AUBEA 2012 conference at UNSW brings together building and construction teachers and researchers in the Australasia area

AUBEA was set up to promote and improve teaching and research in building through communication and collaboration. It also aims to coordinate efforts to market the discipline of building to prospective students, research partners and clients. Established in 1975, it is a membership-based non-profit organisation made up of academics from all universities throughout Australasia. The association has a council made up of representatives from member institutions and this maintains its strong links to industry.

Each year AUBEA holds a highly acclaimed conference, bringing together building and construction teachers and researchers in the Australasia area and providing them with a platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration, disciplinary reflections, institutional exchange and collective growth share.  The conferences are mostly held at universities and last year’s took place at Bond University on the Gold Coast.

The 37th Annual Conference of Australasian University Building Educators Association (AUBEA) took place 4th to 6th July at UNSW and was organised by the staff of the Construction Management and Property Program. The conference brought together all those involved in building research and education. It was a very busy three days with a variety of keynote speakers, workshops and activities. World Renowned Professor of Construction Management, Will Hughes from the University of Reading, was the international keynote speaker.

The conference was organised around three key themes which encapsulate many of the challenges the construction sector faces, namely: sustainable procurement, construction technology and professional education.  The Call for Papers resulted in 117 abstracts being submitted and, following a rigorous double-blind review process, 68 papers were finally accepted for publication. The accepted papers have been written by established researchers, early career researchers and research students.

This year’s conference remarked two significant and exciting issues. Firstly, the inauguration of the conference issue of the Australasian Journal of Construction Economics and Building (AJCEB). Top ten papers from the AUBEA conference were selected for the first issue of the AJCEB conference issue.  Secondly, four best paper awards were presented at the conference dinner to deserving authors. Professor Denny McGeorge was recognised for his distinguished service to the discipline.

The organising committee, which included Imriyas Kamardeen, Benson Lim, Sidney Newton & Martin Loosemore did a great job in organising and executing a very successful event.