Preparing Structural Engineering Graduates To Increase Their Positive Impact

Traditionally the role of a structural engineer was to design structures that were safe for use by society and that enabled society to develop and evolve. However, with the climate emergency structural engineers need to be more conscious of the choices that are made on their projects that lead to overuse of material, and work to reduce the embodied carbon in their structures. This cannot be achieved in isolation, it’s a systemic issue, where decisions made throughout a project, from concept to construction, can impact the embodied carbon. The structural engineer needs to be mindful of these decisions to have a greater positive impact on construction projects. It may be due to how the project is specified, how it is designed or how it is constructed but the result is the same, the structure exceeds its functional need, it is overdesigned. This research investigates, through 14 interviews, why overuse of material occurs on construction projects, specifically buildings, and what the first steps to change could be. This research outlines how some of these first steps include the knowledge and attitudes that are first developed in students within their early years of engineering education. This research aims not only to identify the messages we are giving to students but also to aid educators in recognising the other challenges that young graduates will be faced with. By developing educational programmes to equip individuals with the necessary skillset and knowledge, they can actively challenge traditional attitudes and become vital advocates for change.