Master of Science in Land Survey Engineering Technology
The Land Survey Engineering Technology curriculum contains civil engineering course units as well as land survey course units like geographical positioning, hydrography and GIS. You will learn how to collect and process data in order to make maps and plans using specific software.
What
A Land Survey Engineering Technology graduate (in Dutch: industrieel ingenieur gespecialiseerd in landmeten) combines a specialization in land surveying with a solid basis in civil engineering technology. You will learn how to collect, analyse and model data to make precise maps, plans and 3D models. The use of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) you are able to combine spatial data into tools for policy support. Moreover, we introduce you to state-of-the-art topographical measuring equipment like total stations, GNSS and 3D laser scanning. We involve you in ongoing research and introduce you to everyday practice by means of company visits, the work placement, study trips abroad, seminars and study days. Your Master's dissertation can either take the form of a collaboration with the industry or be part of ongoing research.
For whom
The admission requirements vary. Depending on your preliminary training, you are either able to enrol directly, or there are additional requirements.
Structure
Our Master's programme in Land Survey Engineering Technology is a continuation of the academic Bachelor’s programme in Civil Engineering. The curriculum offers a solid basis of civil engineering and legislation in addition to geographical positioning and mapping through traditional methods and satellite positioning, bathymetry, photogrammetry and 3D laser scanning. You learn to process the data collected during field work using specialized software. We also offer you a solid basis of modern informatics and CAD techniques, and you learn how to make policy-supporting analyses using GIS. You apply this knowledge to realize your projects.
You will invest a lot of time and energy in finishing your Master's dissertation: this is a written report of your own research (a review of the literature, field work, source analysis, empiric research, etc.) on a specific issue or situation. Your academic-scientific mindset is not the only important element. We also focus on preparing you for practice by means of a mandatory work placement. This introduces you to the various aspects of company life. Every year, a number of Land Survey Engineering Technology students embark on a work placement abroad (at the Panama Canal, in Argentina, Australia, China, ...).
Labour Market
Whether you are an outdoors person, or prefer to work from your computer, or a combination of both, there is a great variety of job opportunities for Civil Engineering Technology graduates, in the public as well as the private sector. You may find employment as a site supervisor or land surveyor at contractors of road infrastructure and large construction projects, at the Land Registry Office (either in internal or external services), at semi-public services (such as the Vlaamse Landmaatschappij/VLM), Agentschap voor Geografische Informatie Vlaanderen/AGIV, the National Geographic Institute/NGI,...) and government agencies, survey bureaus, utility companies, banks, ...
You are qualified to become a self-employed surveyor expert to perform boundary surveys and estimates of real estate, to draw up expropriation and allotment dossiers, to function as an expert commissioned by courts, banks, real estate offices, ... . If you are an adventurer, you might even consider taking a job at a dredging company or sign up for excavation works at an archaeological site abroad.
Be sure to check out these interesting testimonials at ikbenindustrieelingenieur.be (in Dutch).
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
- Multiperspectivism: we train our students to become critical professionals who are able to work in a team. We teach our students the necessary skills to work in a creative and problem-solving manner.
- Talent development: our students can to a certain extent shape their curriculum according to their own interests.
- Knowledge creation: we strongly value gradual knowledge-building. We never cease to encourage our students to think self-critically. We deliver versatile yet sufficiently specialized and highly employable alumni
- Curriculum: our curriculum leaves ample room for practical applications, site visits, work placement and international exchange.
- Integration of theory and practice: our curriculum contains many hours of tutorials and practicals, during which we use our well-equipped infrastructure to apply the theoretical knowledge covered in the lectures. We hone our students’ critical thought and problem-solving skills and bring them the newest technological developments in the discipline. Our curriculum additionally contains two work placements of at least four weeks each.
Strengths
- Preparation: we offer summer courses and an introduction week so that our students can start the programme well-prepared.
- Motivated lecturers: our programme boasts a group of motivated lecturers from various disciplines, who combine their research expertise with a passion for teaching and a continued enthusiasm for the quality of their lectures.
- Room for practical experience: we have a long-standing tradition of investing in practical experience by means of lab sessions in which we complement theoretical knowledge with practical skills as well as frequent contacts with the professional field. Our curriculum contains two work placements of four weeks each. In addition, we organize regular company visits and an international study trip.
- Assessment: our students appreciate the fact that they are well informed about the form and content of the assessments. It gives them a clear view of what to expect while studying. We provide feedback sessions after interim assessment and after each exam period.
- Approachability: we invest in personal contact between our lecturers and our students. Our lecturers are available via email, during and after classes, and by appointment.
- Research competencies: throughout the curriculum we stimulate the acquisition of research competencies for all our students. This takes a start from the first year onwards by means of the CDIO project and continues in the shape of individual as well as group assignments in various course units. The Bachelor’s paper is a thorough preparation for the Master’s dissertation.
Weaknesses
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Internationalization: we want to invest more in internationalization. As is, only a limited number of students participate in Erasmus-funded exchange. Internationalization is limited mainly to an international study trip and a handful of students with a study abroad experience, or an international work placement. In addition, we find it difficult to attract international students to take our Dutch-taught study programme. We want to strengthen internationalization for all our students by:
- investing in internationalization@home;
- Informing students better on existing funding options for international work placements;
- Encouraging students to participate in Erasmus-funded exchange programmes;
- Attracting international students with an offer of English-taught course units, and to communicate this offer to our international partners.
- Study load: students have correctly argue that the study load of certain course units is too heavy, and that the distribution of deadlines for assignments, designs and reports leaves much to be desired. We are aware of this and will try to take this into account in the future. At the same time, we try to make students more aware of the fact that this is part and parcel of a practically-oriented study programme and, as such, a proper preparation for the real-life professional context. To guarantee and strengthen our study programme’s practical profile, we will invest in teaching our students to make a clear realistic planning rather than cutting back on study load.
- Feedback: as a consequence of large student groups and a heavy work load of some of our teaching staff, interim feedback might not always be as timely as it could be. We are working on solutions for this problem.
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2017. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.
This information was last updated on 01/06/2021.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.