The ‘Smart Building’ degree programme (which covers the domains of energy-efficient building technology and sustainable building) course trains a new generation of engineers in the construction trade and ensures that they maintain a holistic outlook while tackling the issues related to futuristic and sustainable construction.
In addition to being work-spaces, housing spaces and living spaces that feature enhanced functionalities, the buildings of the future are also characterised by their efficient utilisation of energy and their optimal cost-structures. The extra-occupational bachelor’s programme trains professionals who consolidate theoretical and practical knowledge associated with the building and construction industry, the field of building technology and the newest technologies and building-related systems. Along with a holistic and systematic consideration of the smart building, the emphasis also falls squarely on the process of dealing with natural resources in a responsible manner that also takes economic interests into consideration. Along with the classical disciplines covered by the field of constructional engineering, the course also focuses on building technology, energy technology, information technology and specialisations in the field of smart buildings.
The extra-occupational nature of the course of study offers the students the opportunity to directly integrate the knowledge that they have acquired into their professional lives and implement the technical skills that they have acquired.
Abilities and educational objectives
As a graduate, you will have knowledge that is held by classical engineers and scientists. Furthermore, you will also possess specialised knowledge related to the fields of construction technology, building technology, energy technology and information technology. The socio-communicative and economic skills that you have acquired over the duration of the course of study make it possible for you to carry out project-oriented and team-oriented tasks, and implement and evaluate global projects relating to any of the fields in the energy and construction industries. You will play a decisive role in ensuring that natural resources are handled in a responsible manner that also takes economic interests into consideration. To place people and the environment at the centre of new and sustainable developments, and to promote the acceptance of positive social changes - as a representative of a new generation of experts in the energy and construction industries, these principles are integral components of your insight.
The degree programme is closely connected to and exchanges knowledge and information with the degree programmes in Forest Products Technology & Timber Construction, as well as the degree programme in Information Technology and Systems Management.
Curriculum Structure
The curriculum covers the general capabilities associated with the technical-scientific subjects. In-depth technical and specialised skills are imparted on the basis of the said general capabilities. The interconnected and all-inclusive approach links the following aspects:
- Life-cycle of a building
- Energy-efficiency and interconnected building technology
- The building in its surroundings
The first academic year - Basic principles
In addition to covering the initial project work related to the field of smart buildings, the first academic year also imparts basic knowledge in the fields associated with the general technical skills in question, the systematic competencies and the socio-communicative competencies.
Natural sciences and engineering:
E.g. mathematics, physics, statics and constructional physics
Structural engineering and building technology:
E.g. Basic knowledge about the fields associated with structural engineering, the analysis of materials, construction and architecture, the basic principles of constructional planning, the principles of ecological and sustainable construction
Design & blueprint:
E.g. standardised representation of components and component groups in design drawings, detection and representation of issues relating to three-dimensional architecture or abilities in the fields associated with tendering, time management and project management
The second academic year - Specialisation
In the second academic year, you can choose one of the following two specialisations: "Smart Building Systems" and "Smart Building Constructions". Furthermore, when it comes to the following fields, you will deepen your abilities and technical skills and build on the basic principles that you were introduced to during the first academic year:
Energy technology and control engineering:
E.g. Computer systems and networks, concrete IT-related problems, basic principles of energy technology and the production of energy in a manner that takes efficiency and the conservation of resources into consideration, control engineering and the relationships between smart grids and smart buildings
Structural engineering and building technology:
E.g. Climate change and its causes, energy industry, assessment of innovative technologies, overview of the automation systems used in buildings, the planning processes used for heating and ventilation systems, the process associated with sanitary planning, air-conditioning
The third academic year - Professionalisation
The third academic year is geared towards laying the groundwork for an eventual career track and preparing for the master's course that may be taken up after the bachelor's programme has been completed. The technical expertise that has been acquired complements the students' professional skills. You professionalise the knowledge that you have acquired in your chosen field of specialisation (smart building systems or smart building constructions). In both specialisations, you become familiar with complete solutions for building-systems and learn to develop, quote and implement the process in which the building is constructed. Furthermore, you can, within the framework of the academic programme, acquire certificates that relate to the latest certification systems (e.g. the certificates possessed by energy advisers).
Smart skills - Additional skills
The process by which the students acquire socio-economic and economic abilities and project management skills is a cumulative process that spans the entire duration of study (six semesters). In case of the domains in question, you develop your individual social and communication-related skills, learn how to use techniques and instruments in a targeted manner to write bachelor theses and research papers, and become familiar with new methods and techniques which aim to promote the creation of creative and divergent intellectual approaches.