Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (FEBE)

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1 Structure and Character Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (FEBE) More than any other Faculty at the University of Johannesburg, FEBE wears its history as a proud badge of honour. There are technological, practically-oriented departments and programmes, mainly based on, and taught at, the Doornfontein Campus (DFC); and there are the scientific, theoretical departments and programmes in the same fields, to be found on Kingsway. The technology programmes are the legacy of the Technikon Witwatersrand by far the oldest institution of the three that formed the UJ merger. The Engineering Science programmes, leading to a four-year professional degree, have come down to UJ from another ancestor, the Rand Afrikaans University. There are 10 Technology Departments and 3 Engineering Science programmes. FEBE offers not only engineering programmes, covering all of the major engineering disciplines, but also programmes in Town and Regional Planning, Quality and Operations Management, Minerals Survey and Construction Management. The faculty is unique in South Africa in its comprehensive nature. The purpose of the two qualification types are rather different. Technological programmes are industry-oriented and practical in character while the BIng modules are more theoretical and abstract, but this is not an absolute divide. It is often from the Doornfontein Campus that outstanding research initiatives are launched and successfully completed, while Kingsway is often the source of pragmatic answers for tough industry problems. Quality assurance of programmes, operations and governance is handled by two committees, one for Technology Programmes and one for Science Programmes. Both are chaired by the Executive Dean, who has oversight over all programmes. Different though their cultures may be, the two streams come together in their focus on the industry they both serve: engineering and the built environment. With 13 diverse Departments in the Faculty, a structure of Schools grouped about the industry orientation of the underlying disciplines and was introduced so that teaching could be optimally administered, collegial interaction facilitated and research stimulated. They are the Schools of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Civil Engineering and the Built Environment and Mining, Metallurgy and Chemical Engineering. Heads of School are tasked with strategic oversight, research development, and resource sharing. Another major initiative that HoS s support is that of the Staff Qualifications Programme by making sure it is on everyone s agenda, that adequate supervision is on hand and that research facilities are available for those members of staff who are busy with higher degrees. When the Department of Quality and Operations Management, now based at DFC, was added to the School of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering last year, the Faculty was stretched across three campuses. The Executive Dean, Vice-Dean, Head of Administration and Heads of School usually have offices/satellite offices on APK and DFC campuses. Administration, for instance the scheduling of meetings, is necessarily a matter of precise planning and efficient communication. The consequence of this double layered and highly structured organization covering so many fields, is a richness and comprehensiveness that no other Engineering Faculty in the country can Professor Saurabh Sinha Executive Dean, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (FEBE) 84 FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

2 match. FEBE s unique architecture positions it as a highly effective contributor to the University s overall strategy of social development through broad-based education. The Faculty s production of many well-educated young people leads to general social betterment, and also to the well-being of industry. Producing Human Capital for Industry The nature of the engineering and built environment sector - highly technical and challenging - places demands on the programmes training its workers. This in turn places demands on the teaching of the programmes, so that in this Faculty, teaching excellence has to be an unconditional priority, benefitting its nearly 8,300 students. But the Faculty is especially sensitive to the needs of its first-year students and does all it can to ensure their success. A tutoring system is in place, its operation and budget administered by individual Heads of Department. In addition, the University s strategic mentoring fund for first year students is tapped. With the help of a specialist educational adviser, critical modules were identified and students in them were put into smaller groups for intensive mentoring. In an effort to increase student-staff interaction, a full-time liaison officer has just been appointed, and on Kingsway, where the four-year degree programmes are taught, there are three student counsellors available for consultation by baffled or unhappy students. Students are also encouraged to make use of the support services offered by the Academic Development Centre and Support. PsyCAD is just one of these, a caring environment with units on all four campuses where students can find career and subject-choice advice, cognitive, emotional and socialization assessments, and even, should they need it, psychotherapy, and such is the shock of the step up from high school to university, that many make use of this service. Another ADC initiative, extended programmes, is proving highly successful on the Doornfontein Campus of FEBE, where students at risk are identified early in the academic year, and then offered the option of spreading their two-year programme over three years. Those who do, exceed initial expectations. On Kingsway, students at risk may enrol in an extended programme in the Faculty of Science, and if their academic performance there proves satisfactory, they will then be enrolled in FEBE. The range of qualifications on offer is extremely wide, catering for the diverse spread of engineering and built environment disciplines. There are 17 National Diplomas ranging from Mineral Surveying to Building to Chemical Engineering. With well over three thousand FTE students registered for these in 2012, their popularity is undoubted. The technological stream offers 26 qualifications in all, from National Diplomas up to doctoral level, while the science stream offers four BIng programmes and ten Master s and Doctoral qualifications. All of the faculty s undergraduate programmes, save for one department, are subject to stringent professional accreditation and quality assurance processes. All of the engineering programmes are subjected to the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) accreditation processes and have also all been newly aligned with the latest HESQF (Higher Education FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

3 Qualifications Sub-Framework) requirements. This mammoth task required participation by staff in many workshops during 2012 and innovative moves were made; for instance, the technology programmes developed curricula for the Bachelor of Engineering Technology (BET) and for oneyear degrees in Town and Regional Planning, Construction Management and Mineral Survey. An advanced postgraduate qualification in engineering management remains also a popular choice, once again addressing the needs of the emerging economy of South Africa. A major mechanism for quality assurance is the Faculty s Teaching and Learning Quality Forum, with a steering committee chaired by the Vice Dean. It is a participative platform where best practices can be shared, problems laid out for collaborative solution, and successes celebrated. A quality review using HEQC guidelines was launched in 2012, focussing on tuition for higher degrees and the research in the Faculty. Work Integrated Learning (WIL) is part of every qualification at the Doornfontein Campus of FEBE, which means that students spend time in an appropriate work environment. Their work is doubly supervised: by a lecturer from FEBE and by a workplace manager. There are stipulated professional and technical skills which must be acquired, and signed off, if the student is to graduate. WIL opportunities are supported by the relevant SETA s and the NSF, and the whole idea is an excellent example of the holistic teaching and learning policy of UJ, which aims to produce graduates who have successfully learned to be something metallurgists, or quantity surveyors, or civil engineers. For students who are not final-year, field trips to industry partners are organized, so that from the start, students get the feel of their eventual profession. Not only does FEBE produce thousands of well-trained graduates and deliver service courses in other Faculties (its overall student headcount in 2012 was 8,468), but with its carefully-designed range of qualifications, it is able to serve every sector and level of its industrial partners human resource needs, across the spectrum of engineering fields, from civil through mechanical to mining and electrical. And industry has the highest regard for graduates of FEBE, as is seen in their high rates of securing employment soon after graduating. The Faculty s Strong Links with Industry The Faculty maintains and continually strengthens links through a number of initiatives. There is an Industry Advisory Board (IAB) for the whole Faculty, with representatives who volunteer from all of the industrial sectors that FEBE services. In addition, each department and technology station maintains an IAB to make sure they are aligned with external stakeholders. The IAB s advise the relevant Departments on new developments in a sector, on what is needed in terms of course material and on how FEBE graduates are performing in the real world. It is critically important that seasoned engineers should report to the Faculty on how its graduates are faring and how they are rated by the professional bodies which regulate various sectors, because programmes in 12 of the

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5 13 departments are subject to accreditation by professional bodies. There are also many individual leaders from industry who have advisory relationships with various academic departments. This system goes a long way to aligning FEBE s programmes with what is required in industry. So industry comes onto campus, and FEBE also goes out into industry. Academics are encouraged to become members of the various controlling professional bodies, and to play an active role in them. They serve on national and international committees, on industry commissions; they use their expertise in consulting work. An outstanding example of how closely FEBE works with industry is the Department of Mining Engineering. It is staffed by six academics and 16 industry associates, who lecture their own areas of specialization. The BTech and National Diploma programmes in Mining and Minerals Survey have recently enjoyed an upswing of 18 % in student numbers. This is due to the Memoranda of Understanding between UJ and the mining authorities in various SADC countries, whose personnel want to upgrade their qualifications and stay abreast of latest developments. The internationalization that this brings about in UJ is to be welcomed, and in terms of FEBE s resources, these students are fully funded by their external sponsors. Serving through Research The Faculty Research Committee, chaired by the Executive Dean, monitors and motivates research activities in FEBE. Over the last four years, there has been a huge increase from 26 to 103 units in terms of the DHET subsidy formula, with publications emanating from the research groups active in many departments. To take just one example, GEEP is the Group on Electronic Energy Processing, in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Science. It focuses i.a., on power electronics (especially different types of converters - their behaviour, design, construction and implementation); power systems (the non-linear behaviour of power systems, its harmonics and the verification of power saving); and electromagnetic compatibility (particularly the noise generated by power electronics). GEEP has a user-friendly website, and international collaboration enriches its activities. There is a high degree of internationalization in FEBE s academic personnel, particularly from countries on the African continent. The new perspectives and insights that this brings, stimulates and enriches enquiry, and is perhaps a factor in the leap in FEBE s research publication output. At the end of 2012, there were at least ten major research groups in FEBE, their projects integrated with what is happening in industry; new technologies, and improvements on established ones, are always being sought. Exciting spin-offs are the production of an unmanned aerial vehicle and an eco-friendly solar car the UJ Ilanga II. Government recognizes that FEBE has much to offer. It is driving industrial development with the establishment of technology transfer stations. The Metal Casting Technology Station (MCTS), based on FEBE s Doornfontein campus and making use of its infrastructure, was set up in 2004

6 by the Department of Science and Technology as a non-profit unit. Now the leading provider of technology transfer assistance to SMME s in the metal casting industry, its focus areas include additive manufacturing, education and training, physical metallurgy, rural and emerging foundries and sand technology. The list of its sponsors and partners is impressive: DST, DTI, National Foundry Technology Network, the CSIR, Mintek, MERSETA (Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services SETA) and SEDA (Small Enterprise Development Agency). The second such unit in FEBE is the recently-established Environmental and Process Engineering Transfer Station which addresses energy and environmental problems holistically and on a national basis. In the areas of energy, air pollution, water treatment and solid waste management, it acts as a conduit for, and an accelerator of technological innovation, with socioeconomic well-being as the ultimate aim. Community Engagement FEBE runs a highly successful project in its Technolab initiative. During school holidays, learners from Grade 3 to 12 can sign up, for a small fee, for an engineering programme. The prospective UJ scholars are given Fischertechnik Mechanics and Statics sets to work with and simple structural problems are set for them so that they learn about everyday mechanisms like scissors elevating platforms, beam and scales, lifting tackle, etc. The Grade 7 to 12 learners are given a challenge in robotics. In addition to these, Technolab holiday clubs and extra classes in Engineering Graphics and Design for grades 10, 11 and 12 learners and teachers, are organized, according to the GDE as well as the IEB assessment standards. There are also plans afoot to engage more directly with learners in disadvantaged schools. The Faculty is an active supporter of the role of women in the engineering industry. In 2012 a conference was organized on Women in Engineering and the Built Environment, with awards being made to exemplary female leaders in the engineering professions. FEBE promotes the Society of Women in Engineering and Technology and encourages their community involvement in high school tutoring. Aptly enough, this Faculty can be thought of as an engine running smoothly and strongly, and helping to keep the many sectors of South Africa s engineering industry on the move. Ongoing international collaboration and effective responses ensure that FEBE knows what industry needs, and provides it. 95