Curtin construction management students gain extra knowledge during Construction Management Week 2022

Miri – 19 May 2022 – The recent Construction Management Week 2022 at Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) saw a host of activities being held for construction management students to increase their exposure to the Malaysian construction industry.

Among the activities were talks on practices relevant to the local construction industry and visits to industrial sites for first-hand insights into construction site management and operations.

These included talks by engineers from Jurutera Minsar Consult Sdn. Bhd., a Kuching-based civil and structural engineering consultancy, and a visit to the Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad (SOPB) offices in the city centre to view the contiguous bored pile construction technique being used at a construction project there.

The students also visited NAIM Holdings Berhad’s Meadow Villa housing development in Permyjaya where company staff briefed them on project progress and project site safety, followed by a tour of the site with the project’s quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) engineer, safety officer and project engineer.

Further industrial talks were delivered by Sr. Eric Khoo, a quantity surveyor attached to USCI University, and Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Miri Branch Manager Che Ahmad Isyai Che Said.

In his talk titled ‘Advancement with a QS Degree’, Sr. Khoo shared about his extensive experience in the construction industry and current tendering and contract practices in Malaysia.

Che Ahmad, meanwhile, talked about legislation and regulations related to the CIDB and the responsibilities of contractors registered with the government agency entrusted to enforce the Malaysia standards in the construction industry. He also briefed the students on the CIDB Act 520 and how it is critical to the construction industry.

On the final day of Construction Management Week 2022, Miri City Engineer Che Abu Bakar Bin Che Said gave a talk on local by-laws and the local authority’s requirements for building plan submissions.

This was followed by a talk titled ‘Building a Dream’ by Sr. Dainna Baharuddin of the Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM), who gave an overview of the history of quantity surveying (QS) in Malaysia and the role of QS in the construction industry. She also briefed the students on registration as professional quantity surveyors with the Board of Quantity Surveyors Malaysia (BQSM) and how they can benefit from RISM membership upon graduation.

Curtin Malaysia offers Curtin University’s four-year Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) in Construction Management, which is a management-oriented degree that prepares students for a range of professional roles in the building and infrastructure construction industry.

Students are taught by academics with extensive industry experience, and industry professionals in various construction-related disciplines are regularly invited as guest lecturers.

The course covers construction technology, quantity measurement and cost estimating, project planning and management, strategy and financial management, contract administration, building law, cost planning, cost management, implementation of IT in construction (including building information modelling), and professional communication and interpersonal skills.

Students also have the opportunity to participate in visits to construction sites and international study trips. In addition to formal classroom study, they are also strongly encouraged to undertake work experience within the industry prior to graduating.

Intakes for the degree are in February and July each year. For more information on the course, go to https://courses.curtin.edu.my/courses-and-study/undergraduate/engsci/bappsc/consmgmt/.

For more information on Curtin Malaysia, visit its website at https://curtin.edu.my or look for Curtin Malaysia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or Tiktok. More information on courses at Curtin Malaysia can be found at https://courses.curtin.edu.my/.

Miri City Engineer Che Abu Bakar Bin Che Said receiving a souvenir from Faculty of Engineering and Science Program Coordinator Ir. Meheron Selowara Joo.

NAIM Holdings QA/QC engineer briefing the students at Meadow Villa housing development.

Students and lecturers pose for group photo following visit to Meadow Villa.