Introducing Project Management To Senior Civil Engineering Students

The Civil Engineering program at the University has a senior capstone project that requires students to seek out actual design projects. Many of these projects are done in conjunction with practicing professionals and ultimately student work becomes the preliminary concept for final development. Recognizing that the creation of a capstone project is not effectively completed within one semester, Civil Engineering split the project into a two semester offering. The first semester concentrates on developing Project Management skills. Up to the senior year, most of the students meet the requirements of the program through technical training and work on electives as allowed in the program structure. The “softer” engineering skills do not tend to be part of the process. Project Management is taught in three segments through the semester that leads to the capstone project. First, students are introduced to overall project management concepts such as project success, organizational structure, and team work. Second, students learn basic information on cost estimation, scheduling, and economic constraints. Last, students form project teams and develop a preliminary proposal for concept of the capstone project. The student teams present these proposals to the civil engineering faculty who judge the proposals on merit. The feedback and assessment allows student teams to build and structure strong concepts to better execute the preliminary design process. The project management introduction has been implemented for three consecutive years and ultimately student capstone projects have continually improved. Capstone projects are showcased at the annual on campus state section of the American Society of Civil Engineers meeting. Practicing professionals have commented on the excellent quality of the capstone projects.