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Building Industry Events and Training
News Release from: National Construction College
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 23 June 2008
NCC hosts 'Constructionarium'
National Construction College host the fourth annual award winning 'Constructionarium', which offers vital experience of life on a construction site.
Preparing University Students For Life in Industry 'Constructionarium' provides engineering students from Universities across the UK and Europe with vital experience of life on a construction site - transforming the Civil Engineering curriculum at undergraduate level
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 25 Jan 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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More than 80 students from University College London (UCL) have worked in project teams of 20 people to construct scaled down models of real projects, including the Ravenspurn Oil Platform in the North Sea, Naples Airport Underground Station, Kingsgate Footbridge in Durham and the Brewery Wharf footbridge in Leeds.
They follow fellow University students who have taken it in turns to attend the Constructionarium event over the past few months.
Constructionarium is a collaboration between academia and industry, which has been designed to recreate the appearance and atmosphere of working on a real large-scale civil engineering project.
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It is a unique higher education venture designed to address the current shortfall in practical construction and design expertise among graduates, and attract prospective graduates by offering a more practical hands-on degree.
A celebration event, which was attended by industry partners, university students and their families, was held to showcase the completed projects and celebrate how Constructionarium has bridged the gap between university and the reality of life on site.
Constructionarium is held at the National Construction College, the training division of ConstructionSkills, located in Bircham Newton in Norfolk, on a permanent two hectare site, which has been designed especially for the purpose of this event.
The scheme is designed to complement the existing theory exams.
It links the theory and reality of construction, something that is often missing from the current course curriculums, and puts into practice what students have learnt during their studies.
Robin Holdsworth, scheme manager for Constructionarium comments: "I think the key to the success of the event is that it offers University students vital hands on experience to prepare them for work in the industry, that other wise they wouldn't receive at University".
"It also offers contractors the opportunity to influence academia and stress what they want from students entering the industry".
""The facilities at the National Construction College, which allow all the students to stay on site throughout the whole six day experience, are perfect as they encourage a team atmosphere, which is essential on construction projects like this"".
"David Boyden, Director of the National Construction College, the largest construction training provider in Europe, comments: "Constructionarium demonstrates how industry and academia are combining to help combat the ongoing shortage in construction and design expertise, as well as providing our future construction managers with practical skills and experience".
""It also helps us answer the current concerns that engineering degrees are falling short of industry requirements and provides students with the vital practical experience required to manage and facilitate a construction site".
"Therefore, there is going to be a real business benefit to those employing students with this experience".
Since its launch in 2004 Constructionarium has received growing interest from Universities and industry partners with 12 Universities, including Cambridge University and Imperial College London, and 18 industry partners now taking part.
Constructionarium, which takes place between March and October in six day sessions, will see around 650 students work in teams with contractors and engineers to complete real project briefs.
Students have to assign roles to team members including project manager, negotiator and power tool operator to recreate buildings, reporting in to a contractor who acts as the client whilst working closely with an engineer.
This year's event has also received interest from International students from Brescia University in Italy, with five students from the Erasmus programme attending.
This programme enables students in European countries to study, work or teach for part of their degree in another country, and will now be taking part in the scheme to further their studies.
This year's Constructionarium participants include:.
* University of East London with Duffy Construction and W S Atkins (31March - 4 April).
* Northumbria University with GB Building and Cundalls (6 - 11 April).
* Liverpool University with A J Morrisroe and Mott MacDonald (13 - 18 April).
* Salford University with Costain and Jacobs (20 - 25 April).
* Southampton University with Laing O'Rourke and Faber Maunsell (11 - 16 May).
* Cambridge University and Stow College with Stephenson Construction and Rambollwhitbybird (18 - 23 May).
* Leeds University with Shepherd Construction and Ove Arup (1 - 6 June).
* Imperial College with John Doyle Construction and Expedition Engineering (8 - 13 June).
* UCL with Laing O'Rourke and Watermans (15 - 20 June).
* Loughborough University with Laing O'Rourke and Watermans (22 - 27 June).
* Greenwich University with Byrne Bros and W S Atkins (12 - 17 October).
Each programme runs as a real construction site for the week, with everyone receiving a full safety induction.
Students work in all roles as part of a team from labourers, steel fixers and foremen, to schedulers, managers and estimators, using formwork, concrete and steel.
Method statements, risk assessments and budgeting for plant and labour rates, are also an integral part of the construction scenario.
Constructionarium is sponsored by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and Select Plant Hire, who donate the plant machinery.
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