The Oasys Geotechnical team recently visited the University of Leeds to deliver a guest lecture to students on the MSc Engineering Geology programme, alongside colleagues from Arup’s ground engineering team.
The session brought together academic learning and real-world engineering practice, giving students insight into how geotechnical and engineering geology principles are applied on live infrastructure projects. Despite a Friday afternoon slot, the cohort’s enthusiasm, questions and engagement made for a lively and rewarding discussion.
The presentation was co-delivered by Oasys and Arup engineers from the Leeds office, introducing students to the Oasys geotechnical engineering desktop suite, with a particular focus on Oasys Gofer, and demonstrating how digital tools support modern ground engineering workflows.
What was covered
The session began with an overview of Arup’s ground engineering and engineering geology expertise, highlighting the breadth of services involved in delivering resilient and sustainable infrastructure. This set the context for how geotechnical engineers and engineering geologists collaborate across sectors including transport, water, energy and cities.
Students were then introduced to the Oasys geotechnical software ecosystem, exploring:
- The role of individual applications and the engineering problems they are designed to solve.
- How engineers combine multiple tools to create efficient, robust workflows.
- The importance of engineering judgement alongside digital analysis.
Real-world case studies
To bring the software to life, the team shared several real project case studies from Arup, demonstrating how Oasys tools are used in practice:
- Stubbing Holme Road, Hebden Bridge / Trinity Square – illustrating the use of Oasys Alp, Oasys AdSec and Oasys Pile in the design of piled retaining wall solutions.
- Steeton and Silsden – highlighting optioneering and settlement assessment using Oasys PDisp and Oasys Slope, alongside automation and scripting within Alp.
- St Mary’s Bridge, Doncaster – demonstrating slope stability and retaining structure assessment using Slope, Oasys Greta and Oasys Frew.
Oasys Gofer examples:
- Steeton and Silsden – showing how you can assess the loading of an embankment slope behind a piled slab.
- Hull Tidal Barrier – demonstrating how Gofer can be used to model an anchored sheet pile wall with a complex construction sequence.
- Davyhulme Wastewater Treatment Works – showing how Gofer supports global understanding of complex ground-structure interaction problems before more detailed analysis are undertaken.
These examples helped students see how digital tools support decision-making from early concept and optioneering through to detailed design and verification.
Supporting future engineers
“The concept of a cloud-based system that can be run on a browser should be popular with current students. Many of them have tablets or other hardware which aren’t compatible with current software, so this could improve access. Equally I can see how it could be useful in a general industrial application.” – Harry Holmes, Lecturer in Engineering Geology at University of Leeds
We’d like to thank Harry, Professor Jared West and Associate Professor Mark Thomas for welcoming the team back to the department and helping make the session possible.
A huge thank you to Geotechnical Engineers Owen Flowers, and Jack Falk from Arup Leeds who joined Product Manager Raul Perulero Serrano, and Application Specialist Sissira Pereira to deliver the presentation.
Discover the advantages of Oasys UNIPAC Geotechnical for your engineering courses. Designed specifically for students and educators, these software packages offer a comprehensive set of geotechnical engineering tools. With unlimited user subscriptions, reliable technical support, and the flexibility to work both on and off campus, UNIPAC Geotechnical helps foster learning and innovation in the field of geotechnical engineering. Get in touch to arrange a presentation today.
Next opportunity to learn
For those interested in exploring these tools further, watch our webinar focusing on Gofer and the Slope implementation, with practical demonstrations of new workflows and applications.