Global infrastructure boom boosts demand for professional delivery skills

The University of Surrey is launching a new MSc in Infrastructure Engineering and Management, to provide graduates with the skills to plan, design, manage and analyse infrastructure systems. Sonia Goodman explains.

In the UK, there is high demand for infrastructure specialists to support the government in its delivery of the National Infrastructure Plan, while in other countries (BRIC: Brazil, Russia, India, China), there is an urgent need for efficient planning of new and integrated infrastructure. The new MSc in Infrastructure Engineering & Management aims to equip students with the key skills and knowledge to fulfil these roles.

The modular arrangement of the Infrastructure Engineering and Management MSc enables students to build a programme suited to their individual needs and interest. The flexible range of modules is designed to suit full-time, part-time and distance learning students. Students are required to study four compulsory modules, four optional modules, and a research dissertation which will be supervised by an academic and/or professional member of staff in an infrastructure-related subject.

The new MSc programme examines the drivers for infrastructure change such as government policy, economic development, interconnections between different infrastructure sectors and long-term operation and asset management.

The compulsory modules provide a broad overview of the fundamentals about infrastructure systems and management, and include topics such as Infrastructure Systems, Interdependencies and Resilience, Infrastructure Asset Management, Sustainability and Infrastructure, Infrastructure Investment and Financing.

Optional modules enable students to build on these compulsory modules and customise their degree to their own interests. Some examples of optional modules are Energy Geotechnics, Project and Risk Management, Water Resources Management, Wind Energy Technology, Subsea Engineering, Bridge Management, Structural Safety and Reliability.   

This kind of course is offered by very few universities worldwide. The MSc in Infrastructure Engineering and Management is delivered by academics at the forefront of their field, along with practitioners from the infrastructure sector and keynote figures in government positions.

The programme is provided by the University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, which has been successfully offering MSc programmes since its foundation nearly 50 years ago. The Department has a research-led teaching ethos, driven by leading-edge research activities across areas from geomechanics, structural engineering and infrastructure asset management to water engineering, pollution control and waste management.

Students have access to the latest technologies within world-renowned research centres and laboratories which include structural testing, geomechanics and water related studies. The academic staff has expertise in using a wide range of state-of-the-art software such as flood prediction, life-cycle analysis, Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

The University of Surrey’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is ranked as the fifth best in the UK by ‘The Times Good University Guide 2014’ and sixth by ‘The Guardian University Guide 2014’. It achieved a 94% student satisfaction rating in the National Student Survey 2013.

More details about the programme, including its start dates, range of study options and entry requirements, can be found by clicking here.

Sonia Goodman is marketing officer for the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Surrey