Cambridge: Launch of centre of excellence in engineering

The UK engineering company Laing O’Rourke and Cambridge University have announced the creation of a multi-disciplinary academic centre of excellence to advance the engineering profession and leverage innovative thinking to benefit the construction industry.

The UK’s largest privately-owned engineering enterprise, Laing O'Rourke will fund the Centre for Construction Engineering and Technology as part of a multi-million pound collaboration with the university.

An agreement signed yesterday by Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Alison Richard and Laing O'Rourke Chairman and Chief Executive Ray O'Rourke formally launched the new centre, which will help the construction industry to respond to environmental and sustainability issues facing the sector.

The centre will be a focus for research and teaching, using the insights to help shape the built environment of the future in order to give as many people as possible access to the benefits of sustainable construction. A new two-year part-time Masters degree in Construction Engineering will be launched in September 2011 by the Centre in the university’s Department of Engineering, working with Judge Business School.

This course aims to advance the development of the construction sector through the translation of intellectual achievement into practical outcomes. It will produce engineers and managers who will lead the process of breaking down the traditional barriers between construction, consulting engineering and the client, pushing forward an agenda of innovation and technological advancement.

It will encompass the full spectrum of the industry value chain from the high-level financing requirements of major projects through to the latest innovations in analysis, design and materials technology, with a focus on sustainability and whole-life performance. The programme will be multidisciplinary aiming to embrace a broad range of sectors such as housing, buildings, transport, energy, water and waste.

The centre, led by the new Laing O'Rourke Professor of Construction Engineering, will also deliver undergraduate education, PhD and post-doctoral research and Executive Education. A key goal is to raise the profile of the construction industry across the UK, attracting more young people to consider careers in this field and fast-tracking them through to senior management positions.

O'Rourke said, “I believe the engineering and construction profession has reached a critical crossroads in its development - it has for too long relied on traditional skills and approaches, often failing to keep pace with the political, social and economic demands of modern society. It must once again attract the very best talent, apply radical thinking, embrace new technologies and innovate in a way that removes waste and inefficiency and creates the greatest value for the world's communities.”