Professor Michael Thorne speaks with Sangeeta Yadav about the collaboration with Galgotias University and the agreement signed
How is the engineering scene different in UKIJ
In the UK, students will study at the UG-level either a BSc or BEng Civil Engineering degree (BEng is thought of more highly but both lead to incorporated engineer status). At the Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), once students have completed either of these awards they can progress to our technical masters course (MSc Civil Engineering) which leads to Chartered Engineer status. Students may also progress from other BSc/BEng Civil Engineering courses at other institutions.
What is the USP of the engineering programme at ARUIJ
Students are taught by practitioners as well as academics which help them understand the relation of theory to practice. Students will undertake a residential course at the Constructionarium which is a hands-on construction experience for students and young professionals. It is where students following civil engineering, built environment or construction management courses learn practically to establish working links with industry — their future employers.
Constructionarium is held as a six day working field course. Students construct scaled down versions of bridges, buildings, dams and civil engineering projects. Students are assessed on the final day in terms of budgetary control, methodology and timely completion. Our students have access to state-of-the-art facilities including the new engineering centre in our Medical Business Innovation Centre in Chelmsford.
What are the agreements made under the collaboration with Galgotias UniversityIJ
Under this arrangement students will study three years of the BTech Civil Engineering programme at Galgotias University and transfer to the third year of a BEng Civil Engineering at ARU in the UK. It would cost Rs8 lakh. On successful completion of the third year, ARU will
award them a BEng Civil Engineering which will immediately give them Incorporated Engineer status with the Institution of Civil Engineers — the association which qualifies professionals engaged in civil engineering.
This means that students can work towards chartered status at one-third of the cost — the cost for completing the third year at ARU will be Rs14 lakh which includes tuition fees, accommodation and subsistence. Students can then go on to achieve full chartered status by completing a relevant postgraduate programme. Anglia Ruskin University offers a full range of post graduate programmes relating to Civil Engineering and Engineering Management.
How would this agreement impact employabilityIJ
Over the last three years, over 4,500 Indian engineers enroll at universities in the UK to study PG programmes each year. However, very few of them succeed in gaining work experience related to Engineering in the UK. One of the ways of improving their chances to do this is to gain ‘Chartered Engineer’ status.
An essential requirement for this is that they should have an UG qualification from an institution that is accredited by one of the accrediting bodies.
This very often means that they should have gained their UG degree from a UK University which can cost between Rs48 to Rs59 lakh which includes tuition fees, accommodation and subsistence for three years.
While some Indian students are able to afford this, it is out of reach of most. Under this new agreement students can work towards chartered status at one-third of the cost.
Students can then go on to achieve full chartered status by completing a relevant postgraduate programme.
The ARU offers a full range of post graduate programmes relating to Civil Engineering and Engineering Management. Students can improve their chances of gaining Chartered Engineer status by undertaking work experience which can lead to permanent employment.