CEMCO

CSIC POST-GRADUATE COURSE

The Construction Master Course has been offered since its origins, 1956, as a forum for the transfer of technology and updated knowledge in which the current state of the sector, as well as its future projection, has been contrasted. As such, the CEMCO Course has varied its subject matter throughout its history, as can be seen in the summary programmes of the different editions.

Another component that has been varying in CEMCO is its structure and duration, due, among other reasons, to the fact that the Course was directed, at the beginning, practically to Latin American professionals and that it gave priority to the attendance of professionals coming from the academic field and therefore the program had a structure framed within thematic areas. It was in 1982 that specific seminars began to be included as a complementary part of the programme, aimed not only at Latin American participants but also at Spanish professionals from other areas such as Business, Industry, Administration, etc., with the aim of delving into topics that were once of priority interest within the Construction sector. The increasingly noticeable trend towards specialisation, as well as the time constraints of the editions, has led to the current configuration of the course (in force since the 1992 edition).

There are, however, certain characteristics that have been maintained throughout all the editions, such as the theoretical and practical nature of the program, the multinational and multidisciplinary nature of the faculty, the technical visits to works of interest as well as to laboratories, other research centres or companies within the scope of Madrid and the study trips mainly within Spain.

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Both consolidated concepts and the latest advances will be dealt with, emphasizing the most relevant aspects of the general framework of innovation and development of the sector, structures throughout its useful life and habitability in its relationship with the environment. Special attention will also be paid to materials and products.

The course consists of various seminars and complementary technical visits. The seminars, of variable duration, have an eminently educational and informative character, with the visits being oriented towards specific topics, which by their nature, lend themselves to technical debate. This division into seminars allows attendance at the complete course or at the seminars independently.

In addition to attending theoretical and practical classes (approximately 420 hours) and technical visits (30 hours), the participants in the full course will carry out research work and a monographic final paper on one of the subjects related to the seminars being given, or to one of the research projects being carried out, under the direction of an IETcc researcher; these papers are equivalent to 150 hours of practice and 50 hours for preparing the final paper. The assistant who has completed the entire course (theory, practices, visits and research work and end of course) will have completed a total of approximately 630 hours.

ACADEMIC PROGRAM

• Module 1: General framework – Innovation.
• Module 2: Structures and Safety.
• Module 3: Habitability and sustainability in construction.
• Module 4: Materials technology.
• Module 5: Products and construction systems.
• Module 6: Durability, conservation and recovery of built heritage.
• Technical visit. 5 ECTS credits
• Research work. 15 ECTS credits
• End-of-coursework. 5 ECTS credits

Since 1956, Instituto de Ciencias de la Construcción Eduardo Torroja (IETcc) has been carrying out, through the Course of Advanced Studies in Construction, CEMCO, training and scientific-technological diffusion in the area of Construction and its Materials. The eighteenth edition (year 2014-15) of this MASTER’S COURSE, theoretical and practical, INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY AND SUSTAINABILITY IN CONSTRUCTION, organised by the IETcc-CSIC, aims to continue along the lines of informing about technical news and advances in each thematic area.

In the CEMCO 2014-15 course, the idea is to tackle innovation from a general approach. It is divided into five thematic areas: GENERAL FRAMEWORK – INNOVATION; STRUCTURES AND SAFETY; HABITABILITY IN BUILDING; BUILDING MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY, PRODUCTS AND CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS; AND DURABILITY, CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY OF THE BUILDING HERITAGE, both consolidated concepts and the latest advances will be dealt with, emphasising the most relevant aspects of the general framework for innovation and development in the sector, structures throughout their useful life and habitability in their relationship with the environment. Special attention will also be paid to materials and products.

The course consists of several seminars and complementary technical visits. The seminars, of variable duration, are of an eminently educational and informative nature, and the visits are oriented towards specific topics, which, due to their nature, lend themselves to technical debate. This division into seminars allows attendance at the complete course or at the seminars independently.

In addition to attending theoretical and practical classes (approximately 420 hours) and technical visits (30 hours), the participants in the full course will carry out research work and a monographic final paper on one of the subjects related to the seminars being given, or to one of the research projects being carried out, under the direction of an IETcc researcher; these papers are equivalent to 150 hours of practice and 50 hours for preparing the final paper. The assistant who has completed the entire course (theory, practices, visits and research work and end of course) will have completed a total of approximately 630 hours.

TECHNICAL DATA SHEET

Duration:

• Classes: 17 November 2014 to 11 June 2015.
• Presentation of the final coursework: This phase can be developed on-line from the scholarship holder’s country of residence until mid-December 2015.
•  Type of degree: Own degree
• Number of hours: 65 ECTS, comprising teaching hours (420 hours), approximately, technical visits (30 hours), research (150 hours) and final work (50)
• Place: Madrid. Eduardo Torroja Institute of Construction Sciences (CSIC). Some courses can be carried out in other Universities.
• Schedule: Monday to Friday according to the seminars (see programs)

• Participating institutions: Instituto de ciencias de la construcción Eduardo Torroja (CSIC), School of Sciences of Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, School of Architecture of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

ACADEMIC PROGRAM

Module 1: General framework – Innovation.

• Opening Inauguration presentation-introduction-IETcc (12 hours).
• Innovation in construction (10 hours).
• Innovation assessment: DIT, ETE and DITplus (10 hours).
• Building Information Modelling…one step further, a view from the IETcc (10 hours)

Module 2: Structures and security.

• Experimental analysis of structures-trials (12 hours).
• Evaluation and management of risks associated with aging structures (12 hours).
• Criteria and application to existing buildings of the CTE safety requirements (10 hours).
• Projects in High Buildings (13 hours)

Module 3: Habitability and sustainability in construction.

• Sustainable criteria in the bioclimatic design of buildings. Master’s Degree in the Environment. (12 hours).
• Generation of renewable energy in buildings of minimum demand (I) (12 hours) (in collaboration with Carlos III University).
• Renewable energy generation in buildings of minimum demand (II) (12 hours) (in collaboration with Carlos III University).
• Accessibility and reasonable adjustments in existing buildings (10 hours).
• Healthy buildings for a better environment: management, prevention, diagnosis and decontamination (10 hours).
• The evolution of water pipes and installations in construction over the last 80 years and a look into the future (10 hours).
• Habitability in construction (10 hours).
• Building sustainability: housing rehabilitation (10 hours).
• Energy efficiency in buildings (10 hours).
• Building acoustics. Regulations, rehabilitation and practical cases (10 hours).

Module 4: Materials technology.

• Waste Management – UPOM Master (12 hours).
• WOOD- Innovative and sustainable material for construction (12 hours).
• Course of Cement Chemistry – IETcc (25 hours).
• Course of Alkaline-IETcc activation (15 hours).
• Techniques for measuring the corrosion of reinforcements (Practical Course)
• Nanotechnology under construction (14 hours).
• Special and sustainable concretes (10 hours).

Module 5: Products and construction systems.

• Prefabrication of concrete: technical challenges and innovation (10 hours).
• Construction solutions (processes and technologies) for low-cost housing construction (market and/or subsidized) in developing countries (12 hours) (in collaboration with Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid).
• Realization of market housing in developing countries: strategies, processes and construction technologies (10 hours).

Module 6: Durability, conservation and recovery of the built heritage

• Pathologies of construction systems and structures (12 hours).

• Pathology and repair of factory and wooden structures (12 hours) (in collaboration with the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura of  Universidad Politécnica de Madrid).

• Concrete affected by chemical actions. Quality assurance and life extension (10 hours)
• Reinforcement corrosion: Modeling and life (10 hours).
• Corrosion prevention and repair of concrete reinforcements (10 hours).
• Pathological processes in building. Diagnosis and inspection techniques (10 hours).

Technical visit. 5 ECTS credits

Several technical visits will be proposed in relation to the agenda of the different seminars.

Research work. 15 ECTS credits

The student must develop a research work on a topic related to the subject studied that will be developed at the Eduardo Torroja Building Science Institute. Depending on each case the research work could be proposed as a proposal for the end of the course work.

End-of-year work. 5 ECTS credits

The student must complete an end-of-course project that may be on a topic of interest related to one of the subjects covered in the specialization course. The work will be directed through weekly individual tutorials by a professor of the course and defended in public session (this phase will be developed on-line from the country of residence of the scholarship holder) before a scientific committee, which will be appointed by the teaching commission.