BCU and Blue Thorn collaborate to develop the next generation construction talents.
Blue Thorn is a Birmingham-based BIM specialist company. They provide fully coordinated models, drawings and prefabrication detailing using BIM on large construction projects and have now completed over 350 projects throughout UK and Europe, including BCU’s Conservatoire. The Company won Sir Doug Ellis Apprenticeship Awards for Small Employer of the Year 2022. Blue Thorn has provided placement opportunities to BCU students in the last few years. This allows students to get the working experience in practice, develop their professional skills and get job ready.
Olutola Fapohunda, a student from BCU’s MSc Construction Project Management course, greatly appreciated his six months’ placement experience there: “Throughout my placement in Blue Thorn, I have been able to explore the usage of BIM, Revit and Navisworks to design structural elements and this has improved my project management skills. Blue Thorn has invested a lot of time in me through trainings. I am now eager to apply this expertise in my professional life and contribute to the built environment and engineering as a whole. I am grateful for the incredibly rewarding journey and the skills I have gained”.
Destiny Omokhua, another student from the same course, added: “The placement at Blue Thorn provided practical insights into BIM. Working with a team of over 50 members and collaborating with external stakeholders from leading construction companies gave me the opportunity to experience the potentials of the tool and the challenges associated with it. It was also a remarkable learning curve to apply some of the soft professional skills taught in school, including communication, teamwork, professional ethics, and negotiation, into practice”.
Nisha Patel, another student from MSc Construction Project Management course who did her placement with Blue Thorn in 2023, has successfully secured a job with the company, and is very happy to mentor the new placement students and support their professional career development.
Their course leader Dr Hong Xiao was very pleased with the students’ achievements in their placement and praised the support from Blue Thorn: “Construction industry is experiencing a digital revolution and urgently needs graduates who can meet the challenge. It is so great to see BCU and Blue Thorn work together to develop the next generation talent. This is a win-win collaboration between university and our industrial partners.”