CIBSE helps launch new construction curriculum
The Design Engineer Construct! programme has been approved for the Department for Education’s 2016 performance league tables. The scheme is supported by CIBSE, and the qualifications will provide transferable skills required by the very people who look to employ them.
This new curriculum is part of the initiative established by social business Class Of Your Own, which works with industry members to help educate young people how STEM (science, technology, engineers and mathematics) skills are used when designing sustainable buildings. With the use of professional 3D modelling software, students are challenged to consider the needs of energy-efficient buildings and design their own to an impressive standard.
Alison Watson, programme creator and managing director of Class Of Your Own, commented, ‘I’m so very pleased to see professional bodies taking the lead to encourage active engineers to enthuse young people and their teachers as they discover our amazing industry.
‘Thanks to CIBSE and its members, children can now understand the critical role of building-services engineering and its relationship to other aspects of sustainable design. Engineers are right there in the classroom supporting an extensive, progressive learning programme —all the way through secondary school.’
George Adams, CIBSE’s immediate past president, expressed the importance of opening students’ minds to consider potential careers within the built-environment sector and to understand what the roles of architects and engineers are within the construction industry. In addition, children will become more thoughtful of environmental issues and energy efficiency.
The programme comes at an important time where more new routes into professions such as the Technician Apprenticeship Scheme, more STEM graduates and more environmental awareness are needed.
The curriculum also encourages a more holistic view of design for students, which is identified as a key advantage to create more sustainable buildings.
