Students from the European Union wishing to study in Britain from the 2021 academic year will have to pay higher fees because of Brexit, the UK government has confirmed. Until now, EU students shared the same status as their British counterparts and as such paid the same fees. They could also access UK government loans to pay those fees. Currently, British and EU nationals pay fees of up to £9,250 (€10,210) per year for an undergraduate degree. 👉 Visit Structures Insider's homepage for more stories.👈 As per Euronews: Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute think tank, described the government decision as "not a huge surprise". He also went to add: "Moreover, history suggests that the education on offer in our universities is something people are willing to pay for," he went on, calling for the government to nevertheless "adopt sensible post-Brexit migration rules". Currently, British and EU nationals pay fees of up to £9,250 (€10,210) per year for an undergraduate degree. The fees for international students vary from between £10,000 (€11,040) and £38,000 (€41,945) depending on the university and the degree. Nevertheless, EUROPE'S Universities offer one of the best courses for studying Civil Engineering. Here are a couple of the top of the top 1. TU Delft, The Netherlands 🇳🇱 Delft University of Technology (Dutch: Technische Universiteit Delft) also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technological university and it is located in Delft, Netherlands. It is consistently ranked as the best university in the Netherlands and as of 2020, it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among the top 15 engineering and technology universities in the world. The university has eight faculties and numerous research institutes, it has more than 19,000 students (undergraduate and postgraduate) and employs more than 2,900 scientists and 2,100 support and management staff. https://www.tudelft.nl/en/education/programmes/bachelors/ct/bachelor-of-civil-engineering/ DEGREE INFO 📐🏗 Degree: BSc Civil Engineering Starts: September Study load: 180 EC, 36 months Working Language: Dutch Faculty: Civil Engineering and Geosciences (CEG) Form: Full time - on campus Tuition Fees: Dutch/EU students - € 2,143 Non-EU students - € 14,500 For Tuition fees more in-depth info: Read more here For Admission Requirments in-depth info click here FIELDS OF STUDY CAMPUS in Delft 2. The University of Pécs (PTE), Hungary 🇭🇺 The University of Pécs(PTE, Hungarian: Pécsi Tudományegyetem) is an institution of higher education in Hungary. Although the year 1367 appears in the seal of the university, it is not a successor of the medieval university founded in Pécs in 1367 by Louis I of Hungary. More than 20,000 students presently attend the University of Pécs, approximately 4,000 of whom are international students studying in English or Hungarian. DEGREE INFO 📐🏗 Degree: BSc Civil Engineering Starts: September Study load: 8 semesters Working Language: English or Hungarian Faculty: Department of Civil Engineering Form: Full time - on campus Tuition Fees: 3.400 USD (€ 3,012) per semester semester Total per year= $6,800 You can apply for this bachelor degree here For Admission Requirments in-depth info click here Course Overview This program is accredited by the Institute of Smart Technology and Engineering and meets the requirements to train innovative, up-to-date civil engineers who go on to design cities with structure. This wide-ranging scientific and engineering field covers large structures and constructions, building engineering, infrastructure management like bridges and highways, and municipal water and wastewater systems. Study of these fields comprises of learning classical engineering sciences such as mathematics, natural sciences and economics. In addition to engineering subjects, the program provides training in computers and communication skills. Here is the curriculum of the course : Source: PTE faculty of Engineering and Information Technology 3. Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania 🇱🇹 Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) is a public research university located in Kaunas, Lithuania initially established on January 27, 1920. With an increased rate of staffing and attendance, the school was instituted as the first independent higher education institution within Lithuania by the government on February 16, 1922. Renamed Vytautas Magnus in 1930, the university specialized in four areas: civil engineering, mechanics, electrical engineering, and chemical technology. KTU Vision Faculty is aiming to be an authority in Construction, engineering and architecture fields, offering top-quality studies and conducting first-rate research. KTU Mission To carry out Civil engineering and architecture studies based on research and innovation on an international level. To contribute to the achievement of country and region-specific objectives of the sustainable environment through scientific and advisory activities, to train highly skilled architects and construction engineers. DEGREE INFO 📐🏗 Degree: BSc Civil Engineering (Bachelor of Engineering Sciences) Starts: September Study load: 4 years (240ECTS) Working Language: English ( IELTS≥5.5, TOEFL≥75, CEFR≥B2, or equivalent) Faculty: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture Form: Full time - on campus Tuition Fees: €2,951 per year You can apply for this bachelor degree here For Admission Requirments in-depth info click here Top reasons to study at KTU: 1. Building Information Modelling (BIM), applied in the study process, equips the students with the insight and tools to more efficiently plan, design, construct, and manage buildings and infrastructure. 2. Wide range of industry partners provides the students hands-on experience in the class and on the site. The best students may be offered to be employed after successful practice. 3. Testing ideas and technological solutions at professionals’ competitions “Technorama”, “Smart City”, “Structum”. Source: fcea.ktu.edu Source: euronews Read more: 5 Structures you can't miss when visiting Madrid, Spain Planning a trip to Cologne? This is everything you need to know about Cologne Cathedral What's the most impressive ancient structure in the world?

by Civils.ai Constantly re-reading the new starter instructions, not being able to sleep the night before, wearing overly formal clothes for the first (and last) time to the office, feeling like every question you ask is stupid, and being walked around and introduced to everyone in the team. The first day of work for Civil Engineer’s is awkward, but exciting and is definitely a lasting memory. Here I will cover 5 things I wish I’d known as a new starter in the construction industry. 5. If you didn’t already take an internship then you could be in for a surprise. The truth is that most Civil Engineering degrees will give you a ‘foundation’ (excuse the pun) of knowledge. After you graduate, you will be able to understand the principles of Engineering and perhaps some general understanding of management and business. Unless you took an internship or worked on a construction site before you will not have experienced an angry Foreman asking why the steel beams which arrived on the site are 30cm too short, on a rainy Tuesday morning, whilst stood in a muddy field. Civil Engineer’s are generally the reliable, highly educated members of any construction project and you should expect to not always be sat in your comfortable office but being pulled into any duties where they need someone to be held accountable. The majority of Engineers working in the industry are not in design roles, in fact only around 4% of a project budget is usually spent on design and therefore you may draw upon your foundational knowledge developed at University from time to time but you may actually end up quite far removed from it. 4. You will usually be protected from the realities of the job, for a while. Within a month or two of working the job most graduates I meet start to seek more responsibility than they are given. It’s great to be ambitious. But the undeniable truth is that until they have worked for 2 or 3 years their understanding of the intricate relationships between the different parties working on construction projects still needs to be developed. Ego’s need to be massaged. Politics needs to be played. Mistakes can be costly. Managers are ultimately responsible for who they assign to projects and the varying levels of responsibility which are given. Most graduates don’t realize that managers are protecting them from the realities of the industry, not just for the good of the graduates but also because the manager will be held accountable if something goes wrong. 3. Finding technical references and past project references is really important. Nearly all Engineers you come across (with a few notable exceptions) will want you to find past examples of calculations and technical information to use on their new project. You will get asked, “where have you done this before?” The reason for this is simple, copy and paste with a little amendment is far easier than starting something from scratch. Although every once in a while you will work on something new and sometimes revolutionary, the reality is most work has already been done before in some form or another and it can be repurposed, saving time and project budget. Finding these references though can be a challenge, if you don’t have references yourself and no one in your department has any technical references then you will need to search online. Luckily civils.ai has a great source of information for Civil Engineers to use including geotechnical, structural, and tunneling open-source calculations. They are building a database of supplier technical data and digitized boreholes and making it all open and available to Engineers around the world. Read more about Career Advice here 2. Focus on building relationships Relationships are an almost unspoken key element of the industry. The construction industry is traditional. Quite often a problem can be resolved by a senior manager simply stating the same words a junior engineer has repeatedly been saying. This can be because of track record, a prior history of working together, and being old drinking buddies. Whatever the reason, relationships are key to resolving issues and being efficient. My advice to fresh graduates is to focus on making great relationships with your colleagues, especially those around your same level as one day you will be in higher positions in the industry, and your relationship could be incredibly valuable and help you sleep better at night if things are not going well on a project. Try joining an Engineering institution, or an Industry society, or simply attend conferences and network to really get ahead with this. 1. Most managers don’t want you to reinvent the wheel I made this mistake myself. Perhaps it’s from a childhood spent playing with lego too much and a vivid imagination. The first design handed to me was for a temporary works design of a basket for lifting specialist materials on site. Instead of trying to find a previous design of such baskets I decided to try and create my own revolutionary basket design, welded together with a wide range of different steel section sizes and types. I didn’t discuss it closely with my boss until nearing the end of the initial design process, with my intention being to impress him with my design skills. I think it’s safe to say he was quite horrified with my Frankenstein-like design and angry at me for wasting my time. He passed me an example design and said to amend it instead. It’s important to understand you may have ambitions to be the best Engineer ever to enter the industry but try to understand your manager's requirements first. Insight from Civils.ai founder Stevan Lukic

The Functional organization structure Source: PowerSlides This structure provides the framework for the activities of the organization and must harmonize with its goals and objectives. A functional structure is based on top-down hierarchy levels that include different departments that group individuals by specialization, common knowledge, and skills (indeed, 2021). Some advantages of functional structures are increased productivity and efficiency because specialist departments work independently of each other with minimal supervision which offers work to be completed faster (indeed, 2021). Specialist groups having common skills and knowledge creates an environment of clarity that allows the company to tap into high-level information related to a specific topic (MasterClass, 2022). Disadvantages of Functional Structure Furthermore, some disadvantages include the potential competition between departments in inter-department collaborations since each department has its own set of specific goals which sometimes results in the distortion of the company’s broader goals and objectives. It is the manager's responsibility to maintain a harmonious work environment which could be a difficult task as poor communication is present across functional areas (MasterClass, 2022). Decision-making is inefficient as formal approvals from management are required which in time-pressured situations may slow the delivery of a project (indeed, 2021). Recommended to you: Cost, Time and Quality | The Golden Triangle in Construction The Matrix organization structure Source: Asana The matrix structure allows the integration of various engineering specialist departments to work in a project lead environment through a two-way flow of authority and responsibility of project managers (horizontally) and specialist engineer managers (vertical direct chain of command). This structure provides a stable base for specialized activities and a permanent location for staff (Mullins, 2016), which allows for efficient use of resources and sharing of skills that reduce overhead costs and project time completion (Asana, 2021). Advantages of a Matrix Structure Compared to a hierarchical structure, a matrix has the pros of allowing free flow of information between departments which increases team productivity, offers greater security and project information control and gets the project done more effectively which was one of the issues identified in Arundel’s SWOT analysis (Asana, 2021) (Mullins, 2016). Disadvantages of a Matrix Structure Nevertheless, the matrix structure has some disadvantages. The structure can overcomplicate operations and be time-consuming as to who to report to due to the presence of two leaders (Asana, 2021) (Mullins, 2016). Divided loyalties and role conflicts can arise, if staff is brought into this structure at a later stage of their careers, which will potentially require supportive training programs to help staff develop their conflict resolution and teamwork skills (Senior & Swailes, 2016). It should be stated that developing an effective matrix organization takes time and patience to learn its new roles and behavior which makes it harder for the management to implement it (Kolodny, 1981). Hence, a potential phased transition period of organizational change should be curried out. Discover: Construction Finance at Coursera What you will learn: Construction Project Management introduces you to Project Initiation and Planning. Industry experts join Columbia University professor, Ibrahim Odeh, to give an overview of the construction industry. Professor Odeh teaches the fundamentals of the Project Development Cycle while guest lecturers discuss the Lean Project Delivery method and Lean Design Behaviors. Technological advances, such as Building Information Modeling, will be introduced with real-world examples of the uses of BIM during the Lifecycle of the Project. The course concludes with Professor Odeh discussing the importance of project planning and scheduling and an opportunity to develop a Work Breakdown Structure. Take the free Course Now BONUS information: Working Groups v Teams Source: Asana Groups and teams are essential features of any organisation. The understanding of both systems is vital for the success of a business. Groups A group is a collective of individuals that coordinate their efforts to share information and make decisions independently and have individual accountability towards the collective objective (Asana B, 2021) (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). Groups are great for efficiency, career growth, specialization, and doing parallel work. However, groups lack team bonding and teamwork, communication efficiency, and lack organizational clarity. Teams Teams are defined by a shared purpose and responsibility of team members who are both individual and mutually accountable. Sharing of information and collective decision-making increases collective performance and promotes innovation (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993) (Asana B, 2021). Some of the advantages of teams are, improved productivity, quicker problem solving, and better communication. However, drawbacks are the reduction in efficiency and low individual growth as the collective is more important than the individual. A comparison of both groups and teams is illustrated below. REFERENCES Asana, 2021. What is a matrix organization and how does it work?. [Online] Available at: https://asana.com/resources/matrix-organization [Accessed 6 March 2022]. indeed.com, 2021. 4 Types of Organizational Structures. [Online] Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/functional-structure [Accessed 2 March 2022]. Kolodny, H. F., 1981. In: Managing in a Matrix. s.l.:Business horizons, pp. 17-24. Kreitner, R., Kinicki, A. & Buelens, M., 1999. Organizational Behaviour. In: f. E. edition, ed. s.l.:McGraw-Hill. masterClass.com, 2022. Functional Structure: 3 Characteristics of Functional Structure. [Online] Available at: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/functional-structure#3-key-characteristics-of-functional-structure [Accessed 6 March 2022]. MindTools, 2022. Herzberg's Motivators and Hygiene Factors Learn How to Motivate Your Team. [Online] Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/herzberg-motivators-hygiene-factors.htm [Accessed 3 March 2022]. Mullins, L. J., 2016. Management and organisational behaviour. 11th ed. London: Pearson . OpenLearn, 2022. 3.5.2 Handy’s four types of organisational cultures. [Online] Available at: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/money-business/leadership-management/management-perspective-and-practice/content-section-3.5.2 [Accessed 12 March 2022]. Senior, B. & Swailes, S., 2016. Organizational Change. 5th Edition ed. s.l.:Pearson. Xiaoming, C. & Junchen, H., 2012. A Literature review on organisation culture and corporate performance. International Jourrnal of Business Administration, 3(2), pp. 28-37.

by Good Foundations Engineering Tutors In your later years of study, you will be performing project design tasks that simulate the work required of a practicing engineer. There are a number of resources available to help with these tasks that will also be useful in the years to come as a graduate engineer. Institution memberships (UK-based) A student membership in professional institutions is valuable to students for two reasons. Firstly a student membership entitles you to access resources useful to your studies including design guides and manuals. The Institution of Structural Engineers (IstructE) publishes a series of technical guidance notes that set out clearly how to perform design tasks such as designing steel and concrete elements to the Eurocodes. They also provide guidance on areas less well covered in university and likely useful for your design projects such as best practices for engineering drawings and typical construction methods. Secondly, a student membership of a professional institution is attractive to employers who will see it as a sign that you are dedicated to the profession, and already starting on the path to becoming a chartered engineer. When you graduate you are able to move along the pathway of the institutions to become a graduate member, before embarking on your development to become a fully chartered member. For the IstructE the final stage is a 1-day technical examination. Companies that value chartered engineers are more likely to be employers committed to technical excellence and ethical engineering practice. They are also more likely to support their young engineers to become chartered. Find out more about the IstructE membership here Structural Engineers Pocket Book The Structural Engineers Pocket Book is a valuable resource for practicing engineers and engineering students. Useful chapters cover: Design data: typical weights, typical loads Shortcut tools for structural analysis Timber/Masonry/Reinforced Concrete/Structural Steel/Composite Steel and Concrete/Structural Glass Sustainability The pocketbook is a useful resource to have handy for quick concept design stage calculations. It is available free to read online for members of the IstructE, or can be purchased online for approximately £20. Steelconstruction.info Steel construction info identifies itself as the free encyclopedia of UK steel construction information. There is a large amount of useful free information on the site including design guides produced by the Steel Construction Institute. Some useful free guides include: Design of Steel Portal Frame Buildings to Eurocode 3 Structural Robustness of Steel Framed Buildings Steel Building Design - Concise Eurocodes The Concise Eurocode document is particularly useful as it condenses and explains the lengthy and somewhat reader unfriendly Eurocode 3 into a more manageable document. There is also a link to the interactive ‘blue book'‘- an online resource that provides section property data is provided as well as tables of member resistances. Simple design tools are also provided that can be used to quickly assess the capacity of steel members. These tools are particularly useful for verifying hand calculations. You can access steelconstruction.info here. The Concrete Centre The Concrete Centre provides published guidance, seminars, courses, online resources, and industry research which is valuable to practicing engineers and students alike. Some of this guidance is free - some useful free publications include: How to design RC Flat Slabs using Finite Element Analysis Structural Design of concrete and masonry: A compendium of technical papers Multi-storey concrete car-parks The Concrete Centre also runs a program of free webinars that cover themes such as sustainability, best practice in design, and how-to guides. A range of case studies is also highlighted that will be of interest to students who are passionate about concrete design. They can also be used to give students ideas on companies to add to a shortlist of possible employers (especially if concrete design and technical excellence are priorities). The concrete centre can be accessed here. Note by Will Whiting. Will is an engineering tutor and founder of Good Foundations Engineering Tutors. Good Foundations connects engineering students with industry-experienced tutors, guiding and inspiring the next generation of engineers. Please visit the website for more information.

by 2050 Materials If you have ever been involved in a construction project from inception to completion, you probably heard the term “VE” tens, if not hundreds of times. On pretty much every project out there, of any size, a value engineering exercise has taken place in one form or another. Either formally through a team workshop, or over a phone call with the contractor. So what is the value engineering process? By definition, value is the ratio of function to cost. It can be increased by either reducing the cost or improving the function of a certain element, product, or service. It is a systemic team brainstorming approach, which allows for the discovery of better-performing alternatives. It generally involves 5 key phases: The information phase: Understanding the background and reasoning of the existing design, and why an alternative solution would meet the client’s objectives better while providing more value. The creative phase: A brainstorming session, or any of them. This is where the design team and other team members get creative and look at potential alternative ideas for the elements in the discussion. The analysis phase: This is the elimination process of impractical creative ideas. All remaining proposals worthy of further evaluation undergo further development, often focusing on other impacts beyond cost such as aesthetics or sustainability. The development phase: Here, the remaining ideas evolve into workable solutions, including an outline of pros and cons, sketches, detailed descriptions, cost-benefit analyses, and so on. The presentation phase: A detailed session including the final recommendation to the client for implementation approval. Recommended: ISO 1040 Life Cycle Assessment framework - Explained In construction, value engineering is a powerful tool for quality and cost improvements. It is a process where systems, logistics plans, design strategies, and building materials are reviewed, reassessed, and substituted to reduce capital costs, without negatively impacting functionality. It is all about looking at the bigger picture through a strong collective team effort while striving to maximize the quality and value of the project. Unfortunately, sustainability is still a secondary consideration in value engineering exercises today. At 2050 Materials, we are democratizing sustainability and enabling environmental impact considerations alongside cost for value engineering exercises, at any project stage. Who is involved and when? Value engineering feeds on collaboration, and it includes most of the project stakeholders throughout all project phases. At every project lifecycle stage, detailed input on value engineering decisions is required from team members with varying expertise and experience, such as: The client/owner/investor The architect The structural/services/sound/fire engineers The project manager The quantity surveyor The contractor, sub-contractors, and so on For example, in the early stages, any changes or improvements in value are highly dependent on the professional consultants and the design team. During the construction phase, however, the contractor needs to be heavily involved and provide advice on the feasibility of any proposed change, as well as the impact it may have on the program and cost. Value engineering can happen at any time during a project, but as you would imagine the benefits are greatest at the project inception or early design stages. The need for abortive works or delays can easily reach prohibitive levels for any VE consideration to be effective later on… If you want to be proactive and ahead of the game on your project, follow our LinkedIn page to stay up to date with our launch. It’s not all about programme and cost The construction sector is responsible for 39% of greenhouse gas emissions globally. Decarbonizing the sector is one of the most critical and effective actions on the global climate change mitigation agenda. Annual global emissions are projected to be 52–58Gt.CO2e by 2030, approximately double to what the planet needs in order to stay below 1.5˚C (ICE, 2021). Obviously, the need for change is real. Just like value engineering can be utilized to generate improvements between functionality and cost, it can also be used to enhance the sustainability performance of construction projects. In the face of the climate emergency, new regulations and sector targets (also see here) are coming into play, adding a new dimension to the value engineering process. The embodied carbon of construction materials can reach up to 50% of lifecycle emissions for the average building, yet project teams and clients tend to still view it as a “nice-to-have” consideration. According to a study conducted in Sydney, last April results indicated that by evaluating an alternative structural framing option made of timber during the VE exercise, embodied carbon was reduced by up to 26%, and even cost was reduced 5%. Timing is key. The UKGBC released the Whole Life Carbon Roadmap for the built environment earlier this month, calling for investors and lenders to set embodied carbon targets in project briefs and project funding criteria. It also calls for carbon literacy improvements and more investment in training plans for project teams, both at an educational but also “standards and guidance” level. At the end of the day, carbon and circularity considerations in value engineering exercises must be comprehended, evaluated, and managed by project teams themselves. It’s not all about programme and cost, it’s time to change priorities. Clearly, the environmental benefits are massive when integrating sustainability metrics into value engineering exercises, but by implementing sustainable design practices on their projects, clients also “future-proof” their assets. They gain far greater marketing and competitive advantages integrated within their portfolio, due to societal benefits and compliance. How can you include sustainability in the VE process? Project teams need the appropriate tool that enables easy substantiation for the use of natural, low-carbon, and climate-neutral materials in lieu of conventional materials and methods. If you have a new project or an upcoming VE exercise on your existing project, reach out to us to find out how we can help you find, compare and justify truly sustainable products today.

by Good Foundations Engineering Tutors CV Best Practice It’s crucial to have your CV in good shape when you are applying for graduate engineering jobs. In a competitive market, an average CV is enough to eliminate you from the hiring process at the first hurdle. This note will step you through the most important things to do when creating your CV. Formatting A simple well organised CV will be better able to convey the important information to the employer. The key elements of a simple, well-formatted CV are: Simple and repeated font types. Use 1 font type with only 1 or 2 variations (eg increased size, bold) for headings Ensure alignment is simple and consistent; Horizontal lines can be used as section breaks; A short CV is best (2-4 pages); Sections should be nicely spaced out and follow a simple reverse chronological order. (personal details - introduction – accreditation/qualifications - employment history – education – interests/other – referees) Cover Letter A cover letter should be included that specifically addresses the company and the advertised role. The cover letter should be brief (2-3 short paragraphs) and cover who you are, your engineering background, and why you are applying for the role. The cover letter can be formatted like a traditional letter and include your name and address in the top right-hand corner. Personal Details Your CV should include your name, email address, and phone number. Other personal details, such as date of birth, nationality, and a photograph should not be included. Introduction The introduction to your CV should be one short paragraph that functions as an executive summary. This might cover your degree and any specialisations, your relevant work experience, your goals and engineering areas of interest, and your best skills. In listing your skills it’s best not to be too general (for example easy-going is too general). Mentioning your excellent analytical and problem-solving skills is ok (if that is reflected within your CV). Accreditation/Qualifications In this section, you should mention your professional qualifications or memberships. If you are applying for graduate engineering jobs it is a good idea to become a graduate member of the ICE or IStructE as it shows your commitment to the profession and your interest in becoming a chartered engineer. You can also list any other short training courses or certificates you may have achieved (for example health and safety certifications). Employment History Your employment history should be in reverse chronological order with your latest position listed first. As a graduate student, your employment may not be engineering specific but it is still of interest to employers. You should also list any summer placements you may have undertaken as part of your engineering study. More emphasis should be placed on any positions that were engineering relevant. For each employment position, you should try to address what were the key accomplishments and experiences gained from the position. If you have previous engineering experience you should list the projects that you worked on, followed by any key experience gained. A useful way to summarise your project experience is by following this format: Project Name, Client, Location. Project Value £x. Brief description For example: Richardson Road Student Accommodation, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne. Project value £6 million. Six blocks modular student accommodation. Key experience gained: design development and co-ordination with modular unit manufacturers. Design of steel podium frame and concrete foundations to Eurocodes. Education List your education in reverse chronological order, starting with your engineering degree. This can include your secondary school education. Include any awards or positions of note achieved during your studies. Interests A very brief section describing your interests can be included. This adds a bit more flavour to your CV and gives the employer a more rounded picture of you as a person. When you review a company’s website you can often see what outside passions the current staff tend to have. For example, they might mention charity rides, sports days, or volunteering in the local community. It is worth investigating to see if there are any aligned interests and including these on your CV. Interests don’t have to be engineering specific, it's probably a good idea to include at least a couple of different interests to show your well-rounded, balanced nature. Referees It isn’t required to list referees on your CV, although it is common practice to state referees available upon request. Ideally, you should have at least two people in mind to provide a reference if requested. This could be a trusted lecturer at university, a supervisor from a summer placement, or even a superior from non-engineering employment. Conclusion Following the above advice will ensure your CV is simple, concise, and conveys the relevant information to employers. Article by Good Foundations Engineering Tutors Note by Will Whiting. Will is an engineering tutor and founder of Good Foundations Engineering Tutors. Good Foundations have helped graduate engineers gain jobs and placements at some of the UK’s best engineering consultancies. Please visit the website for more information.

What is a Cash Flow? The cash flow model is a valuation method used to estimate the value of an investment based on its expected future cash flows. Cash flow model analysis attempts to figure out the value of an investment today, based on projections of how much money it will generate in the future. This applies to the decisions of investors in companies or securities, such as acquiring a company or buying a stock, and for business owners and managers looking to make capital budgeting or operating expenditures decisions. info from Investopedia Cash flow Model Assumptions General, Technical and Financial assumptions considered in this cash flow model example are listed below in Tables 1 to 3.​ General Assumptions Table 1 - General assumptions of the base cash flow model Technical Assumptions ​​​ Table 2 - Technical assumptions of the base cash flow model Financial Assumptions Table 3 - Financial assumptions of the base cash flow model Cashflow Model Cash Flow Model Results Base Cash Flow Model results in summary Based on the cash flow model shown above the project under investigation is deemed viable and profitable to the equity investors involved. As shown in Table 4, an equity IRR of 11% and project IRR of 5.33% is calculated in the overall 20-year period assessed in the model. A low DSCR of 1.03 is found in year 5 due to the first loan repayment happening that year (see Table 3). The DSCR however increases to a high of 1.57 in the last year of the loan tenor. The minimum interest cover ratio of 2.93 as seen in Table 3, indicates that the SPC has sufficient revenues to pay interest payments. Figure 1 shows the net and cumulative cash flow of the project which converges to positive for both in the period the model was considered. As found in literature a minimum DSCR of 1.21 is suggested for onshore projects of base case P90 confidence of forecast with no dividends paid when DSCR is less than 1.14. Also, a gearing ratio of 75D/25E is suggested to be common with wind projects (Blaiklock, 2014). Overall, the project is deemed medium risk however due to the low DSCR of the first year of operations it is suggested that further debt sculpting is implemented to increase the minimum DSCR and minimize the risk of debt service default. References Statista, 2021. Norway: Inflation rate from 1986 to 2026. [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/327359/inflation-rate-in-norway/ KPMG, 2020. Taxation of wind power - 2020. [Online] Available at: https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/no/pdf/2020/12/The_Power_Of_Nature_Taxation_Of_Wind_Power_2020.pdf Byrne, R., Astolfi, D., F. C. & Hewitt, N. J., 2020. A Study of Wind Turbine Performance Decline with. MDPI - Energies 2020, 13(2086). Deloitte, 2014. Establishing the investment case of Wind power , Copenhagen: Deloitte. IRENA, 2020. Renewable power generation costs in 2020, s.l.: International Renewable Energy Association . Blaiklock, M., 2014. Infrastructure Finance Handbook : Principles, Practice and Experience. London: Euromoney Books. Wind Europe, 2020. Financing and investment trends - The European wind industry in 2019. [Online] Available at: https://windeurope.org/wp-content/uploads/files/about-wind/reports/Financing-and-Investment-Trends-2019.pdf

Nowadays, more and more engineering and consulting companies are using Revit to create and deliver project documentation. The main opportunities and benefits that the software of Revit provides is the collaboration and ease of accessibility that all different disciple members of a project can have access. This feature that BIM provides allows engineers and related parties working on a project to make changes faster and more efficient and please the client's wishes and remarks. 👉 Visit Structures Insider's homepage for more stories.👈 What is REVIT? Collaborate across teams, disciplines, and time zones Revit features tools for architecture, engineering, and construction professionals. Contributors across all disciplines work together in Revit, helping them deliver projects more efficiently and with fewer errors Design and construction teams can collaborate on Revit projects anywhere, anytime using BIM 360 Design, a powerful and secure cloud-based design collaboration and data management solution. Use Revit® to drive efficiency and accuracy across the project lifecycle, from conceptual design, visualization, and analysis to fabrication and construction. Begin modelling in 3D with accuracy and precision. Automatically update floor plans, elevations, and sections as your model develops. Let Revit handle routine and repetitive tasks with automation so you can focus on higher-value work. Source: Autodesk.com An essential part of every project is BOM and the possibility of reusing this document automatically is a big bonus of Revit. However, we need to configure this option manually, since Revit by default does not give it to us. A Bill of Materials (BOM) is a summary of items needed to manufacture a part or product. A BOM includes item numbers, quantities, part descriptions, lifecycle state, and other properties. Dimensions of BIM explained (4D, 5D, 6D,7D) Here are the steps on creating a Bill of Materials (BOM) list The model in Revit is building from the families and these families are part of the whole building we want to input in the BOM list. All families have parameters (many by default), however, Revit gives us the possibility to add our own parameters too. As a consequence, if we want to count of model elements, we should create necessary parameters in families. However, to have the possibility to count the number of elements present in a model, we need to create particular parameters in the families section. To understand what parameters we want to create we need to understand what BOM interface will look like. The main parameters I suggest to use are: BOQ_Count – parameter to show the real count or length for the instance; with this one we have the possibility to combine as count the lengths in one column. BOQ_Name –the name of the instance in BOM. BOQ_Type - a type of instance in BOM. BOQ_ Product ID – ID of the instance according to the manufacturer (art.). BOQ_Manufacturer – vendor of instance. BOQ_Units – units of the instance (here we can put “m”, “pcs”, and so on). BOQ_Note – some special notes for the instance. BOQ_Sort by Schedule – parameter to have possible to build its own structure of BOM (should be hidden). BOQ_Header – parameter to create a header for groups of parameters. In case, if you already have families in your Revit template that you are using in all projects, I recommend using the Journals to add a set of parameters in the family. It is a powerful tool if you want to make it fast. After adding all necessary parameters in families and are located in in the model, you can create your form of BOM. For this, use the tool “Schedules” on Ribbon (Tab View). Use Multi-Category Schedule and select parameters you want. Finally, you will receive the form of BOM according to your changes and you will have the possibility to make changes at any time you want. Recommended to you : Dimensions of BIM explained (4D, 5D, 6D,7D) Prepared by Ruslan Plechen ruslanplechen@gmail.com You May Also Like: BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM) - The digital transformation of the UK AEC Industry Read more...

Introduction Climate change has been on the topics of agendas of political and industry leaders for the past 20 years with the aim of bringing general awareness to the public as well as promoting sustainable development in the form of policies and investment opportunities. From a historical point of view, the first scientific concerns developed about the rising temperatures and the effects that climate change can have on our livelihood on earth were brought up in the 19th century when the greenhouse effect was first identified. Excessive use of coal and burning fossil fuels because of the industrial revolution and the release of Greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has accelerated the destabilization of our atmosphere with the consequences of global temperatures rising in an uncontrolled way. What is the DATA telling us? Global average temperatures have increased by more than 1℃ since pre-industrial times According to Our World in Data, 73.2 % of the global carbon dioxide equivalence (CO2e) was accounted for energy used in the industry which 17.5% was energy-related emissions from the generation of electricity and heat used in residential and commercial buildings. ​ Focusing on construction industry-specific, cement production accounted for a direct 3% and steel and iron production for 7.2% of the global emissions with energy-related emissions associated with the manufacturing of these products. In summary, the construction and manufacturing industries were responsible for 6.11 billion tCO2e, whereas the transport indirectly correlated with civil assets accounted for 7.7 billion tCO2e only second to Electricity & Heat-related emissions of 15 billion tCO2e as seen in Figures below. Read more about Sustainability: Designing buildings within Planetary Boundaries - 2050 Materials Life cycle stages in Construction works as per BS EN 15978: 2011 Declarations to net-zero emissions and International Agreements History The firsts modern history initiatives about international agreements in terms of battling climate change got firstly established in 1988 with the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The issue of climate change was viewed largely as a scientific concern and not as a political “problem” however after the production of the intergovernmental assessments created by the IPCC about the science, impacts, and response options of climate change, had the world leaders alerted about the issues. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was established and entered into force in 2005 with 192 countries entering the agreement. This was the first time Greenhouse gasses (GHG) reduction targets were set for industrialized nations. Following, the agreement put in place the COP 21 Paris Agreement has set ambitious goals to keep temperatures well below 2 °C and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C. The agreement signed by 175 countries had as a requirement to submit comprehensive nationally determined contributions (NDCs) which were essential interpreted as national climate change plans. The Paris Rulebook, a detailed set of guidelines implementing the agreement was set in 2018 COP 24 in Poland and set to get legal action in 2020 (Hirst, 2020). A revised version of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of the European Union has set ambitious goals of policies to deliver by 2030 and at least 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as compared to 1990 levels (NDC, 2020). The most recent COP 26 in Glasgow in 2020, the Nations agreed items include: Strengthened efforts to build resilience to climate change Curb greenhouse gas emissions and provide the necessary finance Pledge of providing 100 billion dollars annually from developed to developing countries Work to reduce the gap between existing emission reduction plans and what is required to reduce emissions, so that the rise in the global average temperature can be limited to 1.5 degrees. Phase down unabated coal power and inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels. Source: The Glasgow Climate Pact – Key Outcomes from COP26 What are we doing about it? Furthermore, the United Nations have released the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which urge for action by all countries to share a blueprint for “peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future” by the goals set for 2030. Nevertheless, the generality of the goals, Goals 9,11,12, and 13 have a direct and indirect relation to the infrastructure hence giving a lot of responsibility on the construction industry to take action and reduce carbon emissions Are we running out of Time?

by 2050 Materials A lot of the discussion regarding the impact of humanity on the environment these days revolves around carbon. There’s a good reason for that, as carbon emissions are the primary cause of global warming, which can trigger all kinds of catastrophic events for our planet. However, it’s important not to forget that keeping our planet livable takes consideration of many aspects. The planetary boundaries framework is a great way to operationalize sustainable development and break these aspects up into actionable components. What are the planetary boundaries? The planetary boundaries framework was developed by a team of Earth systems scientists at the Stockholm Resilience Centre to characterize the limits of acceptable alteration to 9 Earth systems: Biosphere integrity Climate change Ocean acidification Freshwater use Atmospheric aerosol loading The introduction of novel entities (e.g. micro-plastics) Biogeochemical flows Land-system change Stratospheric ozone depletion The goal of the framework is to set science-based targets that humanity must respect to avoid the risk of catastrophic environmental change at the global scale. Why designers are perfectly placed to address these risks Designers and engineers are found in a unique position to handle and address the risks associated with crossing the Planetary Boundary thresholds. The decisions taken today in how we design and build can cause the planet to move towards — or further away from — unpredictable environmental events. The long-term impacts of the built environment can directly affect the lives, behaviours and activities of all living creatures on Earth. They can define how people use space, travel, consume goods and use energy. Designing with the goal of minimizing our impact on the environment can yield benefits for decades and centuries to come. Actions to start designing within the Planetary Boundaries Design with technology Computational design and material innovations can reduce demand for carbon and water-intensive materials, as well as materials that require heavy land conversion and resource extraction. Additionally, designing with technologies can lead to higher material efficiency and lower volumes used, which can reduce particulate emissions and pollutants associated with extraction and production. Have you checked out the first version of our Design Optimization tool? It’s a free tool to see the impact of building material configurations for early design stages. Circular Material Flows Creating a circular construction sector implies the re-use of materials into new buildings. This can mitigate environmental degradation associated with material use by reducing the need for raw materials, as well as the need to refine, transport, manufacture, and dispose of old materials. Consequently, this leads to lower emissions, freshwater use, particulate matter and waste. Sustainable Materials Careful consideration and selection of the building materials that make up a structure can have a massive impact on remaining within planetary boundaries. Sustainable materials can be low-carbon, sustainably extracted, transported, and processed, and can contain very low amounts of compounds known to be harmful to the environment and people. This can reduce their ecological footprint and contribute to creating a world within planetary boundaries. Specifically, sustainable material selection can lead to low-carbon buildings, which directly contribute to slowing down climate change by reducing the embodied CO2e. Meanwhile, sustainable sourcing (e.g. using waste by-products as the raw material) can lead to lower embodied water demand, and associated particulate emissions and stop the introduction of novel entities such as micro-plastics. Want to see examples of sustainable materials that allow you to design within the planetary boundaries? Go to app.2050-materials.com and sign up for our Beta! Other actions Why stop there? There’s many things designers, engineers and planners can do to transform the impact the built environment has on keeping humanity within the planetary boundaries. Examples of actions related to neighbourhoods, cities and catchments are outlined in detail in Arup’s latest report on the Planetary Boundary Framework. The time to act is now The Planetary Boundary Framework helps us to understand the limits of Earth’s capacity when it comes to supporting the consumption patterns of our societies. Staying within the boundaries will require significant changes to the “business-as-usual”. The way we design and build can be a driver of this change. 2050 Materials is the platform for the construction materials of the future, available today. Our research and product data allow designers, architects and contractors to design buildings in line with a regenerative world that keeps us within planetary boundaries. Reach out to share your ideas with us and to get a demo of our platform:

by 2050 Materials International Living Future Institute The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) is a non-profit organization on a mission to build an ecologically-minded, restorative world for humanity. Using principles of social and environmental justice, ILFI aims to facilitate the re-engineering of our cities and towns to correspond more directly to the natural landscapes they inhabit. To achieve this, we need to create buildings that wean off the fossil fuel economy in the long term. The value of product-specific certifications For almost two decades, ILFI runs the Living Building Challenge (LBC), a rigorous standard for green buildings. Living Buildings strive for net-zero or net-positive energy, are free of toxic chemicals, and lower their carbon footprint many times below the typical commercial structure. To successfully implement such measures, however, emphasis should be communicated through the design and specification process. The Living Product Challenge (LPC) came to life to address this particular materiality aspect, it takes the principles of the ILFI building-wide certification (LBC) and applies them specifically to building products. The framework encourages manufacturers to create products that are healthy, inspiring and give more than they take across their life cycles. Recommended to you: Life cycle stages in Construction works as per BS EN 15978: 2011 Do specifiers understand toxicity concerns? Understanding the true composition, as well as the impact of different chemicals making up any building products you specify can be a notoriously time-consuming and complex task. On top of that, many manufacturers themselves may not be fully aware of what nasty chemicals are lurking inside their products. There are more than 85,000 different industrial chemicals in the world, and when considering the fact that the US bans fewer than 10 out of so many thousands, it's simply extraordinary. It is crucial for manufacturers and specifiers to be well informed about all the chemicals composing the building products or materials they manufacture and specify, which makes the Declare label an extremely powerful tool in the decision-making process. Declare label — What is it? Declare is a nutrition label for building products, designed to help specifiers identify products that meet their project requirements easily. It is a product transparency disclosure that enables a healthier, safer, greener, and more ethical built environment. Manufacturers get the opportunity to voluntarily disclose product information on easy-to-read Declare labels. These labels report all product ingredients through a simple color code system, flagging up chemicals of concern. In addition, further information is provided on manufacturing locations, end-of-life uses, life expectancy, and overall compliance with relevant requirements of building-wide certifications, such as: Living Building Challenge (LBC). International WELL Building Standard. US LEED, and more. The label also includes the Red List status of the product. The Red List is a list of chemicals, materials, and elements that ILFI believes should be phased out of production due to human/environmental health and toxicity concerns. These are chemicals that either pollute the environment, stick in the atmosphere for far too long, or pose a health risk to humans at all stages of the product's lifespan. The Red List status of the products means: Red List Free: Products that disclose 100% of product ingredients plus residuals present at or above 100 ppm (0.01%) in the final product and do not contain any Red List chemicals. Red List Approved: Products that meet the written requirements of the Living Building Challenge Red List Imperative, but rely on one or more Exceptions to demonstrate compliance. A minimum of 99% of product ingredients plus residuals present at or above 100 ppm (0.01%) in the final product are disclosed. Declared: Declared products disclose 100% of product ingredients plus residuals present at or above 100ppm (0.01%) in the final product, but contain one or more Red List chemicals that are not covered by an existing Exception. The case for Going-Green The climate emergency is now a reality, having record-high temperatures and record-high CO2 levels for thousands of years. Efforts should be focused on manufacturing and specifying regenerative and healthy products, to ensure the resilience of the built environment and its positive impact on the planet. As stated in the 2020 Economist Special Climate Report: De-carbonizing the economy holds many risks but it also offers plenty of opportunities. Firms that get ahead of their rivals will reap the biggest benefits. Embracing transparency is a robust starting point to stay a step ahead, both from manufacturing but also a design perspective. Manufacturers and specifiers have a critical role to play in the transition to a low carbon economy, and as decarbonization initiatives gain momentum, the only way to benefit from this growing trend is to integrate climate neutrality initiatives in the core processes of your business operations. 2050 Materials & Declare partnership 2050 Materials has partnered up with the International Living Future Institute to enhance the fight against climate change. We are helping specifiers understand the impact of their design decisions through simplified data visualizations while guiding manufacturers on their journey towards environmental transparency and client engagement. If you are a manufacturer trying to align your products with the climate emergency, you should opt for Declare (contact: declare@living-future.org) and be on 2050 Materials! It takes a few minutes to list a product and ensures your products are visible in the latest sustainability and reporting tools specifiers are using. Reach out to info@2050-materials.com to book a demo and get free listing access for the 2050 Materials beta.

As defined by ISO 14040 As defined by ISO 14040 an LCA analysis should consist of the phases illustrated in Figure above. A partial LCA framework is established for this study on the characteristics of construction materials and structural forms, including elements such as the study goal, the system boundary, scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment, and interpretation of results (Feifei Fu, 2014). 1.Goal and Scope Definition The goal and scope definition of an LCA is the most important aspect of the process since they define the intended application and reasons for carrying out the study as well as the intended audience the results will be directed to. Particulars of the project comprise defining the functional units, the product system to be studied, system boundaries and outlining limitations and assumptions. LCA is relatively a new system process with an iterative technique nature, hence clearly defined goals should be set for the clear distribution of results and for reaching justifiable conclusions. To answer the various questions arising from the scope defined of the assessment, a quantitative functional unit should ensure compatibility and comparability of LCA results. Functional units are most important when multiple elements of products are compared such an example being a direct comparison of an 80m highway composite bridge with one span 15m footbridge could not be directly achieved for reasons of bridges different purposes of use and different size (ISO14040, 2006) (Feifei Fu, 2014). The functional unit vastly accepted in practice is the normalised carbon (kgCO2e/m2) for carbon assessment of infrastructure (E.g. Buildings, bridges, etc.) 2.Life cycle inventory analysis (LCI) This phase of the assessment includes the data collection and calculation procedures to quantify relevant inputs and outputs within the selected system boundaries (ISO14040, 2006). A number of data associated with the inputs and outputs datasets analysed can be obtained from publicly accessible inventory databases such as the Inventory of Carbon and Energy that contains materials embodied carbon factor (ECF) for modules A1-A3. The LCI analysis inputs include data associated with raw material quantities, embodied carbon factors (ECF), transport emission factors (TEF) and waste generation per functional unit (e.g., kgCO2e/kg). However, the data inputs range is largely affected by the material process technologies applied, regional or global conditions of the markets and the variations on data from different sources (DU, 2015). For example, an embodied carbon factor for reinforcement bar from UK-based producers could have an ECF of 0.684 kgCO2e/kg, whereas a UAE- produced bar with no recycled content could reach up to 2.13 kgCO2e/kg (O P & J J, 2020). Furthermore, as seen in Figure below from (O P & J J, 2020), values of EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) data from 1500 specific concrete mixes were plotted showing the extensive range of carbon emissions of different concrete strength classes. This can be justified since the amount of Portland Cement of concrete mixes, heavily influence the embodied carbon. A much lower embodied carbon can be achieved without compromising the desired strength and other project-specific requirements by using cement replacements such as Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS), Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA) and limestone (O P & J J, 2020). Recommended to you: Declare: The building product nutrition label 3.Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) LCIA assessment is aimed at evaluating the significance of potential environmental impact categories, found from the LCI results of environmental releases (ISO14040, 2006). Such categories can be identified as global warming, acidification, abiotic depletion, urban air pollution and other (DU, 2015) (Kikuchi, 2016). LCIA quantifies environmental impacts by multiplying the results of LCI with environmental impact factors (Kikuchi, 2016). A common category of choice is the impact category of global warming that has the indicative environmental impact factor of Global Warming Potential (GWP) in accordance with the GWPs gases used by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change Act 2007 (IPPC, 2007) commonly referred to as carbon emissions. To carry a consistent analysis, different gases are weighted by their GWP, so that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are reported on a consistent basis. To achieve an easy overall benchmark impact of the analysis, an equivalent unit of measurement, the carbon dioxide equivalent (kgCO2e) is used where different greenhouse gases can be compared on a like for like basis relative to one unit of CO2e (PAS2080, 2016) (BS15978, 2011). GWP provides a common unit of measure, which allows the comprehensive compiling of data for comparison with aims of identifying reduction opportunities as well as a clear understanding of the data. For civil engineering projects most commonly measurements of embodied carbon from the material, construction and waste are analysed. 4.Life Cycle Interpretation The final stage of an LCA per ISO 14040 is the interpretation and presentation of the results obtained from the LCI and LCIA. The sensitivity and uncertainty of analysis are performed to modify the results and conclusions are presented according to the defined goal and scope. Analysis limitations, quality and uncertainties should be clearly and transparently explained and recommendations for further study should be made. Useful References Feifei Fu, H. L. H. Z. a. A. H., 2014. Development of a Carbon Emission Calculations System for Optimizing Building Plan Based on the LCA Framework. Hindawi Publishing Corporation Mathematical Problems in Engineering, 2014(Article ID 653849), p. 13. ISO14040, 2006. Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Principles and framework, Brussels: British Standard. Kikuchi, Y., 2016. Life Cycle Assessment. [Online] Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/life-cycle-impact-assessment PAS2080, 2016. Carbon management in infrastructure, London: BSI. BS15978, 2011. Sustainability of construction works — Assessment of environmental performance of buildings — Calculation method, s.l.: BSI.