The CIOB is hunting for applicants for the 2015/16 Faculty of Architecture and Surveying and Sir Ian Dixon Scholarships.
Each award offers the successful applicant a one-year research fund of £3,000 to carry out a “piece of research that benefits the scholar, the company and industry”.
Both scholarships, run in partnership with the Worshipful Company of Constructors, are open to CIOB members and non-members currently employed in the UK.
At the end of the 12-month scholarship period, the individual is expected to produce a report of 8,000-10,000 words on their research.
Named after the former CIOB President and chairman of Willmott Dixon, the Sir Ian Dixon Scholarship supports research in any area of construction management including forms of contract, processes on site, emerging trends or management practices.
The current recipient of the Sir Ian Dixon scholarship, Adam Golden, a legal executive at Costain and current member of the CIC’s BIM 2050 Group, is carrying out a piece of research entitled “Behavioural Influence in Supply Chain Disputes: A Commercial Perspective”. He will present his research on 13 January 2016.
His predecessor and holder of the 2013/14 Sir Ian Dixon scholarship was Felipe Manzatucci, a client relationship manager from Skanska. He presented his paper entitled “Industrialised building: a market differentiator for the principal contractor?” in January this year.
His research found that fragmentation was the main reason for the poor performance of the construction sector and that industrialised building could significantly reduce its effects, arguing that “principal contractors should embrace industrialised processes and adopt them in their overall strategy”.
Meanwhile, the Faculty of Architecture and Surveying Scholarship supports research in the field of architecture and surveying. The current recipient, Andrew Millis from contractor Walter Lilly, is working on a piece of research entitled “New Rules of Measurement – a ground breaking change for the industry?” Millis will present his paper alongside Golden on 13 January 2016.
Ryan Close, a consultant at project manager WYG, was the Faculty of Architecture and Surveying scholar in 2013/14, focusing his research on providing guidance for homeowners who want to install renewable technologies.
His study compared the cost effectiveness and return on investment of retrofitting houses with ground source heat pumps (GSHP) and biomass boilers compared to oil, often the solution for households that are off-mains gas. He concluded that GSHP has a greater return on investment, although building fabric upgrades, which are not as important with biomass, are recommended.
To apply for either scholarship, candidates should send the CIOB their CV along with a 500 word report expressing why they wish to become a scholar and their proposed research topic.
Selected applicants will be invited to interview later this year. The closing date for applications is Friday 25 September 2015.
