluded that it is essential for undergraduate engineering students to acquire entrepreneurial knowledge and skills that support their engineering major, and lead them to think broadly about their future careers and opportunities. Thus, entrepreneurial knowledge and skills enhance their competitiveness in innovative and rapidly emerging engineering industries. The study recommended the inclusion of entrepreneurship knowledge and skills in all engineering curricula and courses in universities. Keywords: civil engineering undergraduate, Covid- 19, movement control order (MCO), online distance learning (ODL), socio-economy

Competency Evaluation using Graduate Attributes – A comparative study

The reformation in the education system is inevitable with the growth and advancement in the society. Thus, towards the end of the 20th century, there is a pedagogical transformation from the output-based education system to the outcome-based education system. Outcome based education is a student centric learning approach in which learning is set around specified goals (outcomes). It gives importance to the knowledge and skills acquired by students than what or how something is taught. The role of the faculty is as facilitator to help students in achieving desired outcomes. In this method, the purpose of any program is clearly specified in terms of Course Outcomes, Program Outcomes, Program Specific Outcomes, and Program Educational Objectives. The attainment of these outcomes is a measure of effectiveness of the program and the assessment of the same is monitored by various accreditation agencies in different parts of the world. After a series of discussions among these agencies, a set of graduate attributes are set forth as parameters for the assessment of the quality of education. In India, the accreditation agency is known as the National Board of Accreditation and the graduate attributes are named as program outcomes. A student graduating from an accredited program is considered a competent graduate. In this study, the competency of Civil Engineering graduates of selected institutes in Kerala state is compared in terms of these graduate attributes. The opinion of academicians and industry professionals regarding the preparedness of the current undergraduate civil engineering curriculum to develop “industry-ready engineers” is also discussed in the study. Keywords—attainment; competency; civil engineering curriculum; graduate attributes

The Integration of Digital Techniques in Engineering Education: A Case Study to Evaluate Student’s Motivation and Performance

The importance of a paradigm shift in the current traditional teaching strategies is becoming of high importance. Integrating disruptive technologies into undergraduate civil engineering students can improve their performance and motivation levels. Students were assessed on their ability to identify mistakes in a concrete design developed using Autodesk Revit®. The students were divided into three different groups and assessed using three different media: 2 dimensional plans (2D), 3 dimensional models (3D) and virtual reality (VR). The results have shown that 3D and VR students managed to score 54.9% and 62.5% respectively. 2D students scored 20.5%. This shows a substantial difference between VR and 3D relative to the 2D group. From the surveys conducted, it was also perceived that students found 3D and VR methods more motivating than the 2D traditional method. Spearman correlation also indicated a positive and medium to strong correlation between the level of motivation and performance of VR students. The results show that VR is a valid alternative to conventional methods of teaching. This study is part of an ongoing research effort related to utilization of VR in engineering education.

A Methodology for Embedding Building Information Modelling (BIM) in an Undergraduate Civil Engineering Program

Undergraduate programs face the permanent challenge of constantly transforming to keep an up-to-date curriculum according to globalization and internationalization processes. In the case of civil engineers, professional training should respond to the needs of the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operation (AECO) industry. In this context, Building Information Modelling (BIM) constitutes a process involving shared digital representations of built assets to facilitate design, construction, and operations processes within the industry to form a reliable base for decision-making. The present research develops a methodology and a proposal to embed BIM in an undergraduate civil engineering competency-based curriculum. Mixed method research was applied with a descriptive approach and a concurrent design. The results show that it is possible to implement a curricular design to embed BIM transversally. The study concludes that this design was embraced by the AECO industry, as the number of students, the number of employed graduates, and institutional national and international agreements have positively increased from 2017, at the launch of the program, to 2022.

Enhancing student creativity through an interdisciplinary, project-oriented problem-based learning undergraduate curriculum

To develop the creativity needed to confront the multi-faceted challenges of 21st Century sustainable development goals (SDGs), university students urgently need a curriculum framed around their solving real-world problems, such as what a Project-Oriented, Problem-Based Learning (POPBL) curriculum offers. Moreover, to build a functionally sustainable future, students should develop creativity through an interdisciplinary lens. This study used a quasi-experimental design to explore the impact of an interdisciplinary POPBL course with a participatory design pedagogy on university students’ engineering creativity. Four professors from future studies, architecture, engineering, and education disciplines designed and implemented the experimental curriculum. The curriculum incorporated three key concepts around creative design thinking: participatory design, future thinking, and visual communication. The experimental group consisted of 19 undergraduate students in the Engineering Design for Society course. The control group of 23 Civil Engineering undergraduates participated in the Civil Engineering Design course. The findings are: (1) The experimental group received significantly higher creativity scores on fluency, flexibility, originality, and usefulness. (2) The control group's scores regressed on the post-test. (3) The experimental group's higher scores indicated that interdisciplinary POPBL instruction combined with participatory design pedagogy can promote interdisciplinary creativity. The researchers propose the term empathetic-future thinking to describe the participatory design pedagogy centred on community-based feedback and interdisciplinary communication and teamwork. By developing a sense of empathy for cross-domain cognition and the end-users of the design, students enhanced the originality and usefulness of their design. Educators should incorporate empathetic-future thinking to develop students’ engineering creativity for achieving 21st Century SDGs.

Opportunities for the development of professional skills for undergraduate civil and environmental engineers

ABSTRACT Employability and skills development are contemporary issues in higher education. For vocational-professional disciplines, such as engineering, the signature pedagogy directs teaching and learning towards acquiring scientific knowledge. Engineering employers have called for graduates to be more work-ready and trained in team-working, communication and other professional skills. These skills can be developed and assessed within curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular settings. We consider how a sample of undergraduate civil engineers (N = 58) perceive the contribution of the above activities on the development of six professional skills (Problem-solving; Planning; Leadership; Team-working; Self-confidence; Resilience). Embedding these skills within curricular activities offers the greatest potential for helping all students improve their employment prospects. Finally, we make suggestions for improving the deployment of professional skills in our four undergraduate programmes, and higher education institutions in general.