Teaching experiences: Teaching activities and concept

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• General teaching concept for "Construction Management" by Laurenz Goerres

Courses taught by Laurenz Goerres

• As a PhD-studend and a postgraduate research student at the University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich (Germany) I taught the following courses:
  
  • cost estimation in the tender phase
  • cost estimation of construction equiment and machinery
  • cost estimation during the construction phase
  • underground engineering and special foundation works respectively
  • specifics of international and overseas construction projects
  • risk management
  • tunneling
    
    
• As a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences Biberach (Germany) I taught:
  
  • specifics of international and overseas construction projects
    
    
• As an assistant lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences Nürnberg (Germany) I taught the following course at Master degree level:
  • specifics of international and overseas construction projects
    
    
• As a full professor at the University of Applied Sciences Wiesbaden I taught the following courses from 2017 to 2021:
  
  • fabricating techniques (basics about construction machinery and manufacturing technology)
  • fabricating techniques of civil engineering and special foundation works
  • work preparation
  • time scheduling
  • time scheduling and contract regulations (handling of time related disputes)
  • organization of site management (duties of a site manager)
  • international project management (acquisition and tendering for international projects)
  • basic principles of international construction contracts (legal systems, FIDIC, NEC)
    
    
• As a guest lecturer at the Lviv Polytechnic National University (Ukraine) I teach since February 2023:
  • "International Project Management" with regard to infrastructure projects  (on a voluntary basis)

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General teaching concept for "Construction Management" by Laurenz Goerres

What skills and knowledge does a "Construction Manager" need to have?

The following sketch may be useful for a student to get a better view on the necessary contents and courses of the subject "Construction Management". A lot of students believe that construction management is "easy to learn" and an "easy way" to become a construction or civil engineer. Both these ideas are false. A construction manager is a "generalist with a lot of special knowledge”. To "survive on the construction site" he needs a really wide knowledge base and some specialist know-how in the following subjects:  

1. fabrication techniques and construction methods (construction equipment, equipment concepts)
2. scheduling (QTO, progress rates, working sequences ...)
3. cost estimation
4. information technologies / digitalisation in construction industry
5. organisation
6. construction law and contracts
7. others related issues to construction management (e.g. economics, business administration in construction, communication ...)
8. project management

All these subjects are related to each other and interact with one another. It is like a huge puzzle. For students or young professionals just entering the job market this may not be so clear because it takes a lot of time, effort and experience to understand how the pieces of this puzzle fit together. The following diagram may help to illustrate this:

Students need "soft skills" as well as "hard skills", which have to be trained. Demanding projects require more and more soft skills in order to be successfully completed.

I offer "soft-skills"-training to students with simulations like the "Villego-Planspiel". It is a fun and playful training on "communication", "organisation", "leadership" and other skills and always offer the students a lot of fun.

How to build a house out of Lego

completed Lego House

achieved results

How to find the right way from studying "Civil Engineering" to a challenging job as a Civil Engineer on a (maybe international) construction project?

Source: Own drawing by Laurenz Görres made with "bikablo" on flipchart A0 (17.09.2018) | click to enlarge.

last updated: May 2023

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