About IDBE
Information for your Employer
The IDBE programme is a Part-time Master of Studies Degree (MSt) at the University of Cambridge.
A summary of the course is provided below or Printer Friendly version can be obtained from the Downloads section of this website.
Aims of the Course
The course is open to those involved in the initiation, design, construction and management of projects in the built environment. It equips professionals for strategic decision-making, inventive problem solving and team leadership, and promotes productive collaboration between clients, designers, constructors and users.
Traditionally, these abilities have developed with experience. However, commercial pressures are such that individuals can now find themselves in positions of considerable responsibility early in their careers. The course provides a route for accelerating progress towards professional maturity.
The course is most suited to those individuals who have shown ability in their core discipline and are looking for new responsibilities and challenges or are being considered for promotion.
The IDBE programme brings together these individuals and encourages the development of:
- Informed decision-making
- Leadership skills
- Inventiveness
- Communication and team working
Course Structure
The course is part-time, allowing students to study whilst continuing to fulfil obligations to employers and clients. The course lasts two years, with students being in Cambridge for a total of four weeks in the first year and three weeks in the second. The study periods are each one week in length, long enough to provide immersion in study, but not so long as to disrupt a well-structured work programme.
When away from Cambridge, students prepare written work for examination. One of these items is a case study of a current or recent project. Students are encouraged to work with their employers on the case study and to use it to examine how objectives might be better achieved.
The part-time structure encourages two-way feedback between professional practice and the University, enabling study material to bear directly on current projects and current professional concerns. The interdisciplinary student group provides a valuable testing ground and source of ideas, and a resource which the students maintain through an informal network once their individual studies are over.
Teaching Resources
The teaching staff are drawn from the University's Departments of Architecture and Engineering, with contributions also from other Cambridge Departments. The course maintains active links with industry and the professions through the regular participation of practitioners as lecturers and tutors.
Fees and Funding
A number of students each year are fully funded by their employer and frequently students are partially funded.
In some circumstances bursary support up to 25% of the fees is available. These bursaries are sought either through the IDBE Office or by applying directly to the funding body.
Students on the Course
The course has attracted students from a wide variety of disciplines. These include Architecture, Engineering (Building Services, Civil, Structural and Transport), Property Development, Planning and Building Control, Construction, Cost Planning and Control, Surveying, Law and Landscape Design. This diversity enables the course to meet its objective of encouraging understanding and productive communication across all built environment disciplines.
Course Team Contact
If you would like to discuss the course further, please contact the office:
IDBE
University of Cambridge
Department of Architecture
1 - 5 Scroope Terrace
Cambridge
CB2 1PX
Tel: 01223 760117
Fax: 01223 332960
Email:info@idbe.org