University of Reading

School of Construction Management and Engineering

University of Reading

The University of Reading has been at the forefront of UK higher education for nearly a century. Over the decades we have become innovators and pioneers, pushing academic boundaries and leading social change. At Reading, we are dedicated to staying at the forefront of teaching and learning developments. We want to inspire innovative and creative approaches to teaching and learning by working in partnership with staff, students and the business community.

The School of Construction Management and Engineering offers best in class facilities for learning digital construction. We have a cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE), which allows our students to fully interact with immersive 3D digitised environments. We also offer an array of digital technologies and software that are in use across the construction, surveying, engineering and energy industries today. They include building information modelling (BIM); Oculus Rift head-mounted displays; 3D printers; 3D laser scanners; urban microclimate simulations; and building energy simulations, amongst others. Students have access to virtual classrooms and lecture notes, submit coursework and access our PC-labs from wherever they're studying through our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

Implementing RIB CostX® into classes:

We started implementing RIB CostX® in our curriculum from 2018 at both our Reading and Malaysia campuses. Since then we have supported over 100 students every year to learn and apply the software to measurement and cost planning. The teaching of RIB CostX® is aligned with the New Rules of Measurement (NRM) and RIB CostX® supports us with this.

Outcomes:

RIB CostX® is one of the practical skills that enables students entering the professional world to be productive right from the start. We have had some of our students getting involved in major projects, as they are able to apply their RIB CostX® skills on the job.

Final thoughts:

There are many tools out there, but RIB CostX® is ahead of the competition when it comes to computerised quantification, measurement and estimating construction works; as well as integration with BIM. RIB CostX® is a core part of the array of practical skills that today’s quantity surveying students require and we are happy to collaborate with RIB in delivering this.