Postgraduate Courses

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the building control and management system in Hong Kong.
• 2.
  Define the principles of building planning and design, and the requirements of site supervision.
• 3.
  Identify various problems of building projects and recommend solutions to these problems.
• 4.
  Develop strategies for successful delivery of building projects and successful maintenance of existing buildings.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Define the construction industry and different stages in a construction project.
• 2.
  Illustrate current HKSAR Work Bureau Guidelines, Circulars and Construction Industry Code of Practices by means of real-life industry Case Studies.
• 3.
  Specify the responsibilities of Consultants and Contractors in Construction Safety Management, Environmental Management and Project Management.
• 4.
  Perform Risk Management, Value Engineering and Partnering Approach in a construction project.
• 5.
  Formulate and resolve the latest Construction Procurement Strategy.
• 6.
  Identify the funding source in Public and Private infrastructure project. 

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify contracts used in the construction industry.
• 2.
  Distinguish the different conditions of contracts used in Hong Kong and the FIDIC contract.
• 3.
  Describe the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) i.e. Arbitration, Mediation, Adjudication and Arbitration in the construction industry in China.
• 4.
  Analyze specific ADR technique.
• 5.
  Evaluate the application of ADR in Hong Kong and China.
• 6.
  Develop presentation and report writing skills.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify the characteristics of the construction industry.
• 2.
  Identify fundamental knowledge in construction project planning.
• 3.
  Estimate construction costs.
• 4.
  Control construction costs.
• 5.
  Conduct cash flow analysis of construction projects.
• 6.
  Analyze the financial and operational performance of a construction company.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify the principles of building information modeling (BIM) and the current technologies for BIM.
• 2.
  Leverage software for building information modeling and construction management.
• 3.
  Model and represent various kinds of information in the construction industry.
• 4.
  Perform data processing and mining for knowledge discovery.
• 5.
  Design and leverage database systems for managing information and supporting construction management.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the proper selection of concrete raw materials to enhance greenness.
• 2.
  Identify factors affecting concrete rheology, failure and durability.
• 3.
  Explain steel corrosion in concrete, including its control and inspection.
• 4.
  Define non-destructive methods for concrete members.
• 5.
  Explain repair methods and repair materials for concrete members.
• 6.
  Analyze the design and application of various special concretes.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Recognize the engineering mechanics and structural modelling techniques on which the analysis and design of tall building structures are based.
• 2.
  Identify the structural behaviour and performance of different forms of tall buildings and the analysis and design principles of tall building structures.
• 3.
  Conduct analysis and preliminary design of different types of tall building structures.
• 4.
  Apply the modern engineering software ETABS for the analysis and design of tall building structures.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the characteristics of wind, wind structure near ground and topographical effects on wind.
• 2.
  Identify typhoon structures and perform simple typhoon simulation.
• 3.
  Determine the alongwind and crosswind forces of a structure and the wind-induced structural responses.
• 4.
  Analyze dynamic problem of buildings subject to different dynamic loads.
• 5.
  Identify the attributes of an effective wind-resistant design.
• 6.
  Perform a tall building design following Hong Kong and Australian wind codes.
• 7.
  Recognize and appreciate various types of wind tunnel testing techniques.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Recognize the challenges of building taller structures and the development of modern structural systems for tall buildings.
• 2.
  Define computer modelling principles and applications of finite element analysis for tall building structures.
• 3.
  Describe advanced knowledge of numerical optimization methodology for structural design of tall buildings.
• 4.
  Apply the state-of-the-art computer based techniques for engineering analysis and design optimization of real-life typical high-rise building projects.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Define fundamental concepts in continuum mechanics.
• 2.
  Recognize the formulation of various problems in structural mechanics and corresponding solution techniques.
• 3.
  Identify the fundamentals behind design equations commonly used in practice.
• 4.
  Describe stress and deflection analysis which serves as the basis of structural design.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify basic seismology and earthquake characteristics.
• 2.
  Define the principles of earthquake resistant design.
• 3.
  Analyze the seismic effects on structures using design codes.
• 4.
  Recognize the contemporary seismic mitigation technology.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify the designs of tall building structures and foundations in Hong Kong.
• 2.
  Describe the construction of tall building structures in Hong Kong using mechanized construction methods and prefabrication.
• 3.
  Distinguish the various types of foundation systems adopted in Hong Kong and their respective construction methods.
• 4.
  Explain the associated quality assurance measures, testing methods on site and in laboratory.
• 5.
  Recognize the statutory requirements on site supervision of construction sites.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Define different bridge construction methods.
• 2.
  Define different bridge structural forms.
• 3.
  Describe how bridge construction/erection methodology affects bridge design.
• 4.
  Select appropriate bridge form with a given site constraint.
• 5.
  Estimate preliminary material quantity required for a bridge project.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Recognize the challenges that confront costal engineers.
• 2.
  Integrate various approaches and tools to analyze and design costal structures.
• 3.
  Describe and apply the principles that underpin the estimation of wave loads on structures.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the regulations for contaminated land management in Hong Kong.
• 2.
  Assess the potential risks associated with land contamination.
• 3.
  Evaluate and compare the applications of various remediation technologies.
• 4.
  Design cost-effective remediation technology to decontaminate a site.
• 5.
  Identify real applications from case studies.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Define the fundamental and advanced knowledge of current solid wastes and wastewater treatment and disposal systems and their problems in Hong Kong and beyond.
• 2.
  Identify key problems of water and wastewater treatment processes, and propose fundamental engineering and management solution.
• 3.
  Professionally judge and assess the advantages and disadvantages of various sewage treatment technologies such as MEL, AGS, BABY, Anammox, etc.
• 4.
  Select the treatment processes/technologies for meeting a more stringent discharge requirement for water pollution control with focus of tertiary treatment.
• 5.
  Design basic treatment units and systems for municipal wastewater treatment.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the fundamental and advanced knowledge of physical-chemical processes in the environmental engineering field.
• 2.
  Identify problems and propose feasible engineering or management solutions during the operation of water and wastewater treatment processes.
• 3.
  Design the physical-chemical unit processes and integrate them to systems for water and wastewater treatment.
• 4.
  Analyze major factors impacting physical-chemical treatment systems and provide management strategies.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify and evaluate the environmental problems through reviewing the key water pollution parameters of water and wastewater.
• 2.
  Select the sewage treatment levels and processes required to meet the discharge requirements and to protect the receiving water bodies.
• 3.
  Carry out the process design for municipal sewage treatment plant including primary, chemically enhanced primary, secondary and sludge treatment.
• 4.
  Evaluate the operational problems and identify practical solutions during the operation of the municipal sewage treatment plants.
• 5.
  Select the tertiary treatment processes required for meeting a more stringent discharge requirement for water pollution control.
• 6.
  Select the treatment processes and identify the key design parameters and monitoring requirements for wastewater reuse.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify the engineering challenges in municipal hydraulic systems.
• 2.
  Apply the principles that underpin analysis, design and management of municipal hydraulic systems.
• 3.
  Integrate various approaches and tools to analyze, design and manage municipal hydraulic systems.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Evaluate the advanced theories and methods of traffic and transportation engineering and transportation systems planning.
• 2.
  Utilize mathematical or quantitative methods to model components of transportation system.
• 3.
  Identify transportation system planning and management problems and propose feasible solutions.
• 4.
  Apply key transportation planning principles to the analysis, modeling and operation of transportation system, including traffic impact analysis and transportation demand forecasting.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Analyze principles involved in the design of traffic control.
• 2.
  Apply traffic control principles to model signalized junctions.
• 3.
  Design signalized junctions based on the Hong Kong practices.
• 4.
  Develop advanced control methods based on dynamic traffic flow fundamentals.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify basic performance requirements for foundations.
• 2.
  Define fundamental soil mechanics principles for foundation engineering design and construction.
• 3.
  Recognize the uncertainties throughout the site investigation, design and construction process, and how the uncertainties are handled in limit state design.
• 4.
  Design common types of foundations (shallow foundations, piles, returning walls, soil nails, offshore foundations etc.).
• 5.
  Conduct construction quality assurance.
• 6.
  Design new types of foundations (wind turbine foundations, energy piles etc.) based on first principles.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Explain stress-strain-strength behaviours of soils and rocks.
• 2.
  Evaluate soil and rock properties from laboratory tests and field data.
• 3.
  Apply elastic and plastic theories for constitutive modelling of soils and rocks.
• 4.
  Use basic geotechnical software.
• 5.
  Analyze slope stability, underground opening and foundation in rocks and soils.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Explain shear strength of soils and methods for slope stability analysis.
• 2.
  Evaluate soil and rock properties from laboratory tests and field data.
• 3.
  Apply different methods for evaluating the stability of soil slopes.
• 4.
  Use basic geotechnical software packages for stability analysis of soil slopes.
• 5.
  Analyze the stability of engineering soil slopes for safe design.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify local geological setting and geological process.
• 2.
  Identify major rock types including weathered rock profiles.
• 3.
  Map geologic structures and analyze discontinuities using stereonet.
• 4.
  Classify rock mass.
• 5.
  Describe stress-strain-strength behaviours of rock and joint.
• 6.
  Analyze slope stability, underground opening and foundation in rocks.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Define the fundamental principles and advanced concepts of unsaturated soil mechanics.
• 2.
  Design and carry out laboratory and field tests for determining unsaturated soil properties.
• 3.
  Apply key principles of unsaturated soil mechanics to analyze and design geotechnical and geo-environmental structures such as landfill, pavement, foundation and slope.
• 4.
  Effectively communicate unsaturated soil mechanics and engineering to a range of audiences in a professional manner.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Recognize the background and past development of the slope safety management system in Hong Kong and describe the two key components of slope safety management system in Hong Kong, viz. (a) geotechnical control, and (b) landslide prevention and mitigation programme.
• 2.
  Describe the geology of Hong Kong, common types of landslides in Hong Kong and their key causal factors.
• 3.
  Analyze stability condition of slopes.
• 4.
  Analyze mobility of landslide debris.
• 5.
  Undertake design of common slope stabilisation works.
• 6.
  Undertake design of common landslide mitigation works.
• 7.
  Conduct quantitative risk assessment for use in slope safety management.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify the fundamental knowledge in probability and statistics.
• 2.
  Develop basic skill sets to perform probabilistic calculations with commercial toolboxes.
• 3.
  Define the concepts of engineering risk assessment and decision making.
• 4.
  Conduct useful analyses related to the subject, such as Monte Carlo Simulation.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify the fundamental knowledge in different areas related to the course topic.
• 2.
  Describe advanced theories and methods related to the course topic.
• 3.
  Formulate and solve problems in the various areas of the course topic.
• 4.
  Apply theories and methods to practical implementations.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Develop and apply self-learning and task management skills to effectively manage an independent project.
• 2.
  Critically analyze a selected topic to identify, formulate and solve problems and apply solutions to practical implementations.
• 3.
  Communicate effectively in writing, using accurate technical and scientific terminology, and demonstrating logical organization of relevant content and information.
• 4.
  Communicate effectively in oral presentation, demonstrating logical organization of relevant content and information, using appropriate style, pacing and body language, proper handling of questions, and effective time management.