Master of Science in Construction Management

Louisiana State University

Construction is a global industry that is always in need of capable leaders and managers, and a field where determined, educated professionals can build a fulfilling career. LSU’s Master of Science in Construction Management online program provides the technical and interpersonal skills needed to become successful construction leaders and also builds connections to a robust professional network that can help students achieve their career goals.

Accredited by the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE), LSU’s Master of Science in Construction Management blends coursework in leadership with core construction subjects like sustainability, building information modeling, project delivery, and decision-making. With LSU’s strong reputation in the construction field, graduates leave the program confident and ready to make an impact.

The degree program aims to equip leaders and managers with best practices found in the corporate construction industry environment, and is ranked Top 25 for Best Online Engineering Program for Veterans by U.S. News & World Report. Equal in quality to an in-person MSCM degree, ensuring that virtual learners are being moulded for the same levels of success as on-campus students. Students will be prepared for the Associate Constructor Level 1 exam.

You will learn the skills needed to advance to more senior positions, obtain a higher salary, and open new doors to more rewarding construction organizations.

Your learning experience will be hosted by the Louisiana State University.

Construction Management Specialization

Colombia University of the City of New York

The Construction Management specialization is curated for professionals in the construction and civil engineering industry looking to advance their careers. Through this specialization, students will gain comprehensive industry knowledge along with the latest trends and development within the industry.

This 5-course specialization will cover the major facets of construction management:

• Construction Project Management Course: The fundamentals of construction management from construction industry, the role of project manager, contract types, and project delivery methods. How to delivery lean project and maintain sustainability. Explore technology trends and project planning.
• Construction Scheduling: The key project scheduling techniques and procedures. How to develop and manage a schedule and understand scheduling tools such as bar charts, activity on arrow, and activity on nodes. The multiple relationships that connect all the construction activities from start to finish. The importance of the critical path in a project network and project activities float.
• Construction Cost Estimating and Cost Control: The fundamentals of cost estimation and the design phase to perform cost estimation. How to conduct the close out period of the project by exploring the punch lists, final approval, and turnover to the client. The cost control methods emphasizing the Earned Value Method.
• Construction Finance: The basic economics of the essential components in every construction project. The definition and calculation of different types of interest rates. The importance of Cash Flow Diagrams.
• The Construction Industry – The Way Forward: Construction Industry Overview, Sustainability in the Construction Industry, Building Information Modeling and Technology Trends in Construction.

After students complete this specialization, they will have gained significant skills and tools to stay relevant and ahead of the curve in the world of construction management.

This specialization is designed to build on the foundational skills developed in the Google Project Management Professional Certificate; earn a dual credential when you complete a Google Career Certificate and this specialization.

Real-world projects will be included in each course of the specialization to reinforce the skills being taught. The projects will build on information you have learned in the courses and allow you to add your own research. Projects will be peer-reviewed by your classmates, and you will peer-review the work of others. Instructions on how to conduct peer-reviews will be included in the course. Upon completing the series, you will be able create a work-breakdown structure, build a project schedule, work on a project plan, create a project budget, identify risk, and assign responsibility for those risks.

Sustainable Cities Specialization

John Hopkins University

This Specialization is intended for individuals and organizations interested in developing skills and strategies to create and support sustainable cities. T

Through four courses, you will gain a strong understanding of the tools and concepts needed to succeed in reaching this goal. Successful case studies of smart growth applications will be evaluated and assessed for multiple cities throughout the United States.

The concentration will provide students with an introduction to sustainable regional principles and evaluate regional transportation system issues. This is achieved through dynamic video lectures, with many pictures, practical case studies and the evaluation of practices for success. Considerations for smart urban planning, growth, and lifestyle to include strategies for creating equitable, healthy, and sustainable communities are also evaluated. The concentration will also include evaluations of best practices for community involvement, strategies for growth priorities. Plus, green space protection, parks, sourcing quality food from local growers, providing a spectrum of housing availability, integration of office, retail & housing spaces, and the reduction in the urban pollution footprint.

Includes focus on the use of recycled, reusable, green & sustainable products, lower carbon footprint, green buildings, applications of renewable solar & wind energy, low impact storm water management practices, water resource management, resource conservation & more.

This specialization includes four real world case studies that give students insights Into the issues and challenges encountered in sustainable development projects. They include the Fairfax County Virginia comprehensive transportation plan development, the Buffalo Bayou revitalization project In Houston, the 21st century waterfront development project in Chattanooga, and the Pearl project In San Antonio. In all cases they provide students with an in depth learning experience of smart growth strategies for sustainable development.

The four courses include:

• Sustainable Regional Principles, Planning and Transportation
• Sustainable Neighbourhoods
• Sustainable Transportation Networks and Streetscapes
• Transportation, Sustainable Buildings, Green Construction

BIM Fundamentals for Engineers

National Taiwan University

The course is designed for students to learn the essential concepts of BIM, and the basic technical skills to create and manipulate a BIM model. Those skills include how to retrieve information from a BIM model and how to use common modelling tools.

The course will teach you to:

• Fundamental BIM Knowledge
• View and Retrieve Information from BIM Models
• Modelling a BIM Model

Financing and Investing in Infrastructure

Università Bocconi

Learn how debt and equity can be used to finance infrastructure investments and how investors approach infrastructure investments!

According to the OECD, the global infrastructure investment requirement by 2030 for transport, electricity generation, transmission & distribution, and water & telecommunications totals to 71 trillion dollars. This figure represents about 3.5% of the annual World GDP from 2007 to 2030.

The European Commission estimated, that by 2020, Europe will need between 1.5 – 2 trillion Euros in infrastructure investments. Between 2011 and 2020, about 500 billion Euros will be required for the implementation of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) program, 400 billion Euros for Energy distribution networks and smart grids, 200 billion Euros on Energy transmission networks and storage, and 500 billion Euros for the upgrade and construction of new power plants. An additional 38 – 58 billion Euros and 181 – 268 billion Euros in capital investment will be needed to achieve the targets set by the European Commission for broadband diffusion.

Traditionally investments in infrastructure were financed using public sources. However, severe budget constraints and inefficient management of infrastructure by public entities have led to an increased involvement of private investors in the business.

The course focuses on how private investors approach infrastructure projects from the standpoint of equity, debt, and hybrid instruments.

The course concentrates on the practical aspects of project finance: the most frequently used financial techniques for infrastructure investments. The repeated use of real life examples and case studies will allow students to link the theoretical background to actual business practices.

In the end of the course, students will be capable of analyzing a complex transaction, identifying the key elements of a deal, and suggesting proper solutions for deal structuring from a financial advisor’s perspective.

Financing Infrastructure in African Cities

United Cities and Local Governments of Africa

The world is urbanizing fast. In less than a century more than 1 billion people have been urbanized. That translates into the fact that more than half of the world’s population is already living in cities. Experts forecast that very soon Africa will become one of the most urbanized continents. However, almost 70% of world’s urban population is living in the cities where governments are struggling to provide basic services like sanitation, schools, hospitals, and adequate clean water.

The reason is that, their governments do not have enough money. This may also be true also for the city where you live or work. Poor infrastructure affects your daily life. Local governments struggle with mobilizing finances so that they can improve your quality of life but many times they are not aware of the right mechanisms. Imagine that your government wants to know how can they finance cities and they want you to advise – where will you begin with? Our finance experts are bringing their experience right at your Desk through this online course.

This MOOC has five modules and in five weeks you will learn:

• Financial decision making environment in urban systems
• Mechanisms for mobilizing local revenues
• Innovative mechanisms for financing infrastructure projects through partnerships, and
• Financial decision making under uncertainties and risks

Join the online course and find out the ways to make your city a better place to live in for yourself and for your next generations. (This course was developed in collaboration with the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG-Africa), African Local Governments Academy (ALGA), and Erasmus University Rotterdam).

Mastering bitumen for better roads and innovative applications

École des Ponts ParisTech

During the four coming weeks, best experts in bitumen will bring you their knowledge and experience to build a strong understanding of today’s realities and new perspectives on the future of bitumen.

Total is the European leader on bitumen markets. Innovation has always been the key to sustainability and durability in the products they develop. Their main objective here is to share technical knowledge and experience to insure bitumen are being used in the most effective and efficient ways for their different applications in road works.

Ecole des Ponts, France oldest engineering school, remains very much in the present, as it has always been, in training engineers in order to meet the needs of our society and citizens in key areas such as transport housing and urban services, but also in fields like energy, environment, climate sciences, land-use planning and sustainable development.

The course will teach you:

• Bitumen market, generalities, the manufacture of bitumen, transport, uses of bitumen, main developments and alternatives.
• Constitution, structure and characterization of bitumen – specifications – rheology.
• Modifications of bitumen and applications (road and roofing).
• Health, Safety, Environment & Quality concerns regarding bitumen, and examples of research & innovation actions.

Nineteen world recognized experts on bitumen are contributing to this online course.

The idea is to provide the broadest prism on this topic area with speakers coming from research, industry and end users.

English for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

University of Pennsylvania

Welcome to English for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, a course created by the University of Pennsylvania, and funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs.

This course is designed for non-native English speakers who are interested in improving their English skills in the sciences. In this course, you will explore some of the most innovative areas of scientific study, while expanding your vocabulary and the language skills needed to share scientific information within your community.

In unit 1, you will learn how to preview texts and practice some of the language used to make comparisons when talking about global warming and climate change.

In unit 2, you will examine the chemistry of climate change and the language of cause and effect.

In Unit 3, you will learn about some of the impacts of Climate Change and the language used to describe these effects.

In Unit 4, you will learn reading strategies that can help you explore the science behind some new energy systems.

In the final unit, you will investigate practical advances in Nanotechnology that help slow down climate change, while developing your own research skills in English.