Skip to main content
Unit of study_

CIVL9320: Engineering for Sustainable Development

2025 unit information

This unit introduces students to the principles of designing and implementing engineering projects to address global sustainable development challenges. Students will learn about sustainable development theories, frameworks, and debates positioned against the history and legacy of engineering in international development and humanitarian practice. Modules will equip students to apply participatory tools in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of inclusive engineering projects, while reflecting on the ethical dilemmas that surface in cross-cultural engineering work with marginalised communities. The unit provides a survey of design solutions to address basic needs and presents contemporary issues in global development. Students will explore these topics through an immersive real-world design project to understand the landscape of international development and humanitarian work.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Engineering

Study level Postgraduate
Academic unit Civil Engineering
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
? 
None
Corequisites:
? 
None
Prohibitions:
? 
CIVL5320
Assumed knowledge:
? 
CIVL3310 or CIVL9310

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. Converse in, and critically examine sustainable development theories, frameworks, and debates.
  • LO2. Understand the history and legacy of engineering in development and humanitarian practice
  • LO3. Apply engineering tool-sets to needs assessment, project planning, monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEAL) in developing community contexts
  • LO4. Develop sustainable engineering solutions using incomplete or limited data from multiple sources to address complex social, economic, and environmental challenges facing developing communities
  • LO5. Choose participative approaches and tools in project planning, implementation, and evaluation to inform more inclusive engineering designs
  • LO6. Convey engineering analysis to multi-cultural audiences to inform effective technical solutions and policy recommendations
  • LO7. Apply ethical and appropriate judgement in development practice while introspectively examining positionality
  • LO8. Employ appropriate teamwork skills across project phases to address development challenges

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2022
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 2 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Find your current year census dates

Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.