Construction firms have turned out in force to back a conference for university estate directors being held in London this week.
Firms including Morgan Sindall, Willmott Dixon, Bouygues UK, Aecom, Osborne, Interserve, Faithful + Gould, Capita and student accommodation specialist Unite are sponsoring the conference for members of the Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE), at the University of Roehampton.
Many will be there to position themselves for a slice of the lucrative universities sector, where income from the university estate in 2011-12 was calculated to be worth £27bn (including university tuition fees and accommodation) with a capital spend of £2.2bn a year. According to figures from AUDE and property consultant CBRE, the sector’s academic and residential buildings cover a total 26.7 million sq m in the UK, equivalent to around 220 Shard buildings.
This year’s conference programme focuses on the impact of the university estate and campus services on the student experience, and on the effectiveness and efficiency of UK higher education.
Seminars include “Designing for the changing academic environment”, delivered by Julian Robinson, director of estates at the London School of Economics, Rupert Cook, director at Architecture PLB and Ian Goodfellow from Penoyre & Prasad.
Under the theme of sustainability, environmentalist and non-executive director of Willmott Dixon, Jonathon Porritt, is due to speak on the role of higher education in delivering a sustainable future for all, followed by question and answer session.
AUDE published a survey earlier this month in which nearly three quarters of students (77%), from a sample of 2,000, said the facilities available at their prospective university played a role in them choosing it, the only factor more important being the course itself.
A total of 90% of students said the library and IT facilities were the top university resources they used most. Sports facilities and the students’ union also factored highly with nearly 30% of students saying they used those most.
The “look” of a university is more important to female students than their male counterparts, said the report, while the facilities available, such as sports or student societies, were more important to male students.
Andrew Burgess, chairman at AUDE and deputy chief operating officer at Loughborough University, said: “There is a clear link between the buildings and accommodation on offer at a university and the desirability of that establishment to potential students. With the HE sector becoming increasingly a buyer’s market – more choice for students who are paying increasing tuition fees – directors of estates always have to keep students at the forefront of their decision making.”
