MBS sponsored student graduates with an MSc, and we put up another CIBSE student bursary
Alpha Soire, who has received a CIBSE student bursary put up by Modern Building Services this year is shown around the building-services lab. at South Bank University by course director Gordon Lowry.
With the building-services industry continually faced with a chronic shortage of graduate engineers, CIBSE launched its student bursary scheme four years ago. It provides a means for companies and organisations in the industry to do their bit for the industry — including Modern Building Services, which supported a bursary last year, and we are continuing to do so this year.Following the graduation with an MSc in building-services engineering of a student at London’s South Bank University sponsored by a CIBSE student bursary put up by Modern Building Services, we are continuing to support this scheme with another bursary. Adam Beales is now working for a building-services consultancy, and ‘our’ new student has embarked on the first year of his course. Last year, Modern Building Services sponsored an MSc student. Adam Beales was a mature student who already had a degree in mechanical engineering. He perceived his skills as design and problem solving and while researching career prospects during his final year at the university of Bath kept hearing of opportunities in building-services engineering. Adam told us, ‘All the way through my degree course at Bath University, I had never heard of building-services. Suddenly when I was looking for jobs as a design engineer, I kept having opportunities in building-services engineering thrown at me.’ That experience led to Adam taking a year-long MSc course at South Bank University, with the support. He gained a distinction and now works for building-services consulting engineers Foreman Roberts.
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Adam Beales, our sponsored student last year, earned himself and MSc with distinction and is now a design engineer with consultants Foreman Roberts. |
He tells us, ‘The CIBSE student bursary really helped me. The money came in handy, and the contacts gained from Modern Building Services helped when looking for a job. I had several offers for employment. I chose Foreman Roberts in London, where I’m currently working as a design engineer. I have also spent time with the sustainability team and have learnt something about the thermal modelling of buildings. ‘Looking to the future, I’m ambitious to become a good engineer, and I’m trying to get as much experience as possible. The CIBSE bursary really did help me to get a start in this industry.’ Gordon Lowry is co-ordinator of building-services courses at South Bank and says, ‘Adam is a win for the building-services industry. He took the risk of a year out to gain his MSc, and that risk has paid off handsomely for both him and the industry.’ With Adam firmly ensconced in the building-services industry, Modern Building Services is continuing to support the student bursary scheme. The latest award has gone to Alpha Soire, a first-year student on the HND course in building-services engineering at South Bank. Alpha’s interest in building services engineering was first kindled while he was studying A-level mathematics, physics and French at school. The physics course stimulated an interest in energy and renewables, leading him to consider electrical engineering as a potential career path. He pursued that interest at Barking College, where he gained a City & Guild in Electro Technical & Technology and passed the AutoCAD 2D course. Putting that qualification to good use, Alpha has become involved in commercial electrical installations. His aspirations to progress further started to materialise when he learned about the building-services courses offered by South Bank from a friend. His current 2-year full-time course leads to an HND qualification. From there a further year could lead to an ordinary BSc (IEng), and he could subsequently aim for a BEng honours degree if his studies go well. At present, Alpha sees his future in contracting. Gordon Lowry, Alpha’s course director, tells us that more building-services engineers are starting to come through at South Bank. This year’s HND intake is 65, 15% more than the previous year. In all, there are 400 students on building-services courses at all levels. Gordon Lowry say, ‘The industry needs to entice people from other engineering sectors, and bursaries help to bridge the education gap. Job opportunities in building services are fantastic at the moment, especially in the London area. ‘Historically, the industry has not recruited well. The pool of experienced engineers is retiring, so the pool is shrinking.’ 10 universities in the UK run courses that are accredited by CIBSE, and companies who would like to put up a bursary can choose which university will benefit. They are: • London South Bank University;
• University of Nottingham;
• Northumbria University;
• The University of Manchester;
• University of Central Lancashire;
• University of Ulster;
• Glasgow Caledonian University;
• Heriot-Watt University;
• University of Strathclyde;
• University of Glamorgan.
To find out more about CIBSE’s student, contact Fiona Torrance at CIBSE (ftorrance@cibse.org).
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