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Second year Construction students visit VolkerFitzpatrick

Students from the BSc (Hons) Construction Management and BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management courses at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) recently visited VolkerFitzpatrick Midlands Logistics Park in Corby.

    VolkerFitzpatrick Visit 2018
    Second year students visiting the Corby Site

    VolkerFitzpatrick – one of the UK's leading engineering and construction companies – provides specialist building, rail, civil engineering and industry-focused skills to a range of market sectors, and is a fantastic destination for students needing a practical experience to go alongside their studies.

    The second year students visited Corby Logistics Park, a new build Industrial Distribution Warehouse, complete with open warehouse space, a three-story office accommodation, and hub offices that are currently in construction. Their visit was part of their Construction Technology module, which focuses on industrial and commercial buildings, and furthers the students’ understanding of both modern and traditional building technologies.

    Sally Hill, a Development Partner at VolkerFitzpatrick, spoke to us about the value of NTU students and their work on the course: “It was great having the students from NTU on site last week. It's a fantastic opportunity to show the students how a real life site operates, as these students are the future of our industry.”

    VolkerFitzpatrick Workshop
    Students at the workshops with VolkerFitzpatrick

    As part of the visit, the students attended three different workshops with the team at VolkerFitzpatrick, to contextualise some of the key principles learnt in lectures and seminars.

    The first was a programming workshop, an interactive series of activities to show the students how to schedule a construction job, a vital skill needed within the management of a site. Next was an estimating workshop, which guided the cohort through valuating costs on a project, another vital skill sought after by employers.

    Finally, the students took part in a tour of the site to monitor the progress of the project and understand what action and steps needed to be taken next. David Jones, NTU’s Senior Lecturer in Construction Management told us: “This is a great opportunity for our students. Visiting an active site project like this can give the students the chance to contextualise what they’re learning, and breaks up their studies by getting them out of the classroom.”

    He also spoke to us about how the students themselves really value these experiences, saying: “Feedback from our students was really positive, they thought that the day was really informative, and told us that talking to the professionals within industry is useful to help them decide on their future career aspirations.”

    Published on 29 October 2018
    • Subject area: Property, construction and surveying
    • Category: Current students; Environment and sustainability; NTU Arts; School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment