2013 Construction Management and Property Final Year Thesis Never Stand Still
Built Environment
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Elsa Cheung Oswald Chien Erin Doyle Mark Eldridge Michael Elias Wilson Weishun Fan Eric Koolbanis Christina Kyriacou Peter Moore Zheng-Yang Ong Dilini Lakma Thoradeniya Paul-Nicholas Trahanas Simon Votano
CRICOS Provider Code 00098G
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Message from the Dean
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Supporters
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Message from the Thesis Dean Convener
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Message from the Program Dean Director
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Message Alumni Profile from the Dean
KEEP IN TOUCH @UNSWBuiltEnv facebook.com/UNSWBuiltEnvironment www.be.unsw.edu.au 1
Message from the Dean Professor Alec Tzannes Dean UNSW Built Environment I congratulate all the students who have completed their degree at UNSW Built Environment and now become our alumni. This catalogue conveys through selected study themes and projects from our final year studios something about the unique student experience at UNSW Built Environment along with the outstanding skills of our students and academic staff. UNSW Built Environment is a knowledge leader in the design, delivery and management of the C21st city and its elements. Our research is directly relevant to the development of knowledge within built environment professions and underpins our curriculum. Embedded in the curriculum are core values centered on the thinking and practices required to deliver sustainable urban environments of deep cultural value. Design education in all of its forms, including evidence-based design processes is at the centre of our degrees. This is complemented by the development of discipline knowledge with interdisciplinary design and research orientated projects.
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These projects align with advanced contemporary practices in industry, ensuring that as graduating students you are at the forefront of the built environment professions as innovators and leaders. This year celebrated the establishment of our new school structure comprising ASA+D, the Australian School of Architecture and Design, and AGSU, the Australian Graduate School of Urbanism. ASA+D is the most comprehensive built environment school in Australia with a complete range of undergraduate and postgraduate professional degrees. ASA+D’s sister school, AGSU, is tailored to post-professional study. AGSU is the research engine of the Faculty and was created to fill the gap in the number of leading thinkers on urban issues. This is an exciting time to be part of the UNSW Built Environment community. I wish every graduate a successful and satisfying career. In many respects, our relationship is just beginning. As you travel the world through your work you will meet many alumni and make special bonds of lasting value. We look forward to your ongoing participation in the life of our university and the mutual benefits this brings.
“ I WISH EVERY GRADUATE A SUCCESSFUL AND SATISFYING CAREER. IN MANY RESPECTS, OUR RELATIONSHIP IS JUST BEGINNING. AS YOU TRAVEL THE WORLD THROUGH YOUR WORK YOU WILL MEET MANY ALUMNI AND MAKE SPECIAL BONDS OF LASTING VALUE.”
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Supporters MAJOR SUPPORTER
SUPPORTERS
Built Environment Alumni
EVENT PARTNERS
Built Environment thanks all the donors who support the graduating students’ community fundraising and fundraising events.
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Message from the Thesis Program Convener Bee Lan Oo Thesis Program Convener The thesis program of the Bachelor of Construction Management and Property (CMP) degree entails two courses, namely: BLDG 4501 Thesis Foundation and BLDG 4502 Thesis, which continuously extend over two 13-week semesters. The program enrolment is by invitation only based on students’ academic progression and performance. The program offers students with capstone experience, in their final year of studies, towards development and implementation of a major independent research project. Upon completion of their research project, students would have acquired key competences including problem-solving and analytical skills and report writing skills.
Technology and Management, Disaster Management, Value Management and Property Market Analysis and Development. Each student was assigned an advisor from our CMP program, who possesses respective contributory expertise within the Architectural, Engineering, Construction and Property domain. Taking this opportunity, I would like to thank all my fellow colleagues: Professor Martin Loosemore, Associate Professor Sidney Newton, Dr. Jinu Kim, Dr. Cynthia Wang, Dr. Imriyas Kamardeen, Dr. Riza Sunindijo, Dr. Benson Lim, Mr. Michael Brand and Mr. John Cowan. Their valuable contribution and guidance to the students’ research projects are indispensable.
In 2013, our 16 students enrolled in the thesis program pursued a remarkable diversity of thesis topic ranging across important contemporary topics in the Architectural, Engineering, Construction and Property industries. These include: Construction Innovation, Construction Cost Management, Workplace Productivity and Performance, Construction Safety, Sustainability Management, Information
The thesis exhibition and catalogue are a showcase of the students’ masterpiece. On behalf of our entire CMP team, I am honoured to offer sincere congratulations to our thesis students of 2013.
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“ THE EDUCATION OF THE BACHELOR OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND PROPERTY STUDENTS AT UNSW IS PROVIDED BY HIGHLY CAPABLE UNIVERSITY ACADEMICS AND EXPERIENCED INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS”
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Message from the Program Director Cynthia Wang Program Director Following our successful launch of the first Thesis Catalogue in 2012, I am pleased to see this year’s thesis students continued the hardworking spirit and produced this second issue with great enthusiasm. This booklet contains our students’ thesis projects in the Honour degree program, and covers a wide range of topics in the construction and property industry. This booklet and the accompanying graduation exhibition event showcase the talents of our high achieving students. The construction and property industry plays a significant role in a nation’s economic growth, and it is one of the largest contributors to employment and Gross Domestic Product. The management of the people, processes and products within the construction and property industry is a detailed, challenging and specialised expertise. The industry demands graduates have a diverse range of skills to successfully manage the delivery of complex construction projects. UNSW offers one of the most respected construction programs in the nation, and aims to produce graduates with broad knowledge and skills to meet the demands of the constantly evolving industry.
Our Bachelor Degree provides a comprehensive education in both the construction and property area, while also allowing students to specialize in one of the four areas – building construction, quantity surveying, property development and facilities management. The Bachelor program satisfies all the main accreditation requirements for the disciplines of construction management, quantity surveying and property. The Students in the program may also choose to participate in a foreign exchange program, which gives students six months overseas experience to study in a partnership university. The faculty’s interdisciplinary program offers students great opportunities to explore other built environment courses in senior years. Our program is renowned for its ability to produce future industry leaders. The education of the Bachelor of Construction Management and Property students at UNSW is provided by highly capable university academics and experienced industry professionals. Students gain practical skills and real life experience in the course of the study as well as high-level critical thinking and strategic management skills. The Honours program also provides students with a unique opportunity to work with individual academic staff on their chosen topic. In this booklet, our honour students have contributed to a range of contemporary issues in the construction and property industry. Congratulations to all 2013 Honour program students!
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Elsa Cheung Email z3259615@zmail.unsw.edu.au Phone 0401 959 780
Barriers to Implementing a Systems Thinking Approach in Public-Private Partnerships The successful management of risk in any complex construction project is vital for the smooth completion of any building construction. Without a successful risk management method, catastrophic risks may arise and threaten the entire project. This research aims to explain the benefits of utilising a systems thinking approach in managing risks for complex projects; describe the challenges involved with introducing professionals to adopt systems thinking for managing risk; and explore the reasons why systems thinking isn’t more widely adopted in the construction risk industry. To complete the study, 16 construction/ risk professionals and systems thinking academics were interviewed to investigate their individual views on adopting a systems thinking approach to risk assessment. This method of research collectively gathered the views of different professionals in the construction/risk industry and their thoughts on systems thinking. The research found that all of the research participants believed that systems thinking is a beneficial method to risk assessment, and that the majority of participants also believed that resistance to change and lack of training were the main reasons why systems thinking is not widely adopted in the construction risk sector.
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A. A city of culture and diversity, a system (Vishaan Chakrabarti 2013) B. Construction project risk system diagram
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Oswald Chien Email oswald.t.chien@gmail.com Phone +61 430 542 392 URL http://www.linkedin.com/pub/oswald-chien/50/59b/97a
The Use of BIM in Project Planning and Scheduling in the Australian Construction Industry The Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology has existed for over 30 years, and is primarily used as a pre-construction tool in the building industry. Recently there has been extensive research exploring how BIM could be used during the construction stage of the project lifecycle. This research investigates the use of BIM in the Australian Construction Industry, particularly in the area of project planning and scheduling. A mixed research method combining quantitative and qualitative approaches was adopted. The research outcome shows that the general knowledge of BIM in the industry is not as extensive as it was perceived, but the technology is well accepted by the younger generation. It was discovered that visualisation and simulation were the most common purposes for using BIM throughout the entire project lifecycle. BIM is also widely used for progress tracking, particularly during the construction stage. To further improve the use of BIM for project planning and scheduling, software application interfaces should be made more user-friendly, interoperability should be enhanced for smoother data exchange, and an improved change management system should be in place. A
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A. Benefits of BIM B. BIM Model
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Erin Doyle Email erin.doyle@student.unsw.edu.au Phone 0422 404 844
Design Management Skills in the Australian Construction Industry Due to increased popularity of procurement methods such as Design & Construct, there is an increased design responsibility being placed on Contractors, and as such, an increased need for Design Managers. However, this role is poorly defined, poorly understood and lacking clarity regarding required skills. The aim of this thesis was to further streamline the skillset of Design Managers whilst also providing clarity regarding the definition and identification of new skills perceived to be important by industry members. A Likert scale was used to obtain importance rankings of skills, which were split into Hard/Technical Skills and Soft/Managerial Skills. Of these, the top 3 skills were determined to be Communication Skills, Collaboration & Client Briefing/Requirements Capture. Experience, when analysed concurrently with all other skills, was ranked 5th, demonstrating the need for multiple years industry involvement for a successful Design Manager. The disparity regarding the understanding and clarity of Design management was also verified and additional definitions obtained. The research recommends that further studies into reasoning behind respondent choices be conducted. Furthermore, the results provide a benchmark for research into potential education and training programmes for Design Management, with a specific focus on the possible methods of replacing ‘Experience’ with taught skills.
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A. Top 3 Design Management Skills B. Design Management
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Mark Eldridge Email m.eldridge@student.unsw.edu.au Phone 0408 623 069
The Lease Variation Charge and Housing Affordability in Canberra The ACT Lease Variation Charge (LVC) has been widely criticised by industry for its negative impact on housing affordability. This qualitative research project critically examined that view. Based on interviews with members of the Government and industry, the project employed content analysis, thematic analysis and semiotic analysis to explore the problem. This thesis found that the LVC may impact on house prices through the tax being passed on to buyers. Moreover, the LVC might discourage development and put pressure on housing supply. However, in spite of the criticisms of the LVC, it was shown to be a potentially effective ‘policy lever’ for controlling the type and location of development and, thus, it could be used to positively influence housing affordability outcomes. Main image: ‘City Centre viewed from Mount Ainslie Lookout’ by Bidgee available at http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Canberra under a Creative Commons AttributionShareAlike 3.0 Unported. Full terms at http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
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A. Canberra City Centre from Mt Ainslie B. Thematic map
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Michael Elias Email michael.elias@student.unsw.edu.au Phone 0434 372 317
Buildability in Australia and how it relates to Productivity A report titled ‘Pipeline or Pipe Dream?’ by The Business Council of Australia (2012, p. 42) links project designs in Australia to productivity problems. Builadability is the extent to which the design of a building facilitates ease of construction, subject to the overall requirements for the completed building (CIRIA1983). Increasing the buildability of designs is said to have a direct and positive relationship with productivity as stated in studies by Adams (1989), Horner and Duff (2001) and Jarkas (2010). In recent years the study of buildable assessments has been emerging in China and Singapore, with the Singaporean ‘Buildable Design Appraisal System’ (2005) which is apart of statutory law and the development of the ‘Buildability assessment model’ (Lam and Wong 2008) and the ‘Scheme Design Buildability Assessment Model’ (SDBAM) (Lam et al 2012). The literature review on buildability in Australia shows the information is outdated. It is also noted there is a knowledge gap on buildable assessments in Australia. A study of 37 buildings by Poh and Chen (1998) displayed in the graph on the right, shows the relationship between buildability and construction productivity. It is noted that the higher the buildable score the greater productivity recorded. Images show the Leonie studio Singapore, awarded at the Best Buildable Design Awards 2007.
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A. A study of 37 buildings by Poh and Chen (1998) displayed in the graph on the right, shows the relationship between buildability and construction productivity. It is noted that the higher the buildable score the greater productivity recorded. B. Images show the Leonie studio Singapore, awarded at the Best Buildable Design Awards 2007.
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Wilson Weishun Fan Email wilson.weishun.fan@gmail.com Phone 0433 628 168
Accuracy of Estimating Techniques in Forecasting 10 to 55 million Sydney Residential Construction Cost Estimating is not an exact science and there is no infallible method to forecast the future. Therefore, the subject of estimating accuracy is always guaranteed to be a topic of debate among the cost consultants. This research will determine the current practice of a participated company’s accuracy in cost estimates. It will identify the associated issues with the preparations of the estimates, which can lead to inaccuracy. The methodology for this research has been a triangulation from an extensive literature survey review and analysis. Then followed by a past document analysis of the participated company’s raw and project cost data from over the last 10 years. The analysis will be an interpretation of the researcher’s understandings. The findings have indicated that there are inaccuracies. Firstly, the incomprehensive feedback mechanism can caused the learning curve of the cost consultants on reviewing each of the completed project have seem to be limited only to the high mid experience. The findings indicated the most of the inaccurate projects are prepared by the low experiences. Besides, the data findings also indicated that the low experience cost consultants who have made decision without the assistance from the seniors have resulted in ramifications of project inaccuracy.
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Eric Koolbanis Email z3331684@zmail.unsw.edu.au Phone 0450 008 460
Resource Procurement for Post-Bushfire Housing Reconstruction The primary aim of this task has been to analyse and discuss how instrumental the procurement methods used in the Victorian Bushfires of 2009 were, in terms of altering the strategies and practices used for residential building procurement and construction for bushfire prone areas today. Further to this, the research aims to show the impact that the bushfires have had on the development of Australian governmental policy concerning residential construction. The research has made clear that there have been key changes in Australian governmental policy and bushfire advice, as a direct result of the reconstruction efforts made subsequent to the Victorian Bushfires of 2009. These changes include amendments directly to the Australian Standards (AS), the Building Code of Australia (BCA), and Guides to Building Back Better (BBB). Additionally, the knowledge gained from the reconstruction efforts, has better equipped contractors to respond more effectively and procure resources more efficiently, for future residential reconstruction projects. As such, it is clear that residential post-disaster reconstruction has forever been altered in Australia, for the better, as a result of the improvements made following the devastating Victorian Bushfires of 2009.
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A. Costs of Typical Housing Reconstruction B. Housing Fire
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Christina Kyriacou Email z3334779@student.unsw.edu.au Phone 0450 536 077
Adjudication Determinations under the South Australia Security of Payment Legislation The Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 (South Australia) (“The South Australian Act�) was introduced to provide industry participants a timely and cost effective means of securing and recovering payment for works completed under a construction contract. The purpose of this research is to investigate and identify trends in adjudication determinations made under the South Australian Act during the 2012/2013 financial years. A literature review was conducted to identify the nature of the construction industry, the history and current state of security of payment in Australia. The research aim is attained through quantitative data analysis from the archival records of an Authorised Nominating Authority (ANA). To achieve the research objectives, a comparative analysis is conducted between the results of the South Australian, New South Wales (NSW) and Victorian Acts to identify analogous trends. The South Australian Act demonstrates little respondent adherence of the Act, with poor rates of payment schedule submissions and no reasons for partial or non-payment. Claimants experience favourable levels of success as the majority of claimants received the full-adjudicated amount and were not liable to pay any adjudication fees. The findings of this study demonstrate industry awareness, understanding and education of the security of payment Act needs to improve in all states to increase respondent compliance and for greater utilisation of the Act.
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Peter Moore Email peter.moore@student.unsw.edu.au Phone 0413 902 501
Construction Management Students: Work-Life Balance & Burnout A study was conducted on 369 construction management undergraduates from across 8 Australian universities. The study aimed to examine construction management students’ experiences in the areas of work-life balance and burnout. Previous research had found that construction students generally spend considerable time in paid employment whilst studying and that they can often have trouble balancing their study and their work lives. As a result, these students suffer from significant levels of burnout. The results of this study confirmed that, at least in this sample, the construction management students suffered from very high levels of burnout. The accepted tool for measuring burnout is the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which measures 3 key burnout dimensions: Emotional Exhaustion, Cynicism and Personal Efficacy. Burnout is indicated by high scores in Emotional Exhaustion and Cynicism and low scores in Personal Efficacy. When compared against the results of some professional population samples, the students of this study showed consistently higher levels of burnout. Many of these students must juggle a range of commitments from various domains. In place of the idea of work-life balance (WLB), it was suggested that perhaps work-life-study balance (WLSB) may be a more appropriate way of considering the challenges that these students face.
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Zheng-Yang Ong Email ongzheng_yang@yahoo.com.sg Phone 0450 088 824
Analysis of trend in adjudications determination made under the Queensland security of payment legislation The Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 (QLD) (herein the QLD Act) was implemented due to the high incidents of payment disputes within the construction industry, to provide a timely and cost effective method for reclaiming payments owed for work done under a construction contract. A review of relevant literature revealed a number of similar studies done by Uher and Brand (2005), Bleyer (2011) and Walton (2012) which serves as the basis of this study. The aim of this study is to identify trends in adjudication determination made under the Queensland Act, and possible factors affecting these trends and compare the findings to that of the Analysis of Adjudication Determinations Made Under the Victorian Security of Payment Legislation (Walton, 2012). The results indicate a low level of utilization of the QLD Act, and show that adjudication in Queensland is carried out more frequently between subcontractors and contractors, with payment disputes occurring lower down the contractual hierarchy in Queensland compared to Victoria. It was also revealed that there is a low level of respondent adherence with the Act, with a high number of nil scheduled amounts, and ‘invalid claim’ being the most common reason given for non-payment, these results suggest that respondents are managing the adjudication process. There also exist a high number of claimants that achieve adjudication success. Comparatively, these results are similar to that of the Victorian study. As a result of the findings, this study recommends that (1) awareness of the rights granted by the Act and the procedure for adjudication be increased to allow for a greater utilization of the Act, and (2) shorten the time frame between the issuance of a payment claim and payment schedule.
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A. Skyline courtesy of Gold Coast vTourism B. Construction Hierarchy (Yik & Lai, 2008)
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Dilini Lakma Thoradeniya
Cost impact factors in fit-out and minor works refurbishment projects: a case study on the retail banking sector Cost is one of the three most important factors in any construction project. Several previous studies have identified cost factors and their impact on new-build projects, but there is a gap in research specific to fit-out and refurbishment projects (which represent a significant and growing sector of the overall construction market in Australia). This study investigates the cost impact factors specific to fit-out and refurbishment projects in the retail banking sector, using a mixed method approach involving 39 recent projects. Archived data on initial estimates and final outturn costs, sourced from a leading quantity surveying consultancy firm and complemented with expert opinion, identified the cost factors and established the extent and reasons for the variability of each cost factor. The study shows that Internal Partitions (at 16% of total trade costs), Joinery and Fitments (12%), Electrical Services (11%) and Mechanical Services (9%) are the 4 most significant Internal Cost Factors. The most important External Cost Factors are identified as the Location (state and region measures) and the Occupancy Status (whether the building remains occupied during construction). The outturn costs vary between -15% and +4% of initial budget estimates. The major reason for the variability is found to be the lack of comprehensive project information at initial estimate stage.
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Paul-Nicholas Trahanas Email z3335032@student.unsw.edu.au Phone 0418 345 772
Local Government Factors Affecting Housing Supply in Sydney This study aimed to identify and analyse local government factors affecting housing (apartment) supply in Sydney with a view to ultimately speeding up the supply of housing. The Development Approval stage of housing supply was the main focus in this study. This involved first identifying the factors (problem) affecting housing supply, before proposing strategies (solutions) the local government could use to boost the supply of housing in Sydney. This was achieved using a case study approach, with three companies; one large, one medium and one small each being used. Projects from each company were used as data sets and a structured interview was used. The study supported the literature’s views on housing supply in Sydney; that it is being significantly slowed down by red tape and bureaucracy. This is seen in the graph on the right, highlighting that the length of time taken to process DA’s increases with the more DA conditions that there are per project. Reducing Section 94 contributions, having more ‘complying’ development codes applicable to apartments, having a ‘merit’ assessment system and employing approved independent external planners were seen as ways of quickening the DA process, thereby boosting the supply of housing in Sydney.
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A. Days taken to be Approved V DA Conditions B. Sydney apartments are on the rise
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Simon Votano Email s.votano@student.unsw.edu.au Phone 0415 229 289
The roles of clients in construction safety Although research has been done to investigate construction safety and its importance, most has focused on construction organisations and workplace safety. There is still a need to investigate this issue by looking at stakeholders higher in the supply chain, particularly the ones who have the economic power to facilitate safety implementation. As such, this research has investigated the roles of construction clients on influencing safety performance. Data was collected using questionnaire surveys from employees in the construction industry who work or have worked with or for a client. From the literature collated, it can be noted that client’s roles in construction safety do play a major role whereby most respondents agreed to their client implementing safety schemes. The findings of the research not only has confirmed the importance of clients in implementing safety, but has also determined specific client’s roles that influence the development of safety climate in construction projects. This provides guidance to construction practitioners, particularly clients, so that they know what to focus on if they would like to contribute to improve safety. However, there were still a small portion of clients who may not consider safety as important as other traditional objectives, such as time, cost, environment and quality. As such, they need to understand the economic benefit of safety, thus safety can be integrated into day-to-day business decisions.
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A. Safety Implementation Process in Construction Organisations B. Fatality Rates between industries
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ALUMNI PROFILE
Richy Craven BCMP (2010) Project Engineer Laing O’Rourke “The structured learning on offer at BE and exposure to industry bodies provides a great platform for getting a head start in the industry. I chose UNSW because it has a reputation for producing leaders in industry. I was also impressed by the high quality learning facilities and resources that are available. Students have the chance to participate in a foreign exchange program as part of their degree, and I was lucky enough to go to the University of Colorado, Boulder. This enabled me to study in a different environment, meet new people and gain a new perspective. “In 2010 I became a cadet with Laing O’Rourke allowing me to work and study part time. This offered an uncomplicated transition between study life and career life and opened the floodgate of resources available to me. The diverse learning and flexibility of course selection creates many different opportunities for tailoring your own pathway.
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“Highlights from my time at UNSW were being selected from 1,400 applicants around Australia to participate on the Ascenders Graduate Development Program (a two year role rotational program at Laing O’Rourke designed to accelerate career progression). I was also granted the opportunity to work on an interstate project immediately after graduating. “The student friendships developed throughout the years of study quickly extend into your professional network upon graduating. “My advice to anyone considering studying at BE would be to get to know your lecturers, guest lecturers and industry speakers, they could end up offering you a job!”
Faculty of Built Environment The University of New South Wales Online be.unsw.edu.au Phone +61 2 9385 4799 Email fbe@unsw.edu.au