01/12/2011 - CWM Partners, Birmingham City and BCU Award Students

Last week, Thomas Vale Construction and other members of the Constructing West Midlands Framework celebrated the achievements of some outstanding students at the Student Awards for Excellence alongside Birmingham City Council's Urban Design and Birmingham City University.

The prestigious awards celebrate excellence in the Built Environment and work achieved by current BCU students across projects, dissertations and technical application. Categories included the Best use of Computer Assisted Measurement Software, Best Legal Assignment, HNC Construction Best Student Prize and Project Team Awards. The Student Awards for Excellence recognises the work of students from the School of Property, Construction & Planning and Birmingham School of Architecture.

The collaboration between Birmingham City University and the Urban Design department at Birmingham City Council has set aims, focusing on sharing knowledge, experience and best practice. Signed in February 2008, the Charter identified the need to link academia to industry and to develop individuals through training and creating job opportunities.

A Student at the awards noted: “The Urban Design Awards shows the excellent connections Birmingham City University has with employers, signifying that even in this economic climate, with hard work, there are still jobs to be found, the awards bring great encouragement to those who consistently work hard and demonstrates the University and its partners will show recognition where deserved.”

Last week, the existing Charter was replaced with a new over-arching commitment signed by all contractors newly appointed to the £1.5-£3.0billion CWM Framework to ensure a continued mantra and ethos to the top-down commitment to skills within the region.

The School has recently established an Industrial Advisory Group and the next phase will focus on exploring the course content across HNC Construction, the six undergraduate options (Planning & Development, Architectural Technology, Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, Building Surveying, Real Estate) and four post graduate options (Environmental & Spatial Planning, Construction Project Management, Construction and Real Estate). Thomas Vale has now been invited to be part of this next phase, advising the School on course content to align to sector aspirations.

Birmingham City University is delighted that this synergy in working is beneficial to all parties.

Richard Jordan, Senior Academic at the School of Property, Construction & Planning at Birmingham City University, said: “The Urban Design Collaborative Partnership is an excellent example of the way in which the School works in partnership with industry in order to create a range of exciting awards to bring out the best in our students whether undergraduate or postgraduate.”