Location: Ancona - via Brecce Bianche - ingresso 3
Access: Open access
Order: D.M. 270/04
Type: Master Degree (2 years)
The Master’s degree programme in Building Engineering aims at training engineers with a broad spectrum of skills who are able to work in the different fields of construction, taking on roles of considerable responsibility and managing complex situations.
To this aim, the programme strengthens traditional disciplines related to integrated building design and performance control, building structure technology and building construction systems.
It also deals with disciplines that meet the latest market needs, such as project management, construction management, facility management, integration of automatic control systems in buildings for integrated performance optimisation.
The programme is therefore structured so as to provide graduates with various skills, the main of which are listed below:
Role in a work context
Graduates in Building Engineering have the skills to take on assignments - even of great responsibility - in complex organisations that perform work and services for Construction Engineering.
To this end, graduates can be classified into high profile specialist engineers (eg integrated systems designers, experts in structures or plants, engineers in charge of the engineering of building projects), coordinators of the construction process, engineers in charge of managing job orders from the planning stage to that of the management of execution and testing (exploiting their skills in management), also for the operational, economic and quality control aspects of products, works and processes. Opportunities for the professional figure of the Building Engineer also include the fields of management, remediation and maintenance of buildings (e.g. facility management and performance adjustment of buildings), both as a technician and a coordinator of structured supply chains.
In addition, graduates in Building Engineering can work as freelancers, subject to passing the state exam and enrolling in the appropriate Professional Engineers Register. As freelancers they are able to offer various technical services, including design and technical-organisational management of building interventions of adequate complexity, specialised design services (e.g. building structures, electrical, air-conditioning, plumbing, electrical and automation systems, economic management, structural renovations and restoration), feasibility studies, planning of construction contracts, construction management, technical management and quality control, security, execution or assistance to the execution of testing, technical consultancy and litigation management.
Skills associated with the role
Graduates from the MSc programme in Building Engineering will be able to contribute to the design process of buildings in all its phases and all its technical aspects. In addition to requirement analyses and planning phases, they will be able to deal with the design of individual building sub-systems, their integration into a single building structure, the engineering of projects for the constructability and management of finished products.
They will be able to offer expertise in the field of building structures, where great attention is paid to design in seismic areas, structural renovation and the use of advanced structural materials. Similarly, they will be able to offer their knowledge of the various aspects of plant design and construction technology.
Furthermore, they can be in charge for the organisation and management of the entire construction process, which also includes the planning and control of large contracts. In this context, thanks to the various skills they possess, they can take on different roles and work, for example, as major interventions planners, field engineers, quality managers, technical directors or assistants to the technical direction, cost engineers, facility managers, project managers.
Their management skills, combined with their strictly technical competence, can be used in the management of large buildings (facility management). This task often includes also checking user's safety (e.g. in the event of a fire), energy saving, respect for the environment and comfort. Building engineers will also be able to design advanced management and building control systems to be integrated into existing or new buildings to optimise their performance.
Finally, they can manage technological innovation processes, process and product quality, surveys and technical advice, also in case of litigations.
Occupational opportunities
Building Engineers are multidisciplinary figures who are useful in a very large number of professions. The following is a list of the main career opportunities: