SBEnrc Newsletter – March 2016

Dear Colleagues

In our September newsletter I mentioned that we planned to embark on seven new projects within the housing, building and infrastructure portfolios. These have now all commenced and are progressing well. The projects are:

• Valuing Social Housing
• Innovative Industrialised Buildings
• Retrofitting Public Buildings for Energy and Water Efficiency
• Scenario Planning Transport Futures
• Big Data, Technologies and Transportation
• Whole-of-life Value of Constructed Assets through Digital Technologies

• Asset Management – Selecting Optimal Maintenance Strategies Based on Multi-criteria Decision Making.

We are now seeking additional industry investment in these projects to ensure a strong applied focus of direct value to the public and private industry sectors. If you would like more information please get in touch.

Australian Government support for industry research welcomed

As a former CEO of an Australian Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), I’m very pleased to see the Australian Government is reinvigorating the CRC program with a shorter, sharper and more focused program called CRC Projects (CRC-P).

CRC-Ps are expected to deliver short term, industry-identified and industry-led collaborative research projects to develop a product, service or process that will solve problems for business and deliver tangible outcomes. Specifically, projects should benefit SMEs and increase their capacity to grow and adapt in changing markets.

One of the SBEnrc’s strengths is our enduring success in working with industry across themes of triple bottom line sustainability. Our well established industry engagement model, providing clear leadership at setting the direction of projects and in managing the research process and implementing outcomes, has been a core element of our ever-evolving research management strategy.

This part of the industry research agenda dovetails well with the Australian Government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda. We look forward to continuing to work with Australian industry to help improve its competitiveness, productivity and sustainability.

Curtin University CIB Student Chapter approved

I’m delighted to announce the Curtin University CIB Student Chapter was established in December 2015.

The Chapter has been established so that postgraduate and undergraduate students can engage with the cutting-edge research and development in the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) and network with other CIB Student Chapters across the Asia-Pacific region and globally.

This partnership will prove a great benefit for developing research students by providing connections to the CIB’s extensive range of working commissions and task groups. CIB’s global Board unanimously approved it in October at its Kuala Lumpur meeting. The CIB and SBEnrc/Curtin University are now working to engage built environment research students more actively in international research networks enhancing the capability and networks of Australian built environment researchers.

For your information

• Don’t forget that we are a regular contributor to Sourceable – our latest article is about reducing traffic congestion.
• Congratulations to our SBEnrc Project Leader Professor Xiangyu Wang on his recent appointment to serve on 2016 Australian Research Council (ARC) College of Experts Assessment Panel. This panel is responsible for assessing and ranking ARC grant applications, and providing strategic advice to the ARC on emerging research trends.
• Don’t forget the first module of the BIM Value tool is now freely available through the NATSPEC BIM Portal or visit www.natspec.com.au and click on the NATSPEC BIM logo.

Upcoming events

The International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB), the Finnish Association of Civil Engineers (RIL) and the Tampere University of Technology (TUT) are jointly hosting the World Building Congress 2016, May 30-June 3, 2016 in Tampere Finland.

The theme for WBC16, Intelligent built environment for life, highlights the importance of built environment and its development to society. For more information and to register go to www.wbc16.com.

Best regards

Keith

Dr Keith Hampson, Chief Executive Officer
Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre
Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, Western Australia
E: k.hampson@sbenrc.com.au
W: www.sbenrc.com.au

Our challenge is to continue growing the value and impact of our applied research more deeply and broadly across Australia. The Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (SBEnrc) is acknowledged as an excellent example of a CRC that has graduated into an independent organisation delivering unique industry, government and research collaboration.

Dr Keith Hampson
CEO, SBEnrc

John V. McCarthy AO
Chair, SBEnrc