BRISTOL, R.I. – With wide-ranging access to Roger Williams University’s SECCM Labs construction project as a real-world teaching resource, construction management and engineering students have their own “operating theater” to observe and learn the construction process directly from industry professionals.
Much like medical students witnessing open-heart surgery, Roger Williams students don the trade gear of hard hats, yellow reflective vests, protective eyewear and steel-toe boots to wade into the middle of the active construction site. As part of the partnership between RWU and Shawmut Design & Construction, the SECCM Labs project is a “living laboratory” where students in the School of Engineering, Computing, and Construction Management (SECCM) are getting behind-the-scenes lessons on the intricate confluence of the excavation, construction, and systems work that goes into erecting the campus’s new three-story, state-of-the-art building.
“There’s been a lot of synergy between the project and the classroom,” according to Bill Seymour, RWU’s Director of Capital Projects who also teaches construction engineering courses. “In my course, students are using actual plans and specs, real-time schedules and change orders, as they observe this project. They’re taking away an understanding that what they’re learning in the classroom mirrors industry practice, demonstrating that the techniques and tools they’re employing from lessons are identical to those that are being practiced on the job.”…Click to Read More