星空传媒

As a member of the CIOB and the proud recipient of a BSc(Hons); MSc(Distinction) and a PhD, all achieved at University of Brighton, I was disappointed by the article Death Of A Degree in the March 2003 issue of the Construction Manager. The article was fuelled by ignorance and completely misrepresented data supplied by the Universities that offered assistance to what had been regarded a responsible magazine.

The authors failed to appreciate the essence of the two key notes, offered by Martin Betts and Colin Grey, who's views were afforded a few lines at the end of the article on the last page. A single point of agreement I share with the article is that the construction industry needs to do far more to positively promote the vast array of opportunities the industry has to offer bright, intelligent young people who are about to leave school and to encourage their entrance into construction degree courses, courses that as Martin Betts acknowledged would equip them to move our business forward.

Perhaps my question to the authors and the CIOB is in what way did this article contribute to the meaningful debate that is taking place elsewhere regarding academia and the construction industry. Surely a better use of resources would have been spent trying to promote the M4I initiative.