University challenge

Stuart Ashenden is taking a gamble. He has put his reputation as a competent academic administrator, and that of his employer, the University of Greenwich, on the line by developing a course for which he doesn’t know if there will be any demand from students.

The new degree course, which the university is planning to launch in September, is called ‘Public health engineering technology’. It has been developed to produce engineers specialising in the design of water supply and waste water systems. As such, it is the first specialised undergraduate programme in public health engineering to be launched in the UK.

There is no lack of enthusiasm for the new course from the perspective of the construction industry, which stands to benefit from a ready supply of specialist public health engineers. But if the gamble fails, not only will Ashenden’s standing be undermined but the college too could lose its reputation as an institution in touch with the needs of industry.

As director of resources and recruitment at the University of Greenwich’s school of engineering, Ashenden says he was persuaded of the need for the course by several leading industry figures, including Geoff Marsh, past president of the Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering, who Ashenden met on another project. “Geoff convinced me of the need for the course. Until then we weren’t aware of any industry need for such a degree.”

The IPHE already offered a master plumbers certificate scheme, but Marsh convinced Ashenden there was a need for a degree-level course, combining elements of both civil and mechanical engineering courses with new specialist courses on waste. For Marsh, the course will provide the opportunity for students to develop their career from a skilled plumbing technician base, to become a chartered public health engineer.

Marsh was helped in his mission by John Griggs, a public health specialist at BRE. At the time, Griggs was on secondment to the Department for Trade and Industry. “The DTI were concerned about skills shortages in the sector and were aware of the shortage of specialist engineers,” explains Griggs. As such, the DTI were happy to facilitate discussions about the introduction of the degree.

Ashenden estimates the course will need about 10 students to be viable. “The biggest risk is when we advertise the course and only get one student enrol because we’d still have to run the course for three years,” he explains. To limit its financial exposure, the university sought financial backing from industry before deciding to invest in the course. “The industry says there is a need for the course, but we don’t know if that is the case, so we said to industry: ‘Put your money where your mouth is’,” says Ashenden. “Consequently, the IPHE has agreed to underwrite the cost of the course for the university if insufficient students enrol.”

The IPHE involved CIBSE’s Society of Public Health Engineers in shaping the course content. Martin Shouler, environmental services engineering leader at Arup and chairman of SOPHE, welcomes the course: “There is currently no recognised training pipeline into public health engineering; at Arup we train civil, mechanical and environmental graduates to become proficient PH engineers.”

The new course will comprise modules from both the university’s civil engineering and mechanical engineering modules, and additional specialist sections on various public health engineering topics. The university already offers degrees in civil and mechanical engineering, leading to incorporated engineer status.

The course content has been developed through consultation with industry. In their first year students will be given a solid engineering foundation covering both engineering principles and practice. In the second year, this broad theme continues alongside specialist courses on the technical aspects of public health engineering, as well as issues such as the environment, sustainability and health, and the legislation that underpins them. For example, the module Water supply and distribution covers applications such as fire-safety systems and sanitary installations, while the Waste water and drainage module encompasses both above and below ground drainage and rainwater systems. In the final year students will undertake an individual project and a group design project.

To enable those already working in industry to enrol, the course will be offered in both full- and part-time modules. A good take up would increase the number of graduate public health engineers and help raise the status of public health engineers.

After graduation, successful students will be eligible to become incorporated engineers. “The IPHE is looking at obtaining chartership, so we need to be able to demonstrate our members’ competence,” says Griggs. He says that the IPHE believes the course could be rolled out to other universities. As well as the bachelor’s degree-level course, a foundation degree and a masters’ course are also being considered.

Ashenden says he has some concerns about the name of the course because of the different interpretations given to public health engineering, where it is often assumed to relate to healthcare, particularly from students unfamiliar with the construction industry. However, he says the course title is not top of his priorities. “At this stage the name can wait; it is more important to get the content agreed.”

Currently Ashenden is validating the course by going through the course content as a formal process with industry and academics and institutions. He aims to complete this by the end of April. “The hardest part of the process has been to take a competency-based occupation and turn it into an academic discipline.”

Marsh is hoping the construction industry will work with the university so that companies will sponsor students by paying their fees. “What we need now is the support of consultancy practices and technical teams of manufacturers of piping and drainage equipment,” says Marsh. “We need to encourage them to send in their trainees to attend the public health engineering degree technology course.”

Not until the new academic year in September will it become clear whether Ashenden’s course is destined to succeed. But whatever the outcome, his initiative certainly demonstrates the kind of proactive approach that’s needed if the industry is to attract more dedicated, high calibre candidates in future.