Sustainabuildity: A Concrete Course

General description

Nowadays sustainability is a hot topic! But how can we, the engineers of tomorrow, contribute to the fight against global warming? Let’s make the world a greener place with 20 other great minds who think alike!

Say ‘YES’ to new adventures, surprising insights, infinitely fun and laughter and even more knowledge. We have a very motivated team of teachers that cannot wait to give you fascinating classes and labs about building in a more sustainable way. There will be a focus on both mechanical and civil solutions and improvements. In between these lecture, we will explore the medieval city of Ghent and experience the Belgian culture and traditions. Beside these highlights, get overwhelmed by tasty food and beers! Our energetic BEST group is all hyped up to receive you and other open minded students from all over Europe. Let these 10 days be miraculous, crazy and dreamily, but most of all sustainable!

Furthermore, you will have some soft skill training in this course! Those trainings will help you improve critical thinking, communication, problem-solving and so much more.

Put your (ecological) footprint in this memorable adventure!

Academic information

Fields of activity:
Architecture , Civil Engineering , Mechanical Engineering
Content and topics:
Sustainability lies at the heart of responsible engineering. By definition engineers work to improve the quality of life, but in doing so they have a duty to subsequent generations to minimise the impacts that engineering activities have upon the environment. Therefore it is vital that sustainability is a core consideration of any civil/mechanical engineering project – how can the solution be provided in a way that minimises material use, energy consumption, pollution emissions, waste generation, etc. and this with a focus on the construction period as well as the overall lifetime of the construction?
Learning goals and objectives:
The course seeks to develop within the students a comprehensive awareness of sustainability and the principles that underpin sustainable design and interlink them with all of their engineering skills, technical competencies and knowledge to enable them to produce project proposals that clearly demonstrate a holistic approach to providing engineering solutions. Following this series of lectures the students should understand how engineering forms an interface between the design (i.e., the idea how to provide a sustainable solution to a technical problem), its realisation (i.e. materials selection and manufacturing) and its implementation.
Examination type:
Project presentation or written exam.
ECTS credits issued:
None

Information for applicants

Selection criteria:
Motivation letter and answers to the questions. Interest in topic. Aiming for a diverse group of nationalities and cultures.

Practical arrangements

All of the following are covered by the event fee:

Lodging:
Dormitories
Meals:
Three meals per day, at least one hot meal. Coffee breaks between lecture/class.
Transportation:
Most transport will be by foot. Public transport will be used too (cost is included).