This course has been designed to provide you with an applied introduction to the field of environmental noise and planning, and an orientation to the field of acoustic consulting. It has been designed by the UTS Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, leveraging the faculty's unique expertise and facilities in the field.
During the course, you will meet (both virtually and in person) and work with a dedicated course facilitator, who will support your learning and engagement with teaching resources prepared by the lead academic and team of experts.
The course is structured into four modules. The first three modules focus on self-study content, with online discussions scheduled with your peers and tutor. The final module includes a two-day, block mode, in-person session at the UTS Tech Lab. The modules are:
Module one: Provides an overview of acoustic theory from the environmental noise and planning perspective, including definitions of relevant quantities. This module will provide participants with an understanding of noise and the peculiarities of human hearing and how this is related to technical measurements and the weighing of acoustic recordings.
Modules two and three: Focus on the regulatory environment. Details are provided on legislation, appropriate regulatory authorities and regulation of noise.
The environmental impact assessment covering noise policies for industry, and assessment criteria, especially for construction noise, rail infrastructure noise, rail, vehicle brake and engine noise, vibration and blasting and aircraft noise, are also introduced.
Participants will be able to understand noise assessment as related to different application domains and legislation.
Module four: Covers prediction and noise modelling and features a practical, face-to-face component. Experiments, workshops and case studies are held at the UTS collaborative research facility, TechLab. Participants will get to conduct noise measurements and explore how measurements are related to noise predictions and simulation.
Course delivery
This course is delivered as a blended learning experience.
Participants have access to self-paced, online learning materials, with online quizzes upon completion of each module. The part-time, self-paced learning is expected to take around seven hours per week, over a period of nine weeks.
The course features a two-day, intensive, in-person learning session at UTS Tech Lab, scheduled during the ninth and final week, featuring a variety of hands-on experiments, workshops and case studies, and individual and team presentations for the final assessment task.