Brochure

Competitiveness through global alliance

MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development

Cambridge University Engineering Department Centre for Sustainable Development

For futureleaders… engineering leaders…

For future engineering

Resource l a t n e m n o keholder ir a v t S En Costs stems y S t n e m e g a Producer Dialogue n Ma Eco-Efficiency Responsibility Impact Assessments Supply Chain ement g a n a M Legal Sustainability Directives Indicators Life Cycle Analysis Clean Zero Waste Production l a ic Techn Innovation w Corporate Socia o l F d n a e c i l v Ser R e s ponsibility Economy Infrastructure Bottom Line e l p i r T Provision “We are modifying physical, chemical and biological systems in new ways, at faster rates and over larger spatial scales than have ever been recorded on earth.

Humans have unwittingly embarked on a grand experiment with our planet.

The outcome is unknown but has profound implications for all life”.

President, American Society for the Advancement of Science

For more details of the MPhil programme, please see: …who must understand complex systems http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/sustdev/mphil.html

About the course GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Resource Consumption

Pollution and CO2 emissions

Poverty

ENGINEERING RESPONSES This unique course attracts engineers with a wide range of backgrounds, from those having industrial experience working for consultants or engineering companies to others who have been employed by multi-national corporations or who have worked for aid programmes in developing countries.

The course is based in Cambridge University’s Department of Engineering and aims to provide young engineers with a broad understanding of sustainable development issues (such as resource efficiency, waste minimisation, community participation and environmental responsibility). Graduates of the programme will be equipped to take a leading role in developing and encouraging sustainable solutions in their future careers.

Increasingly the engineering institutions, government agencies, the business community and private companies are recognising the need to operate within sustainable development principles in order to remain competitive and compliant with increasingly stringent regulation. The MPhil is producing graduate engineers with the necessary interdisciplinary skills and understanding to help the organisations for whom they will work to be in the forefront of solving these complex problems and meeting the global challenges of the 21st century, such as responding to climate change, providing water and sanitation to the world’s population, and safely meeting our energy needs.

The course programme addresses fundamentals of environmental science, economics and social issues and examines suitable evaluation frameworks and methodologies for assessing the sustainability of engineering activities at every stage of planning, design, implementation and disposal.

Technical depth is provided by studying the development of more sustainable technologies (e.g. in transport, clean production, and materials recycling) whilst aspects of commerce and economics are incorporated through the study of the management of technology and innovation, which provides a business breadth to the programme. In many cases students will work directly with industrial organisations, such as water utility companies, semi conductor manufacturers or engineering contractors when conducting their research dissertation.

Managing and minimising waste

Developing renewable energies

Bringing water and sanitation

Value frameworks – business awareness – strategic thinking

For future engineering Programme leaders‌Structure Taught component: Core Modules (in first two terms)

Sustainable Development

This module provides an introduction to sustainable development and examines why it is relevant to engineers, but the module also deals with issues which are much wider than just the technical. Some of the assessment methodologies, sustainability indicators and evaluative techniques which can be used to judge progress towards achieving sustainability are reviewed.

Fundamental Disciplines

A module designed to explore the economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainability. This is designed to help graduates of the MPhil course be more effective in understanding and communicating with subject specialists and to encourage them to operate effectively in an inter-disciplinary fashion during their working lives.

Changing organisations towards sustainability

The aim of this module is to assist and support any individual of whatever seniority or experience, who wishes to act as a change agent towards sustainability within their organisation. This module helps develop the practical management skills future engineers will need to become leaders in their field.

Engineering Responses

The ways is which different engineering sectors are currently addressing sustainability issues are discussed in this module. Current problems associated with areas of engineering such as transport, construction, manufacturing and the chemical industries are explored, and case studies are used to demonstrate the novel and innovative solutions these sectors are developing to meet the sustainability challenge.

Practical strategies for implementing sustainable solutions are identified.

Management of Technology and Innovation

A block course taken alongside students from the other CMI MPhil courses, this component presents the foundations of management theory in the areas of strategy, organisation, marketing and finance and the connections between technology and management. In particular the pathways by which new technologies reach the marketplace are studied and ways in which management structures shape the evolution of technologies are investigated.

(2 modules)

For more details of the MPhil programme, please see: Engineering the needs of the present ‌ http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/sustdev/mphil.html

Elective modules and dissertation Elective Programme Students have the freedom to compile a combination of modules that will allow them to follow a programme which is relevant to their interests and aspirations whilst remaining within the overall aim of studying sustainable development as it applies to engineering.

Students working on a design exercise during the Autumn Residential Field Course

These electives are drawn from a wide range of courses offered by the Department of Engineering, the other CMI MPhil programmes, and other Departments across Cambridge University and MIT. Opportunities exist to study in depth some of the technologies being developed to help engineers implement sustainability, such as sustainable energy or the sustainable development of large infrastructure projects. Other modules deal with developing countries and globalisation issues, whilst opportunities also exist to select combinations of modules relating to urban planning, environmental management or environmental law and regulation.

For further details and module descriptions see: http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/sustdev/mphil.html

Dissertation Students choose a suitable research topic during their first term. In many cases the dissertation will be directly related to the individual's own organisation, addressing the challenges faced in bringing sustainable development into the operation. The students are allocated to an appropriate Supervisor in early January, with whom they work closely in developing the aims and scope of their individual research project during the Lent Term.

Studying the impacts of roads on landscape

The work itself is conducted as a full time activity between April and the end of August. Topics are wide ranging and diverse. For example, some dissertations recently have studied the fluid mechanics of geothermal heat pumps, sustainable asset management planning for a UK water utility, the use of organic and inorganic waste in the remediation and revegetation of contaminated soils, the relationship between manufacturers and consumers in achieving sustainable consumption, and a sustainability assessment of the semi-conductor industry.

For further details and module descriptions see: http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/sustdev/mphil.html

‌ without compromising the needs of the future

Adjusting to climate change Studying the impact of flooding on landscape and communities.

Floods across the UK and globally are on the increase, now is the time to respond.

The need for engineered protection against floods

Special features of the programme Features:

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The course is firmly rooted in practical experience and draws heavily on case studies and real examples. These demonstrate the tangible benefits which have already been achieved in many engineering projects, and which highlight how real improvements can be made.

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Case teaching is provided by senior figures from both Cambridge University and MIT who have worked on significant engineering projects, and is supplemented by a range of guest speakers currently involved in the implementation of sustainability principles to a wide range of engineering problems. In this way the course is able to reflect current best practice in the area of Engineering for Sustainable Development.

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Classes and group sizes are small to encourage active participation and students work closely in partnership with their tutors.

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Weekly seminar discussions informally explore themes of Sustainable Development and provide a vehicle for all participants in the course to share their experiences. Sessions include topics on issues such as environmental ethics, sustainability indicators, developing country and global poverty issues. They allow time for students to reflect on issues raised in the taught component of the course.

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Residential field visits are held to study aspects of the environmental impact of road schemes, energy efficient buildings and eco-building design, and petrochemical activities in environmentally sensitive areas.

There are opportunities for students to interact closely with staff from MIT and with MIT students (on the MEng programme in Environmental Engineering) and engage in transAtlantic discussions, and work jointly on engineering projects in developing countries.

Globalisation and problems in developing countries are key themes of the course

A series of distinguished lectures by speakers of international standing is arranged annually on the theme of Sustainable Development.

Whilst acknowledging the basic issues associated with Sustainable Development the Course is as practical and pragmatic as possible to ensure it is fully relevant to engineering practice.

A major feature of the course is the flexibility it offers through the broad range of elective modules available for study. This allows an individual to pursue an individual programme which can be chosen to achieve technical depth in one of a number of engineering themes or business and management breadth with modules available in, for example, Technology Policy, Systems Dynamics, Legal Frameworks, International Business Economics and Sustainability, Trade and Environment.

Delivered jointly with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development Applications to the MPhil In order to be offered a place on this course you need to be accepted by Cambridge University's Board of Graduate Studies and one of the colleges.

This course has been designed to attract top flight engineers who will usually have gained some years of work experience in the engineering industry after graduating from their first degrees. Applicants are required to have a first or upper second class honours UK degree in an engineering or science discipline, or an equivalent standard from an overseas university.

Since all courses are delivered in English applicants whose first language is not English may be required to take an English language proficiency test to satisfy the Board that they can read, write and speak English to the required standard.

All applications for postgraduate study at Cambridge University must be made through the Board of Graduate Studies. Full information, including details of entrance requirements, descriptions of colleges, funding available and a downloadable application pack, can be found at: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/gradstud/ E-mail course enquiries to: susdev-mphil-enquiries@eng.cam.ac.uk

Competitiveness through global alliance

For more details of the MPhil programme, please see: http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/sustdev/mphil.html