It is obvious to all of us in Trenchless Technology that its rate of growth is being hindered by a lack of knowledge on the part of the general engineering community. This is a result of the rapid growth, wide scope and increasing complexity of the Trenchless Technology industry, and the fact that technology transfer in the construction industry is typically informal.
As an example, a few years ago a survey of final year civil engineering students at the University of New South Wales revealed an almost zero level of awareness of the Trenchless Technology industry.
To help rectify this situation, the Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology has combined with the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of New South Wales in Sydney to produce a structured package of knowledge about Trenchless Technology for inclusion by Universities in civil engineering undergraduate courses.
The package is in the form of an
e-education resource compact disc (CD) and contains a comprehensive set of pre-packaged teaching resources and tutorial materials. The Australian Trenchless Technology industry provided information on the various processes available and detail for case studies, while academic staff and students at the University of New South Wales developed the contents of the CD and confirmed its suitability in a practical teaching environment.
As a result of this initiative, education on Trenchless Technology is in the process of being introduced to civil engineering degree courses at universities throughout Australia.
The ASTT’s educational CD is designed to provide academics and teachers with a comprehensive set of pre-packaged teaching resources and tutorial materials that can be used in their day-to day activities. The information on CD is presented in three different ways for potentially quite disparate audiences and modes of teaching.
Formal Lectures
The PowerPoint pro forma lectures on the CD provide material of undergraduate quality suitable for a short course on Trenchless Technology. The lectures follow a “serial” format suited to university-style learning, with each building on knowledge contained in the previous lecture. The need for “examinability” to test levels of student knowledge has been considered in compiling the lectures. The PowerPoint lectures are presented in a fully open format so that teachers can edit the text directly, add or subtract material or reorganise it to suit their teaching styles, audience type and course-time availability.
The lecture series has been developed around the needs of a seven-week, two-hours-per-week half-semester time frame. These lectures would also provide more than ample material for a full 2-day short course on Trenchless Technology aimed at industry personnel or post-graduate students. Overall, this section of the CD contains about 15 hours of formal lecture material.
Case Studies
The CD contains five Case Studies relating to the application of Trenchless Technology to specific situations. They have been developed as representative of the work that is done in this industry.
Each is a chronologically organised, process study of a unique project. They are presented in Microsoft PowerPoint format and use PowerPoint’s animation features. A standard presentation format has been used in the Case Studies providing full details about construction methods, ground conditions, equipment used and client/ contractor arrangements.
Individual case studies are designed to be understandable to an audience who have no detailed knowledge of local geography and place names. They are “stand alone” and can be accessed casually or presented in random order. Alternately, they can be intermingled with standard lectures or used as tutorial exercises. It is expected that the number of Case Studies will be increased over time.
Random Access Self Study Package
In contrast to more formal educational facilities previously mentioned, the CD also contains a hands-on type, multimedia based “self discovery” package. This is designed to suit casual learners and browsers who prefer a random-access, active-learning approach rather than traditional lecture formats. MacroMedia’s Director software has been used to produce a more complex interactive package with “point and click” slide formats, including voice-overs and videos. The end result is a more interesting way of working through the material.
This self-discovery pack can be used to develop student interest, to support tutorials and exercises and to build general awareness in Trenchless Technology. For users, it is intended to be a fun way of browsing and is user paced. No lecturer input is required.
Additional Resources
Additional resources available on the CD can be used for different audiences, or to supplement the lecture material. The additional resources are:
“¢ Technology Users Guide
“¢ Moot Arbitration Kit
“¢ Studies of Management Issues
Technology Users Guide
The Technology Users Guide gives a general overview of the types of technology available. It has been developed for a different audience who may not be interested in obtaining in-depth knowledge of the industry or how a process works; rather they are concerned with its capabilities. This section is less academic in style and is more
subjective.
Moot Arbitration Kit
Often the complexities of a subject can be highlighted by reference to court cases that have developed between clients and contractors. In this CD, data from a major UK arbitration in the area of microtunnelling is summarised. Educationally, moot court cases can help teachers get active student involvement through processes of role playing and can add variety to lectures and tutorials.
Studies of Management Issues
Investigation into the causes of major accidents and/or minor management bungles often provides insight into the problems of implementing a technology. This CD provides some examples.
Outcomes
As a result of the production of this CD and the efforts of the ASTT, Trenchless Technology is starting to become embedded in the curricula of civil engineering degree courses throughout Australia.
At the University of New South Wales, where the program was developed, there have been examples of graduates crediting their initial employment to the knowledge gained through this initiative.
The initiative has resulted in relationships developing between industry, represented by the ASTT Councillors in each Australian State, and the academic community. One of the benefits will be to ensure that the contents of the training package are regularly updated to incorporate advances in the industry.
The CD has proved effective in developing a knowledge infrastructure amongst future engineers. The better this infrastructure develops, the quicker and more robustly the Trenchless Technology industry will grow.