Engineering Practice module (GA10007)

​​Engineering Practice at SCQF Level 7 provides a multifaceted introduction to engineering study and professional practice for students on the Civil Engineering Graduate Apprenticeship course.

The module is structured around four interconnected themes that together develop the professional skills, ethical awareness and broader engineering knowledge expected of a practising civil engineer.

The communication theme introduces academic and professional communication skills, covering approaches to written and oral communication appropriate to both university study and the engineering workplace.

The ethics theme explores the principles of engineering ethics, examining how ethical frameworks apply to real engineering scenarios and developing your ability to identify ethical issues in practice.

The construction management theme introduces project management tools and principles, supporting you in applying these to your own work projects in the workplace.

The emerging themes section requires you to investigate and discuss a topic of contemporary significance to civil engineering — such as the climate crisis, quality management and productivity, or digital technologies — developing research, critical thinking and presentation skills.

The module is assessed entirely through coursework, with four equal components reflecting each theme. Teaching combines lectures, facilitated discussions and in-class research activities, designed to suit the Graduate Apprenticeship model of one day per week on campus. 

​What you will learn 

​In this module, you will: 

• ​Identify and use appropriate communication approaches for both academic and professional engineering contexts. 
• ​Identify and apply relevant engineering ethical principles to given engineering scenarios. 
• ​Apply construction management and project management tools to your own work projects. 
• ​Investigate and critically discuss an emerging theme of contemporary importance to civil engineering. 
• ​Develop skills in researching, synthesising and presenting engineering topics in written and poster formats. 
• ​Reflect on the relationship between university learning and workplace practice as an engineering apprentice. 

​By the end of this module, you will be able to: 

• ​Demonstrate understanding of communication approaches appropriate to academic and professional engineering practice. 
• ​Apply engineering ethical principles to identify and reason about ethical issues in engineering scenarios. 
• ​Apply construction management tools relevant to project cycles in civil engineering. 
• ​Investigate, discuss and present an emerging theme with importance to the civil engineering sector

Assignments / assessments

​​Communication (25%) 

• ​Demonstrate appropriate written and oral communication skills for academic and professional engineering contexts. 

​Ethics (25%) 

• ​Analyse an engineering scenario and identify relevant ethical principles and their implications. 

​Engineering Project Cycles (25%) 

• ​Apply construction management tools to a work-based project, demonstrating understanding of project management principles. 

​Emerging Themes (25%) 

• ​Research an emerging theme in civil engineering (e.g. climate crisis, digital technologies or quality management). 
• ​Present findings as an in-class poster, demonstrating research, critical analysis and communication skills. 

​This module does not have a final exam.​

Teaching methods / timetable

• ​​Lectures with built-in activities and discussions covering communication, ethics, construction management and emerging themes. 
• ​Facilitated class discussions and group activities connecting engineering theory to workplace practice. 
• ​In-class research and poster development for the emerging themes component.​