Hitt, S J; Hairstans, R; Oloke, D; Bertasso, S; Tamagnone, G and Shirley, B (2024) Developing modern construction professionals with a focus on timber – a UK case study. Proceedings of Institution of Civil Engineers: Management, Procurement and Law, 178(1), pp. 32-40. ISSN 17514304
Abstract
The Centre for Advanced Timber Technology (CATT) was established in 2021 at the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) in Hereford, UK, to be a catalyst for expanding the use of sustainable timber in modern construction and changing the way built environment professionals are educated. The educational approach of NMITE is to apply a student-centric learning methodology with a curriculum fuelled by real-world challenges and taught by way of a partnership approach working with external stakeholders, industry practitioners, and academic collaborators. The focus of CATT is to increase the use of timber as an environmentally sound biogenic and ecological construction material based on a holistic value proposition (productivity, environmental and social impact, plus cost and building performance over time). In developing educational offerings that respond to these aims, CATT widens access to the construction industry while fostering development of the twenty-first century skills necessary for professionals to design and deliver a sustainable built environment. This case study describes lessons learned from the development of this award-winning educational programme and its innovative delivery model.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | built environment; construction; education & training; innovation and infrastructure; sustainability; UN SDG 11: sustainable cities and communities; UN SDG 13: climate action; UN SDG 9: industry |
| Index terms: | sustainable city, partnership, productivity, case study, social impact, construction industry, built environment, construction material, construction professional, programme, building performance, external stakeholder, lessons learned, practitioner, methodology |
| Subjects: | practitioner, quality assurance, urban design, research methods, building materials, data collection methods, infrastructure and transport systems, industry analysis, project controls, partnership management, sociology, professional development, management |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Time Control, Research Practice, Information Management, Business Strategy, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Quality Management, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here