Students from the Department of Construction and Civil Engineering took the honours once again at the 2013 Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) Student Challenge. The national final took place in Limerick on Thursday 14th February and the international final will take place in the UK on the 18th of March. With over 46,000 members throughout the world, the CIOB is preeminent international institution dedicated to representing building professionals.
In the course of a full day’s competition the Waterford team produced an innovative development proposal for a derelict urban site in the Limerick area. Their solution embraced redesign, commercialisation, feasibility, risk analysis, funding, contracts, insurances, construction programming and production. They produced an extended report and finally presented their proposal to a panel of practising construction professionals and academics.
Nine other third level colleges provided stiff opposition for Waterford who are regarded as the team to beat based on their outstanding past record in the competition both nationally and internationally. University of Limerick were runners up followed by DIT in third place. The WIT team are Eamon Og O’Donnell, Cashel, Co. Tipperary; PJ Delaney, Kilmanagh, Co. Kilkenny; Michael Doheny, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny; and Seamus Davies, Newtown Road, Wexford. The team were coached and mentored by Kevin Ryan, Lecturer and Chartered Surveyor.
As the team now prepares for the international event they can draw on the experiences gained by many leading Irish construction companies who have embarked on international construction projects in recent years, including Sisk, BAM, Laing O’Rourke, SIAC, Roadbridge, Bennett Construction, the PM Group, Mercury Engineering and Kentz. Many graduates from the Construction Management and Engineering course at WIT are in senior positions with these companies and other major international constructors across the globe.
Our current third year undergraduate students are in salaried work placements and internships with these and other multi-national companies at present in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia and New York City. All WIT graduates in Construction Management and Engineering have secured full time positions with many of these companies, reflecting the sector leading quality of the Waterford honours degree course.
For further information on the BSc (Hons) in Construction Management and Engineering please see http://www.wit.ie/WD025 or contact Programme Leader Brian Graham ([email protected]).
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