New short courses to equip public officers in the built environment sector with ‘green’ competencies
Following the launch of ‘Sustainability 101 for Policy Officers’, a sustainability-focused training programme in December 2022, NUS has been working closely with the Singapore government to nurture more public sector talents in the field of sustainability. This time round, in collaboration with the Ministry of National Development (MND), NUS is offering a new Professional Certificate in Sustainability for the Built Environment, comprising a series of four short courses targeted at public officers who would like to learn how to incorporate sustainability considerations in their work.
Delivered by the Department of the Built Environment (DBE) from the NUS College of Design and Engineering (CDE), in collaboration with the Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions – a research centre of the NUS Faculty of Science and the Sustainable and Green Finance Institute – the modular courses are designed for professional and policy officers involved in urban planning, engineering, building design or facilities management.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed between MND and NUS on 8 May 2023, MND and NUS aim to upskill public officers in ‘green’ competencies within the next two years, so that they can incorporate sustainability considerations in the various aspects of planning, and across the building lifecycle.
CDE’s Programme Director of the Master of Science (Building Performance and Sustainability) Professor Chandra Sekhar said, “The four short courses, curated with inputs from the Ministry of National Development and its related agencies on the desired learning outcomes, draw expertise from the Department of the Built Environment, Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions and Sustainable and Green Finance Institute. The short courses provide the fundamentals of specialised knowledge in sustainability for the built environment sector that professional and policy officers require.”
Smart facilities management and green financing among four focus areas
The new Professional Certificate in Sustainability for the Built Environment comprises a series of four short courses in the following areas:
- Module 1: Sustainability Landscape and the Built Environment
- Module 2: Embodied Carbon and Life Cycle Assessment
- Module 3: Operational Carbon and Smart Facilities Management
- Module 4: Green Financing for the Built Environment
The inaugural run of two modules of the series - Operational Carbon and Smart Facilities Management, and Embodied Carbon and Life Cycle Assessment - was held from 8 to 12 May 2023. Officers from 10 different government agencies, including the Building and Construction Authority, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Jurong Town Corporation and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, attended the three-day and two-day courses, taught by faculty members from DBE.
Upon completion of all four short courses, participants will receive a Professional Certificate and Continuing Professional Development points will be awarded where possible.
“The courses are designed to build up skills and knowledge of sustainability for planners, designers and engineers in the Public Service. It is vital that we incorporate sustainability considerations in the work we do, to realise the nation’s efforts in reducing carbon emissions,” said Mr Calvin Chung, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Director of R&D at MND.
“We have to change the way we approach infrastructure and building projects across their life cycles, by adapting them to the effects of climate change while mitigating carbon at the same time. Our hope is to build up a steady pipeline of talents armed with sustainability knowledge to take our vision of a productive and sustainable built environment sector forward,” he added.
More details on the four short courses can be found in the link here, with future course dates to be updated.
