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Teaching
As an applied, industry-oriented master's, the IDBE Programme is designed to support personal and professional development. It comprises a blended approach to learning, with six week-long residential workshops in Cambridge and remote learning coordinated through a virtual learning environment. In addition to attending the residential workshops, it is estimated that students need to undertake at least three to four hours of work every week to complete the programme successfully.
Four key principles underpin our distinctive approach to learning:
Flexibility – The programme is designed for an internationally diverse cohort, working full-time.
Residential time is kept to a minimum, blended with a flexible E-learning programme and dedicated tutor support for assignments.
Peer-learning – Students come from a wide range of built environment disciplines and locations. Sharing experiences and insights builds a deeper understanding of how the industry can respond to the challenges of sustainability.
Practical relevance – The programme equips students with the skills to translate cutting-edge academic insight and research, into practical relevance.
Personal application – Students are encouraged to identify personal opportunities for leadership and engage in reflective practice throughout the programme, supported by peers and tutors.
Each residential workshop comprises an intensive programme of formal lectures (from leading practitioners and university academics), workshops and seminars. A design project relating to the theme of the week is undertaken in small interdisciplinary teams, which present their design proposals to reviewers at the end of each of the weeks. Through the design project students apply and implement what they have been taught, as well as benefiting from the knowledge and expertise of their team members; in this, the design projects support experiential learning.
In preparing the four individual written assignments (one 4,000-word case study; one 3,000-word essay; one 7,000-word group project; and a 15,000 word dissertation in the second year) students are supported by academic supervisors whom they meet on an individual basis. The assignments are progressive in that they help to build the capacity to write clearly and concisely, to reflect on experience, to undertake a formal literature review on a given topic, to frame research questions, to conduct an investigation involving the collection and analysis of data, and to draw evidence-based conclusions.
| One to one supervision | 9-12 hours per year |
|---|---|
| Seminars & classes | 20 hours per year |
| Lectures | 35 hours per year |
| Practicals | 45 hours per year |
| Small group teaching | Six hours per year |
| Journal clubs | None |
| Literature_reviews | Some assignments and the dissertation require literature reviews. |
Feedback
Students are given formal feedback on their assignments and informal feedback throughout their course, including during supervisions.
Assessment
Thesis
Dissertation: 15,000 words maximum.
Essays
The reflective case study (4,000 words) is the opportunity for the student to reflect on and to critically analyse a recent project on which he or she has worked in practice. Students are expected to account for the successes and difficulties encountered, provide commentary on the effectiveness of the team and offer conclusions of relevance to other practitioners.
The literature review essay (3,000 words) develops research skills in searching, analysing and writing a critique of the academic literature. There are no prescribed titles; however the focus must be built environment related. Students are encouraged to venture beyond the boundaries of their home disciplines.
The group research project (5,000 – 7,000 words) is produced collaboratively by members of a group of 5-7 students. It represents the outcomes of an original piece of research undertaken collectively. It is up to the group – guided by a tutor – to choose a topic for the research.
Practical assessment
In the six course weeks students are asked to work in small multidisciplinary groups to think, discuss, draw, write and persuade in order to come to a unified solution to the set problem over the course of a few half-days. At the end of each week all teams present their solutions to their fellow students and a review panel of studio leaders and stakeholders.
Other
Each student gives a presentation on one of their first year assigments to their fellow students and the course directors.