- The Office of the Building Commissioner has teamed with universities to conceive the program
- A minimum of 10 years industry experience is a requirement to enter the program
- The PhD is an action-research program, says David Chandler OAM, the NSW Building Commissioner
A Construction Industry Doctorate Program (CIDP) – the first of its kind globally – has been launched by the New South Wales Office of the Building Commissioner (OBC).
The CIDP is designed to support the OBC who support industry-wide solutions to raise standards and meet increased regulatory compliance.
To apply for the program, applicants must have over 10 years of experience in the industry in, engineering, construction, design, law, business, manufacturing or technology.
“A large part of the continuing transformation will be changing the attitudes and practices of construction industry professionals through ongoing education,” explained David Chandler OAM, NSW Building Commissioner.
“The OBC has teamed up with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Western Sydney University and the University of Wollongong to develop a vocational PhD program intended to meet the needs of industry by matching practical experience with NSW’s world-class research expertise, facilities and resources.
Mr Chandler added the team has identified 12 priority topics that will be explored under the program such as traceability, digitisation, project governance, assurance and certification.
“The aim is to refresh existing knowledge on these topics but also delve into new areas that produce ideas and expertise for the future.”
David Chandler OAM, NSW Building Commissioner
Mr Chandler and UTS Professor of Construction Management Martin Loosemore initially conceived the project with Professor Loosemore believing the initiative has the potential to challenge old models, practices and norms by transforming the traditional ways of thinking.
“The CIDP is world first,” Professor Loosemore said.
“It is a unique ‘action-research PhD program’ which has been collaboratively designed to directly support Australia’s leading construction industry reform program.
“It is about helping to create career expertise among future leaders and innovators of our industry.
“The CIDP will help bridge traditional barriers between academia and industry by ensuring that university research advances industry practice and has a real-world impact – both immediately and in the future.
“We know collaboration is the key to solving the increasingly complex and wicked problems we face to transform the built environment industry into a modern, reliable, trustworthy, technologically enabled, sustainable and socially responsible sector which is attractive to the very brightest minds.”
