Universities need industry

Education and training are issues everyone in building services engineering seems to have an opinion about. On the CIBSE website, the discussion forum on 'The state of University education serving the building services profession' is currently the most active.

Calls for general or common first degrees, followed by specialist training are growing, but what are the merits of such an approach? Why would a company prefer a graduate with a general first degree with all the associated learning curve risks and costs of extra supervision and monitoring?

They could have a graduate with a dedicated building services engineering first degree and a clear perspective of the industry. There may indeed be a need for both types of graduate but is the general degree approach a genuine preference or a reaction to a shortfall in building services graduates?

If it is the latter, then a better approach to this problem is to influence the numbers and quality of building services graduates entering industry by engaging with universities running integrated courses. Which is the more constructive – a reactive response to an output problem or a proactive response? If you influence the input you have better control of the output. At the University of Northumbria they are actively encouraging companies to engage with them to improve standards and increase numbers of building services engineering graduates.

The University of Northumbria has over 150 full-time and part-time students of building services engineering following HND and honours degree routes. Many of these students are sponsored and supported by companies. They will have a year of industrial training to prepare them for their final year of study. These links with companies are very important in maintaining healthy, integrated building services engineering courses and in producing well-qualified engineers with an instinct for the industry they are entering.

In support of this partnership with industry, the University holds an annual 'Company Open Day' which was attended this year by 14 organisations. The day is essentially an access day. It allows students, company staff and academic staff to talk to each other in a friendly and constructive way about sponsorship, training, career opportunities and issues of concern and relevance to all.

Gavin Thompson, a partner of Buro Happold and himself a graduate of the University of Northumbria, says: "We find the grounding in building services that our University of Northumbria recruits have received is well matched to the needs of our business. We need the right balance between the ability to innovate and think in broad terms coupled with talents for solid delivery."

Richard Mann of Oscar Faber adds: "Without pure building services engineering courses, the implicit understanding these students and graduates have of subtle issues such as building physics and environmental comfort will be lost."

Mathew Norman and David Whittaker both BEng (Hons) year two students sponsored by Buro Happold comment: "Sponsorship is more than just financial help. The fact that someone outside the University is interested in how and what you are doing and makes time for you, gives you a feeling of worth."

David Warrick and Mark Ellis both full-time BEng (Hons) students sponsored by SES York add: "Being supported and monitored by a company is a two way thing requiring responsibility and commitment on the students part as well as the companies."

The University of Northumbria has been running an integrated building services engineering degree course which has served industry successfully for more than 25 years. However it has to be recognised that building services education in the UK has never been at greater risk. What should be borne in mind is that it is very easy to dismantle courses but it is an entirely different thing to build them back up. It is apparent that the quality, viability and relevance, of integrated building services engineering courses depends upon support from industry.

The days of selecting from a large pool of unspoken-for graduates no longer exist and those who are prepared to send sponsored students to university and be actively engaged with industrial placement training are reaping the benefits.

By working together, universities and industry can offer excellent opportunities to young people but as so often is the case, you only get out what you put in.