Global Student Challenge open for entries

Six teams will attend the finals in Sydney

The CIOB’s Global Student Challenge has now opened for registration for the 2020 competition.

In the seventh year of the competition, the CIOB is seeking teams of full-time students studying either a Higher National Diploma (HND) or Bachelor’s degree in the built environment.

The winning team will receive £2,000 in prize money, along with access to a unique mentoring programme – with industry leaders offering advice and guidance to support the team’s professional development.

Since 2014, the competition has challenged built environment students to run their own virtual construction company – with the leaders after six weeks of competition given the opportunity to compete in finals that attract talent from around the world.

This year’s finals will be held alongside the 2020 CIOB Members’ Forum, in Sydney, Australia, in June 2020.

Caroline Gumble, CEO of the CIOB, said: “The Global Student Challenge is a wonderful opportunity for those taking their first steps into a built environment career to demonstrate the skills they’ve acquired and their capabilities with strategic thinking and high-level decision-making.

“It’s also a great chance to get valuable experience in navigating through project scenarios that mirror what can happen on site in the real world. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how the challenge plays out next year.”

The Foundation Years stage will kick off in January. This is where competitors learn how to play the game, running a virtual construction company, testing out strategies and refining tactics.

The CIOB advises that, based on performance in previous years, teams who do well in the competition are the ones who make the most of this stage.

The Early Years stage starts a few weeks later. The stakes are higher as teams play competitively with others around the world, making decisions that influence the success of their companies.

More than 60 teams entered the  2019 competition, with the six scoring the most in the early rounds invited to the finals in Edinburgh as part of the CIOB’s annual Members’ Forum.

The competition is only open to full-time students, although there is an allowance of one postgraduate member per team. Teams are normally four members, but three is permissible. Costs for entry are listed online.

To register, visit the CIOB’s Global Student Challenge website at: https://gsc.ciob.org

Last year’s winning Kanigara Banu team from Universitas Indonesia receiving their award from Charles Egbu (Image: Jim Mailer)