👷 Chinese people use the term "大興土木" to refer to engineering projects such as repairing bridges and roads, building houses, reconstructing buildings, and so on. Foreigners refer to it as Civil Engineering, which mainly involves engineering projects for the benefit of the public. This article will explore Civil Engineering and its related academic information. As mentioned earlier, Civil Engineering is primarily focused on projects that benefit society. The simplest and most visible engineering projects related to transportation and urban development include: houses, bridges, tunnels, roads, and urban redevelopment. In addition to civil engineering, various material science knowledge needs to be learned, such as which materials to use in each engineering component to achieve safety standards such as stability, fire resistance, and structural integrity. In addition, there are water-related aspects such as urban water supply and drainage systems, slope stabilisation, and dam construction. (Ancient Chinese figures who were involved in water control, such as Dayu, could be considered civil engineers.) In modern times, applications will also involve urban development projects such as moving mountains, levelling ground, and reclaiming land from the sea. (For example, the proposed Tomorrowland Island) In addition to so many engineering and development projects, Civil Engineering also applies to on-site design, on-site safety coefficient calculation, management, budget, and process arrangement. On-site safety factors are critical, and calculation errors can result in accidents.
Modern technology applications have brought many conveniences and safety guarantees to civil engineering personnel while working:
- Drones: Can perform high-altitude and narrow-space monitoring.
- Building Information Modelling (BIM): BIM converts each part of the engineering project into data, from the depth of a large pile to the source material information of the pile/ to the position, electricity usage, installation location, and light source angle of a small light bulb in a building, facilitating future maintenance and improvement.
Of course, BIM covers much more than just maintaining a small light bulb. BIM can also be used in building processes, site location arrangements, and all calculation parts recorded in BIM for later review. More importantly BIM has also incorporated weather factors, making it easier for civil engineers to deal with various situations such as rainwater accumulation, wind, sunlight, and various possible disasters that may affect the site or building in the pre-planning stage. Having said so much, everyone should understand the importance of mathematics in civil engineering.
The general admission requirements are:
HKDSE: 555- 444, and universities will require students to have studied advanced mathematics (M1/M2) and physics. (Suggested to take computer science related subjects too!)
IELTS: 6.0
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