Methods that promote multidisciplinary studies
The Master’s programme in Civil Engineering Mechanics is directly linked to the role played by mechanical civil engineers, central to modern industry: robotics, transportation, energy production, micro medical devices, and space rockets. Mechanical engineers design a wide range of products including instruments, vehicles, machines or larger systems. They are also responsible for designing the manufacturing processes for these products. Finally, they play a leading role in the organisation, control, upkeep and maintenance of production systems. Versatility is necessary for working in sectors such as aeronautics, energy, metallurgy, petrochemistry, automobiles and biomechanics.
Therefore, the curriculum for mechanical civil engineering is inherently versatile. On the one hand, the field of mechanics is vast and is linked to the majority of other engineering fields most notably electricity, materials, chemistry, civil engineering, automation and modelling. On the other hand, the non-exclusive nature of the options and the flexibility in structuring each student’s programme allows for specialised expertise in one or more areas, while maintaining a solid scientific and technical foundation. Additionally, students have the option of taking courses in non-technical fields.
The research skills of the teaching team are extremely varied and range from advanced numerical simulations to aspects of energy to design techniques, which undeniably enriches the training offered at UCLouvain. The final thesis (graduation project) often represents a final source of interdisciplinarity: students can choose their research supervisor from among all the academics at the École Polytechnique de Louvain (EPL) or undertake their research at another institution such as the Von Karman Institute.
Various teaching strategies
The didactic approach is continuous with that of the bachelor’s degree programme in engineering sciences: active learning, a balanced mix of group and individual work, and a significant emphasis on developing non-technical skills. A notable feature of the mechanical engineering programme is the immersion of students in the research laboratories of their lecturers, which trains them through the inherent questioning of research.
The programme prioritises projects, including a large-scale project that puts groups of students in semi-professional situations. These projects promote students’ critical thinking skills, which in turn allows them to design, model, realise and validate a prototype. Furthermore, in the Small and Medium Sized Business Creation major, students complete group projects as part of multidisciplinary teams throughout the duration of their master’s programme.
The final thesis represents half of the workload in the final year, offering the opportunity to explore a specific topic in depth and serving as a genuine introduction to professional engineering or research work. This work can be conducted on a topic related to one or more fundamental mechanics disciplines, within the École Polytechnique de Louvain, the Faculty of Science, or the Von Karman Institute. It may also be carried out in direct connection with a company on a research or application topic. Finally, for students opting for small and medium-sized enterprise creation, the final thesis is designed to be interdisciplinary, allowing groups of three students—ideally from different faculties—to work on a business creation project.
Diversity learning options
Students will encounter a variety of pedagogical setups tailored to different disciplines: lectures, projects, exercise sessions, problem solving sessions, case studies, experimental laboratories, internships in industry or research, group as well as individual work, and seminars. In certain subjects, e-learning enables students to learn at their own pace and to carry out virtual experiments.
These diverse learning situations develop interdisciplinary skills as well as those that are non-technical. Thus, students acquire knowledge in a progressive manner all the while developing their independence, organisational and time management skills as well as their ability to communicate.