Professional Development Grants

With global warming and climate change policies, the need for well-designed timber structures, especially those made with mass timber elements, has been rising. Given the fundamental differences between timber and other materials and the fact that standards and guidelines do not cover many aspects of timber design, there is room to improve the professional skills of practising engineers in timber design.

The New Zealand Timber Design Society (TDS) is happy to offer two professional development grants for consulting engineers actively involved with timber design. Successful recipient(s) will receive financial assistance to cover the enrolment fees for a timber design course in 2025. The eligible courses are Civil 750 (Timber Engineering) or Civil 717 (Advanced Structural Timber) at the University of Auckland or up to two courses from a Micro-certificate from the University of British Columbia. The eligible Micro-certificates are Fire Safety for Timber Buildings, Hybrid Timber Construction, or Tall Wood Structures.

Eligibility

All working professional engineers interested in timber engineering who are NZ citizens or permanent residents (can be considered as domestic fee-paying students) under the age of 45 are eligible. Timber Design Society members will be given preference.

The intention of the TDS Professional Development Grant is to provide an opportunity for further study to those who would not otherwise be able to attend a timber design course. If you work for a company who would be willing to sponsor you to attend one of these courses, please reconsider applying to allow others the opportunity.

Application

The following documents are required for the application:

1 – CV: Maximum two pages

2 – Statement of purpose and motivation: In less than a page, describe why you think you would be the best candidate to receive the scholarship and the potential impact the grant will have on your career and our vision to foster the use of timber in design. The course(s) desired to be taken should be clearly indicated. If you want to take the UBC courses not in sequential order, provide information about your prior knowledge in the micro-certificate topics.

3 – If you are a member of the Timber Design Society, please provide your membership number.

Applicants must send their applications via email to timber.design@engineeringnz.org. The deadline for submission is 29th November 2024. The intention is to notify the applicants about the outcome within 14 days from the deadline.

University of Auckland Courses:

For the 2025 academic year, CIVIL 750 will be offered in semester 1, with the course available to be completed either in-person or virtually, and the final exam required to be completed in-person. CIVIL 717 will be offered in semester 2, with the course available to be completed either in-person or virtually. Although the purpose of the grants is to improve the uptake of timber design in New Zealand, these are 15-point courses that can be used towards a higher degree should the recipients be interested. Please contact Dr. Hashemi at a.hashemi@auckland.ac.nz if there are questions about the course content.

CIVIL 750 (Timber engineering) summary outline:

Review of timber design principles
Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) design based on NZ approach
Large-dowel connection design including brittle and ductile modes of failure
Small-dowel connection design including brittle and ductile modes of failure
Design of steel brackets for timber connections
Design of Multi-Storey timber buildings for wind and seismic actions
Performing force-based design and displacement-based design for multi-storey timber structures
Design of plywood and mass timber shear walls
Design of timber moment-resisting frames

CIVIL 717 (Advanced Structural Timber) summary outline:

Design of timber rivet connections including brittle and ductile modes of failure
Design of European screw connections
Structural forms and load paths for timber structures
Design of timber diaphragms
Design of Quick-Connect connections for timber portal frames
Design of timber structures with damage-avoidance connectors
Design of timber structures using the capacity design principles
Low damage design of timber structures using energy dissipation

University of British Columbia Micro-Certificates:

Each micro-certificate comprises four online courses, each taking two weeks and about 15 hours to complete. Each TDS scholarship would cover enrolment in two courses from one of the micro-certificates. Though UBC typically requires courses to be taken in sequential order, special consideration may be given to professionals to take courses without the prerequisites if it is considered that they have sufficient prior knowledge of the topic. Please contact UBC directly, or contact Timber Design Society at timber.design@engineeringnz.org if there are any questions about the UBC micro-certificates.

Fire Safety for Timber Buildings: Offered in October-December

https://forestry.ubc.ca/future-students/certificates/fire-safety-timber-buildings/

Course options:

Fire Safety Regulations and Their Background
Fire Science for Wood Products
Compartment Fires and Fire Resistance
Applications of Fire Safety for Timber Buildings

Hybrid Timber Construction: offered in October-December or February-April

https://forestry.ubc.ca/future-students/certificates/hybrid-timber-construction/

Course options:

Introduction to Hybrid Timber Construction
Hybrid Timber for Low-Rise Residential Buildings
Hybrid Timber for Large-Grid Mixed-Use Buildings
Hybrid Timber for Large-Span Structural Applications

Tall Wood Structures: offered in October-December or February-April

https://forestry.ubc.ca/future-students/certificates/tall-wood-structures/

Course options:

Mass Timber Products, Connections and Structural Systems
Tall Wood Design for Gravity Loads
Tall Wood Design for Lateral Loads
Modelling and Analysis Methods for Tall Wood Structures

Professional Development Grants

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