Abstract:

Civil engineering curricula involves the integration of many formal disciplines at a high level of proficiency. The Escuela de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos at Universidad Polité©cnica de Madrid (Civil Engineering) has developed since early XIX century an intense and deep teaching on so-called Applied Land Sciences and Technologies or Land Engineering. However, new approaches are encouraged by the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This fact requires a review on traditional teaching and methods.

This work is based in two main needs. On the one hand, the need for integration of basic knowledge and disciplines involved in Land Engineering. On the other, there is an urgent need to make territory the basis for Land Engineering, considering it as the integrator of timely knowledge of the terrain, typically dominated by the civil engineer. Both considerations lead to the integration of Land Engineering disciplines in the framework of Applied Geomatics. Land Engineering, in extended meaning, requires strong applied knowledge and skills on geology, geomorphology and topography. These disciplines have been studied deeply in traditional Civil Engineering Programs, but often disconnected between them. The Department of Land Morphology and Engineering, at the Universidad Polité©cnica de Madrid, is in charge of teaching these disciplines in Civil, Geological and Geodesic Engineering Programs. The new frame provided by European Higher Education Area (EHEA) allows and promotes a better integration of disciplines, keeping a long experience of over 200 years in the subject.

Geomatics is an emerging field, of increasing progress and visibility, resulting from the advances in computer technology, computer science, and software engineering, as well as airborne and space observation remote sensing technologies. The authors show up an experience for the integration of geology, geomorphology and geomatics in civil engineering, benefiting from the advances of Information Technology sciences. We present the results of this integration focusing on students who have fulfilled geologic formation through geomatics and data-mining training. Authors define a pool of real cases and offered them to common volunteer students. The coordination is done by the own Department and cases involved Applied Geomorphology, Applied Geology, Topography and Geomatics for their solution. Time to solve and show up resolution takes one educational semester. Students get to learn, on an integrated basis, knowledge, abilities and valuable skills of Applied Geomorphology, Applied Geology, Topography and Geomatics. But, at same time, they acquire a deep view of territorial formation, crucial for the professional profile. The experience has been implemented during two academic years by volunteer students divided into groups of two people with the aim of optimizing the method. For today, this approach is being programmed for European Higher Education Area (EHEA) Land Engineering teaching in civil, geological and geodesic engineering degrees at the Universidad Polité©cnica de Madrid.

Keywords:

Integration, geology, geomatics, civil engineering, EHEA.