Natural Hazards and Risks in Structural Engineering (NHRE)

The Master's degree programme in "Natural Hazards and Risks in Structural Engineering" is an intensive and application-based, advanced course of study. The programme is taught by specialists in their respective field and it is based on active research activities. It provides students with a solid technical basis in the key areas of structural engineering through a coherent and coordinated programme, integrating research and practical applications. The degree programme enables students to acquire excellence in oral and written skills. By providing students with advanced scientific and interdisciplinary knowledge, they are able to take on demanding engineering tasks in the areas of planning, construction and realisation of structures under specific conditions. They are also able to carry out site- or structure-specific risk analysis using modern tools to estimate the threat of natural hazards. In addition to strengthening their theoretical and scientific competence, students develop skills in modelling, simulation and application of performance-based design, fieldwork and laboratory investigations. In order to structure and reflect the complexity of the chain reactions inherent to natural hazards, this programme explores in detail various engineering disciplines and engineering-related areas of the natural sciences, social sciences and economics. It examines the central role that structural engineering plays in reducing the impact of natural disasters. Furthermore, it focuses on the engineering methods that are used to assess and reduce the vulnerability of structures. The programme highlights the demands on engineering technology at both regional and global level by using international projects as models. The elective compulsory modules expand on specific lines of development; they equip and prepare students systematically for future professional careers or further research positions. Course objectives The increasing occurrences of natural hazards all over the world, as well as their various effects on individuals, societies and modern economies, are one of the major challenges for decades to come. The Master's course of study in Natural Hazards and Risks in Structural Engineering confronts this challenge by providing indispensable tools for dealing with these phenomena in various civil engineering design processes. The Master's course of study combines practical structural engineering with state-of-the-art concepts in the fields of computational mechanics, dynamics and probability theory/stochastic analysis. The Master's course of study thus provides key qualifications for innovative work in the field of earthquake, flood and wind engineering, as well as offering an international context in which students can achieve both technical success and personal advancement.