Academy helps students build successful careers

Graduates are gaining a distinctive edge in their careers thanks to a unique joint venture at Northumbria University.

Building Information

Modelling (BIM) has taken the construction industry by storm in recent years and BIM Academy, based at Northumbria, has helped the UK become a world leader in this innovative field.

BIM brings together digital information and 3D models to design and realise a building project through its entire lifecycle, often involving global teams and projects.

Northumbria students have directly benefited from being at the forefront of this emerging sector, with teaching informed by the latest technology and industry developments.

As a result, many of the graduates BIM Academy has worked with have gone directly into high-profile jobs since the initiative was launched three years ago as a joint venture between Northumbria University and Ryder Architecture Ltd. Northumbria’s engagement with industry and strong focus on enterprise and cutting-edge knowledge provides graduates with a great advantage in their careers.

Initiatives like BIM Academy have been instrumental in the development of graduates. One of those to have benefited from BIM Academy is George Mokhtar, a Masters graduate in Architecture who has secured a senior role at Turner and Townsend.

He said: “My experience at BIM Academy has not only been fundamental to the direction and development of my career, it has also given me the technical ability and foundation of management skills that I am now building on, and deploying on flagship projects internationally.

BIM is the imminent future of the construction industry and it is a huge advantage for Northumbria students to have such an innovative venture on site.”

BIM Academy Managing Director Peter Barker said: “BIM Academy is delighted to have supported the skills development of many talented graduates over the last three years who have gone on to pursue successful careers with a wide range of construction organisations across the globe.

“BIM is probably the biggest force for positive change in the construction industry in a generation.

“We’re proud of our role in helping the UK and, in particular the North East, emerge as a world leader in this innovative field.”

The news comes just weeks after BIM Academy picked up its latest accolade when they were named the overall winners of the 48-hour Build Sydney Live 2013 competition.

BIM Academy competed with teams from around the world in an ‘against the clock’ virtual challenge to create the best building proposal for the new $1 billion Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour.

For the first time ever, the judges had to delay their final decision overnight; such was the level of competition. But in the end BIM Academy was announced as the winner in what organisers described as ‘the closest fought Build Live event so far’.

Peter explained how his team, including Northumbria University staff, collaborated with colleagues from Norway, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK to create the winning proposal.

He said: “BIM Academy was delighted with this result. We have achieved success in previous BIM competitions, but this is the first time we have really tested the potential for multidisciplinary working across the globe.

“We were able to work intensively across multiple time zones with our colleagues at Ryder, AECOM, dRofus, KyKloud and Colour and produce a wealth of information about the design, construction and operation to meet a very challenging brief in a landmark location in Sydney.”

Build Live events are worldwide competitions held to demonstrate how new technology is revolutionising the way buildings are designed, built and used. They also show the potential for collaborative working and public engagement.

BIM is a process involving the structured sharing and coordination of digital information about a building project throughout its entire lifecycle, from design, procurement and construction to the operation and management stage.

This involves the use of coordinated 3D design models enriched with data which are created and managed using a range of interoperable technologies.

BIM allows the development and testing of a digital prototype of a building in advance of its physical realisation, thereby delivering greater cost certainty, eliminating error, improving programme duration and reducing risk.

As a joint venture, BIM Academy is an independent and impartial body that undertakes consultancy, research, software development, training, education and support for the entire construction industry.

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For further information go to: www.northumbria.ac.uk/bim and www.bimacademy.ac.uk

A government report looking at how universities are supporting growth in the economy named Northumbria the fourth best university in the UK for supporting graduates in starting their own businesses. Since 2008, more than 100 companies have been established with the support of the University. They employ almost 800 staff and have a combined turnover of £54 million. Most are based in the North East but are trading nationally and internationally. One example is Lemon Moose Games which was established by Games Programming students James Mintram and Tomasz Kandziora. They approached the University’s Enterprise Campus scheme with their idea to develop gaming apps for mobile phones three years ago. After receiving support they are now successfully trading and have recruited a Northumbria intern themselves.

James said: “We had started to design and develop games for mobile phones while studying. After approaching the University we were given support to develop our business plan as well as free office space on campus to run our business for a year.

“As our reputation has grown we are attracting more clients so we took an intern on for a tenweek period. It worked so well that we took him on permanently when the scheme ended and we hope to further expand in the next six to twelve months.”

Lucy Winskell, Northumbria’s Pro ViceChancellor for Business and Engagement, said:

“Universities play a vital role in contributing towards economic regeneration through the creation and application of innovation and new knowledge.

“We are committed to working with businesses to improve their productivity and performance. The ERDF award to further develop this activity is a clear indicator of the quality and calibre of our students and the support we provide to them and to businesses.”

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For more information visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/graduatesintobusiness

How did your time at Northumbria prepare you for a career in journalism?

The most influential person in prepping me for a career in journalism was my sports tutor and media manager, Simon Rushworth. He was pivotal in my time at Northumbria. Simon manages a student sports media team giving us internship and volunteering opportunities, reporting mainly on Team Northumbria matches (the University’s competitive sports team).

How did you get involved in the Team Northumbria internship programme?

Simon delivered a talk on the advantages of the programme and writing for the University sport website. I joined up and reported on football, volleyball, basketball, hockey, golf, netball - you name it. Writing for Team Northumbria, taking Simon’s sports journalism module and watching Newcastle Eagles at Sport Central on a weekly basis made me realise which direction I wanted to take with journalism.

What were the biggest highlights during your time as Team Northumbria media intern?

Reporting on the Stan Calvert Cup was an experience I’ll never forget, not least because Simon allocated me the outdoor hockey and football games during a blizzard! Stan Calvert is a big highlight in Team Northumbria’s sports calendar, where we take on Newcastle University in a range of sports. The passion of both sets of students was overwhelming.

How did you find out about the Mail Online scheme and how did you secure a place on it?

After graduation, I did a post-graduate course with the Press Association. While on that course I applied for the Mail Online scheme. The interviews were intense and very demanding. I’m humbled to be given the chance on such a huge platform which averages more than eight million browsers a day. What will the scheme involve?

I’ll be working at the Press Association Operations Centre in Howden, Yorkshire. From then, I’ll spend a short while in Kensington at the head office for the Mail, before spending four months in either Manchester, Liverpool, Hull, Stoke or Cardiff – all cities with high sporting agendas.

Finally, why should students consider voluntary opportunities?

These days it’s so true that you need more than qualifications to make it. And gaining work experience is invaluable if you’re looking to go into journalism as it is a 24-7 job. I had three internships during my time at university – writing for Team Northumbria, the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) and a football website called Touchline Talk. It made life hectic, but was definitely worthwhile.