A new science degree in sustainable construction, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, is due to be launched by the University of the Highlands and Islands in September of this year.
The online BSc programme is expected to draw industry professionals from across the UK, and will be especially important for aspiring managers and local companies in the Highlands and Islands.
It means that local people can study at degree level without having to leave the area, and become home-grown career professionals for one of the region’s key industries and economic drivers.
For Kenneth MacLeod, formerly the subject network leader at Inverness College UHI, where many of the existing higher national courses in construction and engineering are based, the validation of the degree programme is a particular achievement and a lasting legacy of his work in education.
Kenneth, who recently moved to a senior job with the Highland-based construction company the UBC Group, designed the degree over five years with the support of the UHI programme team and in consultation with an industry working group to ensure that it is tailored for modern age “green” building needs.
“We believe it is the only one of its kind in the UK with sustainability at its core, and it will give construction managers the knowledge to deal with important and evolving environmental issues in the design and running of modern buildings,” he said.
“We’ve had a lot of interest in it so far; not least of all from the industry itself where there is a need for professionals able and qualified to move it forward. The course will cover new legislation, renewable energy production, equipment and systems, as well as waste management and other sustainable challenges for new builds and conversions.”
Kenneth was born and brought up in Point, Isle of Lewis, where his father, Kenneth senior, ran his own building company. He and his wife, Mary, helped to fund their son’s higher education which, through lack of availability in the Highlands and Islands, had to be done in the Scottish cities.
The holder of a Masters degree in construction law from the University of Strathclyde, Kenneth cares passionately that local people should have the opportunity to study locally and, if they choose, to forge their careers in the region.
“I never wanted to leave the Isle of Lewis, but there was no alternative. It is a matter of great personal satisfaction that I have left the education sector with a legacy that should help my fellow Highlanders and Islanders to develop their careers for the good of local employers and communities. The degree will also be an attraction to the construction industry across the UK.”
Kenneth did return to Lewis for a spell as a tutor at Lews Castle College UHI before moving back into industry. He joined Inverness College UHI as subject network leader in construction in 2001. He lives in Culloden, Inverness, with his wife, Janette, and children, Roddy, six, and three-year-old Elizabeth.
“It has always been my ambition to create a construction degree within UHI, but it would not have been possible without the support of my colleagues who were committed to the same vision. I am very proud that we have been able to achieve it,” he pointed out.
Dr Gary Campbell, UHI acting dean of science and technology, congratulated Kenneth and his team for their work on the new degree. He added: ““This programme is a significant step towards the faculty’s aim of developing training, research and leadership in applied sustainability; that is putting the values which underpin sustainability at the heart of vital disciplines such as construction.
“Sustainability is not just a buzzword - or at least it shouldn’t be. The world is gradually waking up to the fact that running businesses, or having lifestyles which pay little or no regard to their impact on the future availability of resources, is not an option.
“The construction team is to be congratulated in working with the industry to create a programme designed to provide the skills and expertise which are going to be in increasing demand, not just in the Highlands and Islands but in the global context, too.”
The programme has been welcomed by Stephen Sheridan, supervisory training adviser with the organisation ConstructionSkills, and a member of the industry working group. He said: “This will meet a real need within the Highlands and Islands to train the future leaders of our local industry.
“It was vital that ConstructionSkills, Scottish Building Federation and professionals from across the industry worked closely with Kenneth’s team to help to develop the programme. We can be sure that it will meet industry requirements and also have a real impact on meeting the Scottish Government’s ambitions for sustainable economic growth within the Highlands. If this can be done by increasing the skills base in sustainable construction, then it will be to everyone’s advantage.”
For further information on the BSc sustainable construction programme, which can be studied full or part-time, see http://www.courses.uhi.ac.uk/
Media contact
Glenda Johnson
UHI media and PR officer
01463 279222
Glenda.johnson@uhi.ac.uk
Notes to editors
UHI Millennium Institute (UHI) is a higher education institution comprising thirteen partner colleges and research institutions, two associated institutions and a network of over fifty outreach learning centres, located throughout the Highlands and Islands of Scotland (including Moray and Perthshire).
Currently over 6800 students are studying on undergraduate and postgraduate courses or undertaking postgraduate research with UHI.
The UHI partner institutions are working together to achieve university status, as the University of the Highlands and Islands.
ConstructionSkills - www.cskills.org
ConstructionSkills is a partnership between the CITB (Construction Industry Training Board), Construction Industry Council (CIC) and CITB Northern Ireland. It is one of the sector skills councils tasked by the government to implement UK-wide sector skills agreements between the bodies responsible for delivering training in the UK and those that demand it.
- Scottish Building Federation, established in 1895, is the principal and only purely Scottish employers’ federation, representing the interest of the construction industry – an industry which is the largest source of private investment in Scotland. With over 100 years of industry experience, the Scottish Building Federation exists to advance the interests of the building industry as a whole and to provide a range of tangible and practical support services which are of interest and benefit to member firms whether small single trade firms or major regional and national contractors.
