About The Class
This class is for students who are passionate about improving the sustainability of the built environment and want to learn about how to manage project teams to design and build sustainable buildings. Sustainable buildings do more for their users and they are built productively and with environmental and social sensitivity. This can only happen if everybody involved in making and using a building participates when their input is most useful and if the whole process is managed well. Such an integrated and holistic project management approach requires a new mindset and novel methods, which are taught in the class.
Prerequisites
The class is an entry-level course at the university level. Some of the concepts will be more accessible to students with basic knowledge about the design and construction process, engineering economy, and accounting.
The Instructor
Martin Fischer is best known globally for his work and leadership in developing virtual 4D (time plus 3D) modeling methods to improve project planning, increase the productivity of project teams, and further the sustainability of the built environment. His research focuses on modeling, predicting, measuring, and improving the life-cycle performance of the built environment. His award winning research results have been used by many small and large industrial and government organizations around the world. He has lived, worked, consulted, and taught in Europe, South America, North America, and Asia. He holds a Diplome d'Ingenieur from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, a MS in Industrial Engineering-Engineering Management and a PhD in Civil Engineering from Stanford University.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the format of the class?
The class will consist of lecture videos, which are broken into small chunks, usually between eight and twelve minutes each. Some of these may contain integrated quiz questions. There will also be standalone quizzes that are not part of video lectures. There will be approximately two hours worth of video content per week.
- Will the text of the lectures be available?
We hope to transcribe the lectures into text to make them more accessible for those not fluent in English. Stay tuned.
- Do I need to watch the lectures live?
No. You can watch the lectures at your leisure.
- Can online students ask questions and/or contact the professor?
Yes, but not directly. There is a Q&A forum in which students rank questions and answers, so that the most important questions and the best answers bubble to the top. Teaching staff will monitor these forums, so that important questions not answered by other students can be addressed.
- Will other Stanford resources be available to online students?
No.
- Do I need to buy a textbook for the class?
No. The class will be self-contained, with additional reading recommended where appropriate.
- How much does it cost to take the course?
Nothing: it's free!
- Will I get university credit for taking this course?
No.
