Global Student Challenge 2021

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Education Global Student Challenge returns for 2021

CIOB calls for entries for the seventh year of the online construction management simulation contest

“The winning team will receive £2,000 in prize money at the 2021 Members’ Forum in Sydney”

The Global Student Challenge

opened for 2021 on 1 December. Run by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) since 2014, the annual competition challenges students in the built environment to run a virtual construction company.

2021 sees the seventh year of the competition, and the challenge is seeking teams made up of full-time students studying a degree in the built environment. After six weeks of competition, the leaders are given the opportunity to

DGC Toronto from George Brown College were last year’s challenge winners

compete in finals that attract talent from around the world. Previous winners have included Glasgow Caledonian University, George Brown College and Universitas Indonesia.

The competition utilises Merit, an online game which simulates the management of a construction company. The winning team will receive £2,000 in prize money at the 2021 Members’ Forum in Sydney (dependent on covid-19 travel restrictions).

The competition closes for entries on 14 April 2021. Teams will then be able to access game software, followed by six rounds of competition taking place over as many weeks.

Finalists will be announced on 25 May 2021, with the finals set to be held in June 2021. ●

Register now on the Global Student Challenge web site: https://gsc.ciob.org.

Education Yorkshire Student Challenge faces off lockdown

Virtual format enabled event to go ahead in lockdown

The November lockdown put paid to plans to run the Annual Yorkshire Student Challenge (run in conjunction with Sheffield Hallam University) in person, but the Sheffield Hub Committee, determined to keep this experience running for students across Yorkshire, converted the format to work as a virtual challenge. They delivered as much of the real construction site experience as they could.

Five colleges from across the region submitted teams, working on the logistics of running a site in a constrained space featuring limited access and while keeping the surrounding area open for business.

Members of the Alliance team working on the project, including Dan Marsh from BAM Construction, provided a briefing to the students, supported by Sheffield Hallam University senior lecturer Tim Jones. The judging panel involved members of the Alliance team and the Sheffield Hub committee including chair John Caudwell.