Assessing the relevance of an Indian undergraduate civil engineering programme: a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process approach

Abstract

Purpose

An undergraduate civil engineering programme is assessed for its relevance to the building construction sector. Its contrast from the existing curriculum structure is also highlighted.

Design/methodology/approach

The curriculum is clustered into 15 groups based on disciplines. A pairwise comparison of groups is conducted by experts from the building construction sector. Expert judgements are analysed using Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy AHP) to determine the groups' order based on their importance in preparing students for a career in the building construction sector.

Findings

Concrete Technology, Structural Design and Analysis, and Building Technology and Town Planning emerged as the three most essential course groups, followed by Construction and Project Management, Surveying, and Geotechnical and Allied. Foundational Science and Math, Hydrology/Water Resource Engineering, and Computing and Programming came last in the order.

Research limitations/implications

Relying on a curriculum from a specific region, generalizability to other geographical areas is limited. The perspective of building construction sector professionals excludes the views of other stakeholder groups within the sector.

Practical implications

The study allows universities in general to enhance students' job prospects in construction by calibrating course group priorities and aligning skills with industry needs, thereby potentially improving employability, and boosting the industry-academia relationship.

Originality/value

Fuzzy AHP has been utilized by building construction industry experts to assess the relevance of an undergraduate civil engineering curriculum. Findings serve as a valuable reference for implementing positive curriculum changes to potentially enhance student employability.

Citation

Sharma, S., Singh, S.R. and Jatav, S. (2024), "Assessing the relevance of an Indian undergraduate civil engineering programme: a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process approach", Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-09-2023-0241