Education in civil engineering : sustainable construction

Abstract

Education for sustainable development is an emerging but important field of in- terest in Higher Education, which requires a major shift in the way students are taught and how they learn within Higher Education Institutions. The construction industry addresses sustainable construction, and graduates are expected to develop sustainable literacy as an essential profes- sional skill. The COST Action C25 "Sustainability of Constructions - Integrated Approach to Life-time Structural Engineering" was a network of scientists and researchers, established to promote science-based developments in sustainable construction in Europe through research on life-time structural engineering. The C25 International Symposium and Training School "Sus- tainable Construction: A Life Cycle Approach in Engineering", were organised in Malta in 2010 and were hosted by the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Faculty for the Built Environment of the University of Malta. The International Symposium and Training School in Sustainable Construction were an important milestone in the activities of the COST Action C25. In addition the events can be considered as an important and effective exercise in Education for Sustainable Development. This paper presents a review of Education in Sustain- able Development, and an assessment of the Symposium and Training School, recognised as important events in Education in Civil Engineering Education: Sustainable Construction. The teaching material developed for the Training School, can be used as a basis for the development of teaching material on Sustainable Construction and useful to assist with the curriculum reform in participating universities.