On Feb. 4-7, the Cal Construction Team travelled to Sparks, Nevada for the annual Associated Schools of Construction Competition. Thousands of students from dozens of schools across the nation compete in the creation of construction solutions for real-life situations.
Over the last few years, Berkeley's presence at the competition has grown significantly. This year for the first time, Berkeley sent teams to compete in all 5 categories: 1) Virtual Design Construction, 2) Design Build, 3) Commercial, 4) Heavy Civil, and 5) Integrated Project Delivery.
The team spent a grueling 12+ hours developing proposals that described solutions to real-life engineering problems. They then presented the solutions to a panel of seasoned judges from the construction industry.
"This is an invaluable opportunity to share ideas with students from all over the country," said Ivan Chen, Project Manager.
It is also a great opportunity to meet the many recruiters who attend the competition seeking new talent.
A career fair followed the competition. More than 60 companies attended. Between presenting at the competition and networking at the fair, many Berkeley students came away with internships or full-time jobs with top construction companies.
To train for the competition, the Construction Team met regularly with coaches from the industry starting in September right through until February.
Coaches volunteer several hours a week to teach cost estimation, site logistics, and scheduling to the team. Many coaches were competitors themselves during their time at Berkeley.
The team is grateful for the dedication of their faculty advisor, CEE Professor Iris Tommelein, and their coaches from Turner, Cahill, Swinerton, Suffolk, Hensel Phelps, XL Construction, Walsh, and Shimmick.
Cal Construction also receives significant contributions from industry and would like to thank Construction Employers’ Association and Webcor Concrete for their ongoing support.
Look for Cal Construction in Sparks again next year! Go Construction! Go Bears!