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Gazette Article
 October 7, 2002 Vol. 32 No. 9
 
Twelve U of C civil engineering students got the chance of their academic careers recently when they travelled to Lisbon, Portugal, to gather data for a class project that will have their teams serve as consultants for a major commercial development project. The goal is to turn four shanty-towns located beside the Lisbon international airport into a modern community of about 50,000 people, including the shanty-towns' current residents.

The fourth-year students represented two 30-member teams contracted to develop civil engineering proposals focusing on storm water and transportation management plans but also including other engineering aspects for a 300-hectare development in central Lisbon, known as Alta de Lisbos. The teams' proposals will also serve as their major fourth-year project towards their degrees.

"I never expected to be part of a project like this," says Susan Colquhoun, one of the students who went on the trip. "The opportunity to be involved is a bit overwhelming but very exciting. The project provides all of us in the course with an opportunity to contribute to something that may be in Lisbon, 10, 15 or 20 years from now."

"My learning experience is enhanced by being exposed to a different culture, and having to incorporate solutions into that culture," says Stephen Kay, another student. "Anytime you have a chance to see another culture, you are able to gain a different perspective that will improve you as a person."
 

The students spent five days in Lisbon gathering structural, weather, transportation, geotechnical and building regulatory data from Lisbon city planners, officials of the development company and others. They also visited Lisbon's top technical university, the Portuguese national civil engineering laboratories, Canadian embassy officials and managed one day for cultural activities.

"The trip was a great chance to get a little practical experience in dealing with people and learning how to effectively communicate your ideas," says Michael Collinson, another student. "The chance to show that you are capable of working internationally is a real confidence booster. I think this project will provide valuable experience in communication, design and organizational skills that will be useful in any future career."

"This project is more of a hands-on project," adds Colquhoun. "A lot of engineering courses exist in the theoretical. Alta de Lisbos is a fantastic opportunity to see the theory take shape in real time and space."

The 12 students were chosen by their peers and represented one of the five technical aspects they will report on structural, geotechnical, environmental, transportation and project management engineering.

Their proposal will be submitted to the development firm for its use on the project, similar to commercial engineering consultants' processes. The students, not necessarily the same 12, will then get another opportunity to travel to Lisbon, this time to present their results and solutions.

The U of C civil engineering students were tapped for the project thanks to the initiative of one of the university's senators, Joseph Leung of Marquis Communities Development. Marquis' parent company also owned the

 development firm handling the Lisbon project. Leung first proposed the idea to civil engineering department officials, who proposed that the students act as consultants for the Lisbon firm.

"One of the strengths of the Schulich School of Engineering is its relationship with the Calgary community," says Chan Wirasinghe, dean, engineering. "Projects like this give our students real-world experience and understanding that meets and enhances both their learning needs and their inquiry skills. Thanks to imaginative people like Joseph Leung our students graduate with the best preparation for their careers that we can provide."

Working on the Lisbon development as their class project gives the students a unique opportunity, says Tom Brown, head civil engineering. "This project is giving them international exposure," says Brown.

"The single most important emphasis that this project will teach them is that civil engineering is an international career. These students can take what they learn at the University of Calgary and apply it throughout the world. A city like Lisbon has different architectural regulations, a different culture and history, a different business culture and the students must learn to work within that."

The project also fosters their creativity, says Brown.

"The whole project is about innovation. It encourages the students to think outside the box and have some genuinely imaginative solutions to the problems they encounter."

The project is being supported by the Lisbon developer, the Dean of Engineering's office and the civil engineering department.

"It's going to be an exciting project, no doubt about that," says Brown.