Multicultural Education in Civil Engineering: Planning and Transportation approach

This article aims to present a comparative analysis of the practices of the University of Beira Interior in Covilhã (Portugal) and the Coventry University in the United Kingdom in terms of learning and teaching methodologies in a multicultural environment (including teachers’ international experiences and students’ backgrounds). The research is focused on the spatial planning and transportation engineering approaches, on the behalf of the Master Degree in Civil Engineering. A pivotal attention will be put at the use of information and communication technologies aiming to improve the students’ digital literacy and their required level of internationalization. Regarding the experience of the University of Beira Interior the conclusions show that its multicultural environment is essential a result of the presence of students from the Portuguese speaking countries (African countries, Brazil or East Timor). However, they are the basis of one of the main challenges in terms of teaching methodologies related to their lack of skills in English language. Coventry University has been experiencing the similar multicultural diversity enrolling postgraduate students at its MSc in Highways and Transportation Engineering course. Unalike to University of Beira Interior, Coventry University admitting students from Africa, Asia, Middle East and Europe with multilingual students. Among the common aspects in between both universities there are the organization of talks and seminars inviting experts in Civil Engineering domains and the public dissemination of research findings by students. These teaching methodologies allow the students to contact with other scientific, technical and cultural realities, preparing them for an international context.