UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 22 SEPTEMBER 2010
President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Peter Goodacre visited the University during a tour of region’s RICS partnership universities.
The event saw our students come together with undergraduates from Aston University, Coventry University, Harper Adams University College and the University of Wolverhampton to receive advice on becoming a Chartered Surveyor through the Assessment of Professional Competence. The students were given the chance to talk about employability issues and attend workshops on CV writing and presentation skills, and also went head-to-head in an assessment centre exercise run by Hays Consulting, where students from each of the five universities experienced a pre-interview selection process.
During the visit, Peter Goodacre held a forum with academics and had lunch with key employers including Rider Levitt Bucknall, Carillion, and Urban Design, plus RICS regional board members. Topics discussed included current employment and skills issues.
Peter, a former principal of the College of Estate Management at The University of Reading, where he taught for 37 years, says: “Coming from an academic background, I see the provision of long-term skills as a major priority. A key interest, therefore, is ensuring that a high number of people qualify with the relevant degrees and pass their APC so that we can meet the demands of our profession in the future.”
Richard Jordan, Director of Marketing and Recruitment in the School of Property, Construction & Planning, adds: “The President’s visit is a highly prestigious one for the School and the University. Our programmes in property and construction have been directly accredited by RICS for many years and are now included within the Partnership Agreement between the University and the Institution. The extent to which our academic provision is supported by the professional bodies is a key factor in recruiting future students and professionals into the industry.”
Student support for City Council
Students are working alongside Birmingham City Council’s Housing Regeneration and Development Department to support strategic planning.
As part of the inter-professional project, which requires third-year students to undertake research for an industry client, students have been carrying out research for the council under the guidance of their tutors. This particular project has been running for two years, and the Council has confirmed that students’ findings have highlighted issues not previously considered – these recommendations are now being implemented within the Council, and are being used to inform its current and future policies.