Study Tour / Research

The education for the study tour is divided into several parts. First the students will do a macro analysis of South Afirca investigating and becoming familiar with the main characteristics of the country. This will be done by a research to investigate the political, economical, socio-cultural, technological, geographical and historical situation of the South Africa and how these aspects influence the development of South Africa. The students will work out a subject in groups and write a paper about the subject and presenting the result to their fellow students. 

After the macro analysis a meso study will be carried out focussing on the Civil Engineering sector of South Africa. This sector will be analyzed by investigating the main stakeholders of the sector and the policy plans. The civil engineering sector will be divided in construction engineering, process management, traffic engineering and water engineering. The objective of this analysis is to get knowledge about how civil engineering can contribute to the development of South Africa. This will the students carry out, like the macro study, in groups writing a paper and giving a presentation about their study.  

The macro and meso study are an introduction to South Africa and its civil engineering sector. During the theme course the students will get an introduction in the projects which will be visited during the study tour. The theme of the study tour “Integral development of the Rainbow nation” will be analyzed. Both the terms “Integral development” and “Rainbow nation” will further be explain. Thereby several projects will be taken out and will be analyzed during several courses. Next to this the students will investigate a project which will be visited during the study tour. First the students will do a literature study about the projects and whether the project will bring a contribution to the integral development of South Africa. During the study tour they will have the opportunity to ask their remaining questions about the project. After the tour they can write a solid conclusion whether the projects bring a contribution to the development of South Africa.

The figure below shows the planning of the courses as a preparation for the study tour.