Master Degree in Building Engineering

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:

• Control of the entire economic and production cycles of the construction process;
• Control of all technological aspects concerning the design of building sub-systems at various scales and through all phases, from feasibility study to product engineering;
• Definition and verification of the performance of building components;
• Design, construction and testing of building structures, with particular reference to structures in seismic areas and all the most used construction technologies, including those for the renovation and retrofitting of existing structures;
• Management of large building interventions, with competencies involving both the organisation aspects of construction sites and the management, planning and control of building processes;
• Facility Management;
• Technical consultancy and litigation management;
• Design, construction and testing of technical systems and air conditioning systems in civil buildings;
• Design, construction and testing of building automation systems, which include both real-time monitoring systems and intelligent systems for the optimal control of building performance;
• Design, construction and verification of technologies for the sustainability and LCA analysis of building interventions.

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:

• they can work as freelancers, building designers, experts in building structures, designers of civil conditioning systems, building control systems, electrical and water and sanitary systems, also as technical consultants or experts in litigation management or contract management;
• they can work as technicians of engineering companies, construction companies and firms (e.g. head of building maintenance and management), as experts in building structures, system maintenance and design (air conditioning, automation, electrical and water-sanitary), as consultants for the management of large buildings, as engineers responsible for the stages of feasibility studies or the engineering of complex interventions;
• they can make their skills in project engineering, performance analysis and evaluation, technical consultancy, technological innovation, process and product quality control available to manufacturers of components and semi-finished products for the building industry;
• they can work as technical directors or assistants to technical directors, works managers, planners, field engineers, quality engineers, cost controllers, facility managers, project managers, technicians working for or on behalf of public administrations, large contractors (that is executors of projects involving considerable amounts) of real estate companies;
• in the field of building management, restoration, remediation, structural renovation and seismic retrofitting, performance optimization, also through automation, they can work as technicians in companies that deal with building management and maintenance (e.g. Energy Service Company).