Building Bridges at TU Dublin
Congratulations to the students in TU805 who won the opportunity to build a full-scale pedestrian bridge as part of their Design Project Module in first year. The project which involves the design of a pedestrian bridge for use in an emergency scenario in a developing country involves a multidisciplinary team of students working to undertake research and design to bring a concept to reality.
Team members work as civil engineers conducting a flood analysis, structural engineers calculating bridge member sizes and project managers ensuring the team collaborate and meet deadlines in the project design, mirroring a real-life industry project.
The bridge is tested live over the pond in Bolton Street by one of the lecturers.
Dervilla Niall, lecturer and live bridge tester, noted “This project takes place in an active learning environment using problem-based learning techniques which aim to develop the student’s teamwork and research skills and engages their critical thinking abilities.”
Dr Zeinab Bedri, lecturer, also commented ”The project is a great opportunity for students to experience working in a civil/structural industry setting while developing essential life-long learning skills”