Professor Campbell Middleton, Professor of Construction Engineering and Director of the Laing O’Rourke Centre for Construction Engineering and Technology at Cambridge University, United Kingdom visited the Civil Engineering Department for a one-week period from 28th November to 02nd December 2022 as the new External Reviewer of the BSc Civil Engineering (Hons) Degree Program offered by the University of Moratuwa. Prof. Middleton visited the department at the request of the Head of the Department, Prof. (Mrs.) Chintha Jayasinghe, and the Accreditation committee, chaired by Prof. Lalith Rajapakse.
As a part of this visit, Prof. Middleton had a series of engaging discussions with the Vice Chancellor and Dean of Engineering, University Administrative Staff, Civil Engineering Department Academic Staff, Non-Academic Staff, Undergraduate Students, Alumni, and Industry Representatives. Furthermore, he visited the department lecture halls and laboratory facilities after reviewing numerous accreditation documents including module outlines, lecture notes, continuous assessments, examination question papers, model answers, and student answer scripts.
In addition to the duties of the External Reviewer, Prof. Middleton also participated as the Keynote Speaker for the Civil Engineering Research Symposium 2022 (CERS 2022) which featured the latest Civil Engineering undergraduate research outcomes and a 3-Minute Thesis Challenge of postgraduate research students. Prof. Middleton also participated in the testing of Civil Engineering physical models prepared by Semester 2 and 3 students as a part of the newly introduced module “Introduction to Conceptual Design”. This module was introduced based on a proposal made by the previous External Reviewer Prof. Tim Ibell from University of Bath, United Kingdom, in order to expose students to open-ended problem solving at an early stage of the program while maintaining the design thread and to improve the creativity of students.
Concluding his external review, Prof. Middleton stated “This is my first visit as an External Reviewer for the BSc in Civil Engineering degree program at the University of Moratuwa. I have been extremely impressed with the outstanding quality of the program, the exceptional standard of staff and students, the efficient and effective management of the department, and the very positive responses from all those with whom I have interacted during my visit. All the staff and students should be very proud of what they have achieved and continue to deliver, in these circumstances. The outcomes of their efforts are outstanding graduates who will be key contributors to the future growth and prosperity of the country”.
