Back row: Ali Al-Windi, John Sweeney (CIOB), Adrian Lynch (sponsor), Declan Coll, Front row: Martin Taggart, Liam Flatley, Adam Brennan, John Hanahoe
GMIT (Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology) was the winner of the CIOB’s Student Challenge Ireland 2019, with silver going to University of Limerick. The bronze winner was Letterkenny IT.
The event, in Croke Park, Dublin, was attended by eight third-level institutes from around the country, including Northern Ireland. Student teams of four were submitted from: University of Ulster Jordanstown; Letterkenny IT; Cork IT; IT Carlow; GMIT; University of Limerick; Waterford IT; and TU Dublin.
The teams were provided with a brief on the morning of the competition: the refurbishment of a building in Dublin’s city centre. They had 2.5 hours to work on a report and a 15-minute presentation.
The three top teams were chosen and asked a further three questions, before judges ranked them from first to third. The final three questions were the same for each team and included a question on how to support mental health on site.
Adam Brennan, Declan Coll, Liam Flatley and Ali Al-Windi made up the winning team, supported by lecturers John Hanahoe and Martin Taggart.
John Sweeney, chair of CIOB Dublin Hub, was impressed with the calibre of the students.
“The judges were impressed by the standard of the final presentations provided by all teams,” he said. “My favourite part of the challenge was how the final top three teams replied to questions of which they had no prior notice of in front of the audience. The future for talented construction managers/professionals is promising.”
The CIOB would like to thank the colleges and judges. Thanks also go to sponsors the Construction Industry Federation, Mitchell McDermott, Ardmac, Dublin City Council, and Collen Construction.
