Inclusion of HIV/AIDS awareness in core curricula for construction economics and management students

With the maturing of democracy in South Africa, there has been a realisation that active measures need to be taken to develop a sense of inclusivity in graduates. Given that graduates move into management, their attitudes and knowledge are pivotal to growth. Attitude and knowledge surrounding HIV/Aids is required for both personal safety and workplace management and skills. Mixed methodology was used in a study in 2014 on the inclusion of HIV/Aids awareness in main curricula for third-year courses within the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of Cape Town. Lecture, workshop and presentation modules were conducted through Professional Communication courses. These inputs of career path, citizenship and discipline-specific content were based on pre-assessment results and were given to two cohorts of Construction and Economics and Management students comprising 27 (first cohort) and 54 students (second cohort). The students attended a 2-hour lecture/ workshop and, in pairs, gave 10-minute presentations on themes on the topic. Marks were awarded according to criteria based in HIV/Aids content and professional delivery. After judgment by two staff members and one industry representative, the four winning pairs received cash prizes. Post-assessment following the workshop and presentations was through a questionnaire (100% completion). Conclusions were that given effective collaboration between course convenors, integration of the topic within core curricula was effective; contributed to inclusivity; achieved the aims of developing workplace knowledge and skills in social and public health; and allowed Professional Communication course objectives to be achieved.