Civil Engineering

If the nursery rhyme “London Bridge is Falling Down” agitated you as a kid and made you imagine ways to keep it from breaking apart, then you must have been a very curious child. If, now that you are long past your playground days, you still find yourself constantly pondering how to build indestructible structures, then you just might have a bright future as a civil engineer. In a four-year programme with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, you will study the principles, concepts and practical measures that lie behind the design, construction maintenance of roads, highways, tunnels, dams, bridges and more. The discipline is divided into many sub-disciplines: geo-technical, coastal, structural, urban, environmental, transportation, materials, construction, surveying and water resources engineering. This means that civil engineers draw the blueprints for humble homes, as well as those for world record-breaking skyscrapers.

Conducting an area survey

You can work for the government or for private organisations. They ensure proper installation of gas, communication and electrical lines. They oversee coastal defence against erosion and flooding. They design and build infrastructures to help them withstand earthquakes and loads. It is also closely related to solid waste treatment, hazardous waste management and hydraulics, with the latter applied to the design of drainage systems, canals, pipelines and water distribution systems such as channels and dams. Of course, at the beginning of your career, you will be assigned to small tasks. Your responsibilities will increase as you prove your design skill, responsibility, attention to detail, accuracy and competence.