Construction, Surveying & Real Estate Education

Introduction

Construction, Surveying and Real Estate are essentially practical subjects which involve a variety of taught skills including economics, finance, law, information technology, management and design. Given the vocational nature of Built Environment education, it is important that learning should not only relate to subject knowledge but also to skill development. However, there is a tension on built environment courses generally to strike the right balance between education and training. Thus, the alignment of teaching, learning and assessment to the needs of industry, students and Universities is of paramount importance.

The learning outcomes are informed by professional bodies and industry requirements and, as such, can be altered over time in order to meet targets. Thus, course content is always kept up to date to prepare students not only for their future role as property and construction professionals, but also within the context of lifelong learning. It could be argued that the built environment is merely the medium through which students learn both discipline specific and generic soft skills.

Within the Built Environment we use project-based team work and simulations extensively as this develops transferable skills and increases the students' confidence and thereby their employability. Enquiry-based project work is deemed applicable to many subject areas and courses. The construction profession is practically based and this should be regarded as an important source and stimulus for learning, hence the value of project based simulations.

Professional Bodies

The professional bodies for construction, property management and maintenance include:

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) http://www.ciob.org.uk
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) http://www.rics.org.uk
British Institute of Facilities Management http://www.bifm.org.uk
British Institute of Architectural Technologists http://www.biat.org.uk/index.jsp
Association of Building Engineers http://www.abe.org.uk/
The Institute of Maintenance and Building Management http://www.imbm.org.uk

These professional bodies within their membership, continue to have a wider range of disciplines and a broader range of talent and ability than almost any other profession. Construction professionals therefore need to be equipped with the skills set required to meet the challenges ahead as we live in a time of rapid change.