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A Model for the Post-Bachelor’s Degree Education of Structural Engineers Through a Collaboration Between Industry and Academia

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Conference

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Vancouver, BC

Publication Date

June 26, 2011

Start Date

June 26, 2011

End Date

June 29, 2011

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

The CE Profession: Perspectives from the U.S. & Canada

Tagged Division

Civil Engineering

Page Count

10

Page Numbers

22.66.1 - 22.66.10

DOI

10.18260/1-2--17348

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/17348

Download Count

764

Paper Authors

biography

Martin E. Bollo British Columbia Institute of Technology

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Martin Bollo is a Faculty member at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in Burnaby, B.C., Canada. He joined BCIT in 2000 after ten years of consulting engineering experience in California and British Columbia. He is a registered P.E., P.Eng. and S.E., and is a member of the Certificate in Structural Engineering Program Committee of the Structural Engineers Association of British Columbia (SEABC). He was a founding member of the SEABC in 2005, and was a past President of its predecessor, the Vancouver Structural Engineers Group Society.

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biography

Carlos Estuardo Ventura University of British Columbia

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Carlos Ventura is a Civil Engineer with specializations in structural dynamics and earthquake engineering. He has been a faculty member of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada since 1992. He is currently the Director of the Earthquake Engineering Research Facility (EERF) at UBC, and is the author of more than 300 papers and reports on earthquake engineering, structural dynamics and modal testing. He is a member of several national and international professional societies and advisory committees. Dr. Ventura has conducted research on effects of earthquakes for more than thirty years. His current research is focused on the development of performance-based guidelines for seismic retrofit of schools. In addition to his academic activities, Dr. Ventura is a recognized international consultant on structural vibrations and safety of large Civil Engineering structures.

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Abstract

A Model for the Post-Bachelor’s Degree Education of Structural Engineers Through a Collaborative Effort Between Industry and AcademiaThere has been much discussion in the engineering community on the challenges of suitablycovering the ever-expanding engineering knowledge base within a four-year curriculum. Thishas in turn led to arguments for a requirement for additional post-Bachelor’s degree courseworksuch as the M/30 (Master’s Degree or equivalent) requirement proposed by the AmericanSociety for Civil Engineering. A comparable general concern exists in Canada that universitygraduates are not well-prepared with sufficient knowledge for working in structural designoffices.This paper presents a model for preparing structural engineers for practice, especially inconsulting firms, through a series of courses organized and offered through a collaborative effortbetween local practicing engineers and university faculty members. Courses are offered on apart-time studies basis, and are delivered by instructors drawn from local practicing engineersand nearby universities. Students taking the courses are a mixture of recent graduates,experienced practicing engineers, and recent immigrants looking to learn about local codes andpractices. A certificate is awarded upon completion of sufficient core and optional courses. Themodel has been implemented in the development of twenty-five courses, delivered to over 2,100course registrants over a ten year period.The development and format of the program are described, along with some lessons learned bythe organizing body in the process of operating and improving the program over its history. Thismodel for post-Bachelor’s degree education could also be applied to other sub-disciplines ofCivil Engineering as well as other engineering disciplines in general.

Bollo, M. E., & Ventura, C. E. (2011, June), A Model for the Post-Bachelor’s Degree Education of Structural Engineers Through a Collaboration Between Industry and Academia Paper presented at 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Vancouver, BC. 10.18260/1-2--17348

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