Study plan - Bachelor in Fire Safety Engineering

Learning outcomes

A candidate with completed qualifications should have the following total learning outcomes:

Knowledge:

The candidate:

• has broad knowledge that provides a holistic system perspective on the field of engineering, especially in the field of fire safety engineering.
• has basic knowledge in the field of mathematics, natural science, relevant social and economics sciences and how these can be integrated in the field of fire protection solutions.
• has knowledge of the historical development of technology and especially on fire safety technology, the engineer's role in society and the consequences of the development and the usage of this technology.
• knows the research and development in her/his field, as well as relevant methods and ways of working in the field of engineering.
• can update her/his knowledge in the field, through gathering of information and contact with experts and practice.

Skills:

The candidate:

• can apply knowledge and relevant results from research and development to solve theoretical, technical and practical problems in the field of fire safety engineering and can justify her/his choice.
• knows digital solutions in the field of engineering, can work in relevant laboratories and can master measurement methods , the use of relevant instruments and software, as a basis for targeted and innovative work.
• can identify, plan and implement the projects of technical engineering, tasks, tests and experiments, independently and in teams.
• can find, evaluate, use and refer to information and technical material and present it so that it highlights a problem.
• can contribute new ideas, innovation, quality management and entrepreneurship through the development and implementation of sustainable and socially beneficial products, systems and / or solutions.

General competence:

The candidate:

• knows in connection with product and solutions the consequences on environment, health, society and economics in the field, remarking ethical and lifetime perspectives.
• can communicate knowledge related to fire safety to various audiences both in writing and orally in Norwegian and English and can help to demonstrate the technology's importance and consequences.
• can reflect on her/his professional practice, as well as a team member and in an interdisciplinary context, adapting the result to the current work.
• can contribute to the development of professional work through participation in professional discussions in the field and share her/his knowledge and experiences with others.

Content

The 3-years program leads to a Bachelor's degree. The Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) is the only university in Norway that offers a bachelor's degree in fire safety engineering. With this background the Department of engineering has profiled heavily in safety studies.

Focus on fire protection and safety becomes more and more important in today's society. Longer tunnels, higher buildings, complex ships and offshore installations provide great and exciting challenges for the fire engineers. The study handles fire control processes, the estimation of the size of fire, as well as the consequences of fire. The study is interdisciplinary, and the central themes are fire physics, risk analysis, internal controls, fire protection and building technology. We are also focused on the planning of various emergency situations.

Target group:

Candidates who want to work with the fire safety issues.

Current curriculum:

https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2018-05-18-870?q=Forskrift%20om%20rammeplan%20for%20ingeni%C3%B8rutdanning">The national curriculum for study programs in engineering, prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Research on May 18th, 2018.

Mathematics, physics, chemistry and statistics are important foundations for the engineering subjects. Students planning to continue with a master's degree that gives the protected Norwegian title sivilingeniør (siv.ing.), must choose MAT301 Multidimensional Analysis (Mathematics 3) to cover the requirement for 25 credtis in mathematics in the bachelor's degree.

Teaching

The teaching and learning methods are varied and aim to invite the students to activity and independent thinking. The teaching methods vary, with lectures, solving exercises in groups, and problem-based learning being the most common. In addition to individual reading, group work is the primary form of study for the students. The lecturers make a great effort in preparing the lectures and the students are expected to show prepared.

Practical training: The study includes no compulsory practice.

R&D base: A research-based and analytically approach to the topics dominate the teaching of courses included in the program. This means that teaching should reflect a research approach to problems and academic themes. Lecturers that conduct research should convey their knowledge to students, in terms of research topics, theory and research methods. They will also guide students working with their bachelor's thesis. The students will learn to apply relevant research literature and use research-based knowledge in their academic work.

Assessment

In the study there are several different types of assessment in the different courses. The assessment in one course can for example be in the form of a written exam, portfolio assessment, verbal exam, project or a home exam. A course can have one assessment or a combination of several such as for example written exam and a portfolio assessment. In many of the courses there is compulsory work. This is assignments that does not count to the grade, but must be approved for the student to be able to take the exam in the course.

Information about the assessments is stated in the course description and is presented by each course coordinator at start of the semester. For more information see Regulations governing studies and exams at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences on the HVL-webpage.

Internationalization

Study programs at university are organized so that students may take 1-2 semesters of their education abroad. We have many agreements with other universities in the Socrates/Erasmus and Leonardo da Vinci EU programs. You may read more about HVL Haugesund's foreign exchange offers here.

Most courses are taught in Norwegian, while much of the literature is in English. In the 5th semester courses might be taught in English so that students from abroad can have an exchange, at the same time as this is a part of the internationalization for our students that don't take an exchange.

Organization

The programme runs over three years and each year of study is divided into two semesters. Each semester the student have 3 to 4 courses, that adds up to 30 credits (ECTS).

The programme is full-time and is not adapted for part-time.
The teaching is primary performed between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., but teaching in the afternoons may occur.
A minimum of 40 hours of productive work each week during the study is required. Some students will need to use more time.

The Bachelor's programme follows the National Curriculum Regulations for Engineering Education and the courses are divided into the following structure:

Engineering basis: 30 credits of basic mathematics, engineering systems thinking and introduction to engineering occupational practice and working methods. These shall
principally relate to the engineering education and lay a foundation for the engineering programme.

Programme basis: 50–70 credits in technical subjects, natural sciences and mathematics and social sciences. These shall principally relate to the study programme
and lay a foundation for the field of study.

Technical specialisation: 50–70 credits that provide clear direction within the student’s own field of study and build on the engineering basis and programme basis.
These shall principally relate to the programme option and lay a foundation for the subject area.

Elective subjects: 20-30 credits that contribute to academic specialisation, either in scope or in depth.

A bachelor’s thesis is compulsory for all candidates and is to comprise a minimum of 20 credits of the technical specialisation. The thesis must reflect real problems from
society and the business sector or research and development activity, and contribute to an introduction to scientific theory and methods.

The electives are normally in the fifth semester. We make reservations about starting electives regaring the number of interested students and the staff situation. Blocks of electives/profile courses can be offered.

Some courses have prerequisites, as the courses in the study are based on each other throughout the study.

The Three-semester scheme (TRESS) is an academic and educationally adapted program that compensates for a lack of background in mathematics and physics. The mathematics are completed as a summer school before the first semester, together with the students with relevant vocational certificates (Y-path). The physics are completed as a course in the first semester.

These upgrading courses do not provide credits, but the exams in the TRESS-scheme must be passed to continue at the programme. Within the start of second year of study, the candidates in this arrangement should have obtained the same learning outcome as the other candidates.