Bachelor of Engineering in Smart Infrastructure and Construction Technology
Uganda will build more infrastructure in the next twenty-five years than in its entire history, and construction remains among the largest absolute job creators in the world. The failure mode is not a shortage of civil engineers but a short...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.
Roles
- Structural engineer
- site and construction engineer
- geotechnical engineer
- BIM and digital construction manager
- asset management and monitoring engineer
- project manager
- quantity and cost engineer
- infrastructure planner.
Employer types
- Construction and civil engineering contractors
- consulting engineering practices
- the Uganda National Roads Authority and municipal authorities
- utilities
- real estate developers
- infrastructure funds
- and international engineering firms operating regionally.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- An enormous and persistent domestic pipeline with a clear professional registration route and strong regional mobility under East African mutual recognition of engineering qualifications.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Engineering in Smart Infrastructure and Construction Technology. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 101 | AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 110 | Engineering Mathematics I Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
| IEM 111 | Engineering Mechanics: Statics Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 112 | Engineering Drawing, CAD and Surveying Practicum Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| IEM 113 | Construction Materials and Testing Performance | 3 | 1-0-4 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 130 | Engineering Mathematics II Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
| IEM 131 | Strength of Materials and Structural Analysis I Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 132 | Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 133 | Construction Technology and Site Practicum Performance | 3 | 1-0-4 |
| COP 190 | Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recess term) Performance | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 201 | Ethics, Society and the African Context Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 210 | Structural Analysis II and Indeterminate Structures Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 211 | Soil Mechanics and Geotechnics Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 212 | Reinforced Concrete Design Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 213 | Engineering Statistics and Risk Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 202 | Human Advantage: Argument, Writing and Teams Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 290 | Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| IEM 230 | Building Information Modelling and Digital Construction Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| IEM 231 | Construction Law, Contracts and Procurement Objective | 2 | 1-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 310 | Steel and Composite Structures Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 311 | Foundation Engineering and Earthworks Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 312 | Transportation and Highway Engineering Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| IEM 313 | Construction Planning, Cost and Programme Control Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 302 | Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 390 | Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| IEM 330 | Structural Health Monitoring and Instrumentation Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| IEM 331 | Environmental and Sustainable Construction Both | 2 | 1-0-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| IEM 410 | Advanced Structural Design and Resilience Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 411 | Construction Analytics and Digital Twin of Assets Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 412 | Water, Drainage and Urban Infrastructure Systems Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| IEM 413 | Specialisation Elective I Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| IEM 430 | Infrastructure Capstone: Real Design and Monitoring Commission Performance | 9 | 0-2-16 |
| IEM 431 | Asset Management and Whole Life Engineering Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| IEM 432 | Engineering Economics and Project Management Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 433 | Professional Engineering Practice, Ethics and Registration Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
Total credit units: 178
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Coursework + project + integrated exam
Work-integrated learning
12 months paid co-operative education
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Bachelor of Engineering in Smart Infrastructure and Construction Technology
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1
Year 1 · this step is worth 22 CU
Cumulative
22
Programme total
176
22 CU of 176 CU completed by the end of this step (13%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems FluencyLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C2Quantitative and Evidential ReasoningLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C5Disciplinary Mastery CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and Craft CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C7Problem Framing and Systems ThinkingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial LiteracyLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace Performance CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C12Stewardship and Public Contribution CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
Critical capabilities for this programme: Disciplinary Mastery · Technical Production and Craft · Professional Conduct and Workplace Performance · Stewardship and Public Contribution. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Analyse and design structural systems in concrete, steel and timber to applicable codes.
- PLO 2Characterise ground conditions and design foundations and earthworks appropriate to them.
- PLO 3Produce and coordinate a federated building information model and use it to manage construction.
- PLO 4Design and deploy structural health monitoring and interpret the resulting data.
- PLO 5Plan, cost, programme and supervise construction works safely and to specification.
- PLO 6Design for resilience against flood, seismic, thermal and settlement risks in East African conditions.
- PLO 7Apply sustainable materials and low carbon construction methods and quantify the saving.
- PLO 8Manage an asset over its life, including inspection regime intervention and end of life.
Why this programme exists
Uganda will build more infrastructure in the next twenty-five years than in its entire history, and construction remains among the largest absolute job creators in the world. The failure mode is not a shortage of civil engineers but a shortage of engineers who can instrument, model, monitor and maintain what is built. This programme keeps the full structural and geotechnical rigour of a civil engineering degree and adds building information modelling, structural health monitoring, construction analytics and asset management, so that graduates can both design a bridge and tell you, five years later, whether it is deteriorating.
Admission requirements
UACE with two principal passes in Physics and Mathematics, plus UCE with five passes including Mathematics, Physics and English. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
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