Scrutiny of the Bachelor of Civil Engineering (Hons) reveals that it is currently highly focused on engineering science and technical courses with limited integration of topics compared to real-world practice. Engineers today must constantly deal with regulatory uncertainty, data limitations, evolving methodologies, and a range of conflicting demands and opinions from clients, governments, public authorities and the community. Consequently, they need to understand (and be able to apply) sound engineering principles to the projects they undertake.

These principles involve technical competence, ethical practice, appropriate management, professionalism, courtesy, safety awareness, and thorough task execution. Relevant skills include (but are not limited to) problem-solving expertise, proficiency in liaison and negotiation (with both professional bodies and individuals), research and report preparation competence, and good communication ability. In addition, engineers must cope with continual technological and organisational change in the workplace and the commercial realities of industry practice. They should also be generally aware of the legal and environmental consequences of their professional actions and commit to ongoing learning and contributions to their organisation, profession, and the community.

Therefore, to facilitate the transition of the final-year students and prepare them for the tasks they will likely face once they join their respective services, the course aims to enhance the learning process through authentic problem-solving. Students pursuing this course must work in teams and attend supplementary lectures, demonstration sessions and other regular meetings. These may include both team meetings and other project-related activities.

The course has been developed as a “project-based” assessment scheme, focusing on students taking leadership in project activities under minimum supervision. Students must understand that the course outcomes will not only consider the learnings from this unit but will recapture the whole learning experience in a four-year degree period. Therefore, the lecture series intends to provide additional knowledge in broader areas of civil engineering, not just focus on the project itself.

The scheduled regular teaching session is 6 hours weekly. Extra consultation can be arranged with teaching staff at the agreed time and in various forms. Students are expected to work seven additional hours each week on the project, conducting weekly project meetings and project-related activities.