CSU East Bay’s construction management team placed second in the annual Associated Schools of Construction competition this month in Sparks, Nevada.

According to Thanh Tran, president of CSUEB’s construction management team, the competition gave students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to manage real world construction projects without the real world risk of company lawsuits.

Students in the program are taught how to obtain and manage all aspects of construction projects from start to finish, including labor, materials, equipment and financial resources.

“It’s a very actively growing program,” said Dr. Farzad Shahbodaghlou, who started the construction management program in 2009 with only six enrolled students. “There are now over 100 students enrolled in the program.”

The Associated Schools of Construction competition challenges students in much the same way. Students compete against larger universities such as Stanford, Brigham Young and Oregon State, who are known for receiving first and second place awards at this competition.

“Each team received their construction projects in the form of a thumb drive the day after their arrival at the competition,” said Tran. “Submissions were due 16 to 18 hours after receiving the thumb drive and late submissions were not accepted.”

The non-stop 16-hour competition challenged students with a variety of evolving problems they may face in the real world of construction management, including unexpected expenses and scheduling conflicts.

CSUEB’s undergraduate team competed in an event at the competition called Concrete Solutions, while the graduate team competed in the Integrated Project Delivery event. Both teams were challenged to harness their talents and insights in order to increase efficiency and decrease waste through all aspects of their construction project.

“The field of construction is about communication, coordination, collaboration and a lot of thinking outside the box in terms of managing the project, talking to customers and making things work under impossible deadlines,” said Tran.

According to Tran, the competition also gives CSUEB students a chance to get a construction management internship with a variety of renowned companies.

“There would be recruiters all throughout the competition who would scout out students for their construction companies,” said Tran.

Tran adds that after competing in the Associated Students Construction competition as a student, CSUEB alumni Sam Huckabee now works for Turner Construction, one of the largest commercial construction companies in the United States.

“Being able to have students as interns was a big deal to the [construction companies].  They were very happy that we have a program that they can get year round interest from, and they’re starting to do that,” said Dr. Shahbodaghlou.

The next internship interviews are scheduled for March 8 and will be divided up into multiple sessions. Currently 14 students are scheduled for internship interviews, but Dr. Shahbodaglou says about four to six students will be chosen based on the needs of each construction company.