For university students (undergraduate and graduate) from civil engineering and architectural backgrounds
– Short Term:
- The project will instill timely, relevant and actionable knowledge to civil engineering and architectural students through hands-on and practical training on implementation of sustainability and circular economy concepts in at least four initially identified specific topics of civil engineering applications in a modular basis: Water Resources Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Structural/ Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Materials and Buildings; plus another module which is specifically intended to create the necessary information basis and awareness to natural habitat.
– Long Term:
- SUSTAIN-CE will enable students to acknowledge the importance and necessity of sustainable design of civil engineering structures and will encourage them to assimilate sustainable development as a principle guiding the many choices each engineer makes every day
For HEIs’ civil engineering departments and Research Institutes
– Short Term:
- SUSTAIN-CE will induce participating universities’ civil engineering departments to modify their educational offering with an innovative curriculum on a prominent topic. The Research Institutes will envision new research areas based on the vast field of sustainable design for civil engineering activities.
– Long term:
- Participating universities and research institutes, which will integrate the recommended course syllabi and training deployment methods into their existing curricula, will gain a significant competitive advantage over their counterparts on pan-European scale, possibly attracting not only more students and funding but also embarking new collaboration opportunities. Through SUSTAIN-CE’s guidelines (O5) and developed materials, non-participating HEIs will also have the opportunity to integrate SD/CE contents in their curricula.
For civil engineers and architects working in design and construction
– Short Term:
- SUSTAIN-CE will create an awareness and increase the knowledge of practicing engineers and architects through hands-on and practical training on implementation of sustainability and circular economy concepts in civil engineering design applications.
– Long term:
- The knowledge and awareness gained during the activities of SUSTAIN-CE will enable civil engineers and architects to acquire a significant competitive advantage over their fellow engineers on a pan-European scale. The engaged engineers and architects acquire the know-how to initiate new SD and CE related activity areas in their profession.
For City Planning and Urban Development Departments of Municipalities
– Short Term:
- Civil engineers and architects working at these offices will infuse contemporary and actionable knowledge on sustainability on sustainable design of civil engineering structures.
– Long term:
- Knowledge gained by the engineers and architects of the municipalities will be implemented in the civil works of relative cities or towns. Transforming the cities and towns into sustainable living environments.
For Chambers of Civil Engineers and Architects.
– Short Term:
- The Education Committees (EC) of Chamber of Civil Engineers and Architects in European countries are active participants of the civil engineering undergraduate education. For example, the EC of Chamber of Civil Engineers in Turkey annually publishes a report on civil engineering education. In these annual reports, not only the current education trends are reported, but also recommendations on how the civil engineering education should be upgraded are presented. Chambers of Civil Engineers and Architects are associated partners of SUSTAIN-CE and in short-term the results obtained from the project will be used by their ECs in their reports as recommendations.
– Long Term:
- ECs’ recommendations are generally followed by the national civil engineering and architectural departments. In long-term, EC’s have the potential to guide national civil engineering and architectural departments to integrate sustainable design and circular economy concepts into their curricula.
At the local, regional, national and European level
- Local Level: The improvement of civil engineering in the curriculum will present the vitality of the CE and SD to the civil engineering students. It will prepare them for the future challenges and the change in the incentives and regulations for SD and CE. The universities that adopt the new curriculum will be attempting to be part of the solution of the challenge of the era and saving the world for future generations. As a result, the universities and the engineers will become highly competitive.
- Regional Level: The regional stakeholders such as municipalities, the chamber of civil engineers, cement producers etc. will contribute the development of the curriculum through Focus Groups and multiplier events. These events not only provide feedback to the project but also reverse-feedback to these stakeholders and increase their awareness. It will force them to think and ask questions on the subject. Therefore, in the short-term a change in their approach to the SD and CE could be expected. In the long term, the developed sensitivity is expected to steer their decisions become SD and CE friendly. The civil engineering graduates that go through the new innovative curriculum will be able to perform the necessary tasks with the new approach. The local people, economy and the environment will benefit from these changes.
- The National Level: It is a fact that the current trend on the consumption and destruction of the living environment is not sustainable. Therefore every nation is trying/will try to find ways to change it. This is vital for the future prosperity of all the nations. Considering that the civil engineering activities consume about half of the energy and raw materials and produce the
- one third of the waste [58, 67], any saving from these activities will have big impact on the national level. Assimilation of the SD and CE methods to civil engineering practices is a priori for such and effect and it should be starting at the university level for civil engineering candidates and through training of the existing body of engineers and architects. The proposed project will provide the basis for such an attempt. The impact at the national level will be an opportunity to decrease level of energy, raw materials and waste output. The engineers that design responsibly to increase the life span, to select schemes that permit re-use and to manage to use the structure as a source of raw material at the end of their design lifetimes will provide this basis.
- European and International Level: As it is stated in the Reflection Paper Towards a sustainable Europe by 2030, circular economy should be made a backbone of the EU industrial strategy. The European Union has put in place a comprehensive legislative and regulatory framework, including corresponding European standards as well as financial tools, information platforms, labelling schemes and other instruments for this purpose. Therefore, construction industry should be oriented toward this purpose. The new approach to construction necessitates engineers that are adapt in such concepts and applications. The engineers and stakeholders educated through the new innovative curriculum are expected to take responsibility towards the stated goals by the EU. Contribution to transforming European Higher Education & Research Institutes to Entrepreneurial Institutes Contribution to the transformation of higher education students to European Entrepreneurs