SACQSP Conference19th - 21st October 2016
The South African Council for the Quantity Surveying Profession held their annual research conference in October. The theme "Sea-Change: navigating the waves of change. The conference focused on the ever-changing construction industry, economy and current events that have changed the future of the industry and the Quantity Surveying profession. Research papers were presented having found new approaches to construction and cost management, the role of ethics in South Africa, new strategies for the professional environment, and what the future of the industry may hold.
The conference included networking and social sessions that aimed to connect individuals in industry to colleagues, students and leaders in the attending professional bodies.
Through the support of the ASAQS several Quantity Surveying Students were allowed the opportunity to attend in aid of their future careers in the profession. They were asked what they took from the conference and how it benefitted them.
"The SACQSP research conference was an excellent event that exposed us as students to the leaders in industry and the opportunity to network with future colleagues and role models. Throughout our academic careers we are seldom exposed to such a variety of industry professionals, and to be afforded the opportunity to take part in the conference was truly inspiring. We are grateful to the ASAQS and other professional bodies for making the opportunity available. We went with the intention of connecting with influential industry professionals and meeting our counterparts from SA's top universities. I can say with absolute certainty that each of us achieved this and more.
The experience was fantastic as both the conference and Port Elizabeth were entertaining, thought-provoking and provided us with a break away from our work at the University. Personally, I networked with many inspiring individuals and took away a great deal of career advice and what to expect in industry. I would encourage any built environment student to attend as the whole experience is invaluable to one's future career."
- Brendan Ardagh, Quantity Surveying Student at UCT
Brendan Ardagh
K. Sello (left)
T. Mahloko (right)
"First and foremost I would like to thank the SACQSP and the other organisers for putting together the research conference of 2016. As a student enrolled in the BSc in Quantity Surveying programme and an aspiring Professional Quantity Surveyor, the event was very fruitful and valuable to my learning.
I do appreciate the opportunity for me to attend the research conference which was made possible by the ASAQS. Thanks to Focus Quantity Surveyors who sponsored me. I had an absolutely eye opening experience during the 3 day conference. I was able to mix and mingle with the industry professionals and gain more insight on my chosen career path.
The presented research papers that I attended were all beneficial to my learning and really put some relevant topics into perspective. A research paper which I found particularly interesting was that of ethics in quantity surveying firms.
I highly support the sponsoring of students to attend such events as it’s the perfect platform to introduce aspiring quantity surveyors to the profession."
​
- Kholofelo Sello, Quantity Surveying Student at UCT
"This was a great learning experience. This was a great opportunity to interact with other students from other institutions and professionals in the industry. The interactions were fruitful as they give new insights and I gained a different perspective from them. It was interesting to see the difference of how our curriculum was being carried out in comparison to the other institutions. Talking with the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University I learned that we had more interactions with other disciplines within the built environment faculty, in our curriculum we interact with the architects and civil engineers through a simulated office project. The sim office project gives an insight on what to expect once you enter the working environment.
​
It was great interacting with the professionals in the industry. Relating to them was not difficult as they created an environment where we as students were able to relate and interact with them. They gave tips on how to market ourselves, in terms of approaching companies, and what as a graduate you have to offer and what to expect in the industry.
The keynote speakers gave much insight and knowledge. Some knowledge from the speakers included leadership, the process of change and the state of our economy. What stood out from all that was that change is inevitable and one should always be prepare for it. As part of the construction industry, with technology growing, what is it that we can do to keep up with all the changes and still be able to remain relevant, by offering quality service. All in all this was fruitful, knowledgeable and interesting conference. It was good to be outside Cape Town and explore a different place."
- Kea Mainole, Quantity Surveying Student at UCT
Kea Mainole
Leah Benkenstein (left)
Atupele Phiri (right)
"The 2016 SCAQSP Conference was the first research conference I have attended. The theme of change was extremely applicable to the current changes happening not only in the world but also on the smaller scale, with the current education crisis our country is facing. The conference fell during a heavy time of protest, leading to UCT having to suspend lectures for over a month. Many of the Key note speakers addressed these changes that the world is facing.
​
Mr Sizwe Nxedlana, an FNB Economist gave the most riveting talk about the changes that the SA economy, and in turn the QS profession will face in the next few years, led by the predicted decline in China’s exportation and Americas obvious political changes. He then brought it closer to home and discussed the effects of the SA drought and persistently high unemployment rate. He described a grim future for those who did not prepare for the future effects of these economic changes. It really was a highlight for me, and possibly the only economic talk I have ever been completely interested in from start to end.
​
Mrs Lynette Ntuli was one of the other key note speakers who I really enjoyed. She shared the personal experiences in her life that led her to where she is now, a successful woman in construction. Her talk was on leadership and she gave very practical advice on how to be a better leader, and how to be proactive in achieving your future career goals. I was extremely inspired by this talk and it helped me to align many of my career dreams into concrete goals.
Other than the talks, there were various social events that provided excellent networking opportunities. I enjoyed the opportunity to talk to other QS’s and find out about the career paths they had taken. Meeting Dr Stephan Ramabodu was also a great honour. He had so much wisdom to give to us as students and was more than happy to join us on the dance floor. The gala dinner was a great close off event where had an opportunity to celebrate the nomination of a past student, Kenny Toplis, as a finalist for the ASAQS Gold Medal Award.
​
Overall the conference was a good experience. Traveling to PE and having time to bond with the other students who were able to come, was an unforgettable experience. Karen Le Jeune was and excellent chaperone and she went over and above, as usual, to make sure we were all looked after and had a good experience of conference. Thank you to the ASAQS for the sponsorship which helped make our trip to the SACQSP Conference possible."
​
- Leah Benkenstein, Quantity Surveying Student at UCT
"The ASAQS Conference 2016 was hosted by the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth. It was a great honour to be among the delegates of the conference in this year. The whole experience from the trip to the conference itself was amazing. Personally the conference was gave me a great opportunity to connect with people from the industry. I got to interact with different people in the industry from those at the candidate level to PrQS to directors of different QS firms. It was interesting and inspiring to listen to the journeys of these various Quantity Surveyors. Most of them were very interactive by giving career advice and their contacts to send in applications for jobs.
​
I was also inspired by the Quantity Surveyors that got the gold medal award during the Gala dinner. The fact that these medallist were fresh from University was an indicator that the universities are equipping their graduates with more than enough knowledge to be able to go in the industry and leave a mark. The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University student Chuma Rasmeni was also an exceptional figure in the conference. His presentation on all his papers were very profound and reflected his knowledge and passion for what he did. It was also a great opportunity to meet the president of the ASAQS Dr. Ramabodu and put a face to the name as I referenced him in my thesis. He also had a lot to say especially in terms of challenges that the black people face in the industry. All in all the conference was indeed an eye opener and cleared a couple of queries that I had about the industry."
​
- Asnath Kessy, Quantity Surveying Student at UCT
Asnath Kessy
"This year was my first time attending the SACQSP Research Conference. I found it to be very beneficial as I got to interact with industry executives whose knowledge offered a different dimension to what I have learned at University. Such conferences are important to students as it allows us to network with Professionals in a non-corporate yet professional environment. I enjoyed being able to listen to the researchers present their various dissertations and found many that interested me. More notably, the keynote addresses made by Mrs Lynette Ntuli on Leadership, Mr Sizwe Nxedlana on the South African economic outlook and Mrs Chantell Ilbury on Business Strategy were topics that stood out for me. The entertainment and food organised by the ASAQS at the gala dinner were the highlight of the whole event. I left the conference eager for my future in the QS profession. Overall, I am greatly appreciative to the ASAQS Western Cape Chapter for sponsoring my attendance to the 2016 SACQSP Research Conference, it is truly an experience I will never forget."
​
- Atupele Phiri, Quantity Surveying Student at UCT
Atupele Phiri
"The SACQSP conference, this being my first year of attendance was very insightful. It was the greatest networking platform that I have ever been exposed to and I’m grateful to the council that we got to be a part of it. The manner in which the events where organised was in such a way that allowed people to open up and be more welcoming to strangers for conversation, and not to mention the refreshments. The different research material that was presented was quite beneficial and also inspirational to some of us that haven’t thought of presenting our research. It also called for educational debates amongst ourselves even after the conference. The Gala Dinner that was organised for the end of the conference really wrapped up the whole weekend. There was amazing food and entertainment and it was gloomy when we had to leave the beautiful city of Port Elizabeth."
​
- Karen Mapiye, Quantity Surveying Student at UCT
Kholofelo Sello (left)
Karen Mapiye (right)
Erica Moyo
"Attending the conference was an insightful and eye opening experience with various speakers talking about various issues pertaining to the profession. It really broadened my understanding of the QS profession and the challenges faced. However, one speaker really stood out for me.
​
He spoke about the competencies required of graduates by employees. Since first year, the focus has been to finish my degree and dive into the working environment. The conference opened up my mind to the process behind becoming a professional QS, i.e. the journey in the tertiary institutions. I have never paid attention to how we are actually prepared for the work environment. During the conference, we got to interact with students from different tertiary institutions and talk about how their degree programmes were set up. One of the papers presented researched into identifying the competencies required by employees of new graduates. In the findings, it was observed that employees think that graduates coming into the industry are not as competent as they should be. The question was therefore, are tertiary institutions not adequately preparing graduates for the industry? With this, for the first time ever, I shifted my attention to the training we receive at varsity. I have never paid attention to the process and the importance of the journey in tertiary institutions. If lack of competencies of students is due to tertiary institutions, the Council and Association should intervene to ensure that the quality of quantity surveyors produced are up to the required standard. However, there is the question of whether employees expect too much from the graduates.
​
Overall, the conference was great and provided great networking opportunities. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the ASAQS for the generous sponsorship and the chance to attend the conference."
​
- Erica Moyo, Quantity Surveying Student at UCT
"The SACQSP research conference was a wake up call for me. Above all the research, I think the conference opened my eyes to seeing greater things about the profession and allowed me an opportunity to have bigger dreams. The conference also provided a great networking platform with not only professionals, but students from other universities as well. Networking with the other students have made me very excited about the future, as the industry is yet to witness a cohort of Quantity Surveying leaders with great plans dominate the market. I was however dissappointed in the fact that there weren’t as many professionals at the conference. It got me asking myself questions about whether we care so little about the new developments in our industry and if research is not as important for those that are not in academia. Over and above it was a great honour to meet the current president of the ASAQS, Dr Ramabodu- who really inspired me with calibre. I also referenced him a lot in my research paper, so taking a selfie with him was a bonus. The conference was very well organised and the theme “sea-change- navigating the waves of change”was great given what was happening at our higher institutions at that current moment. The road trip was also a great escape from all the anxiety from the protests on campus. I would really like to thank Karen Le Jeune for making things possible and for being such a steward in promoting the profession with pride. To the ASAQS a great thank you for the sponsorship. I have really learnt a lot and I have developed as a person after the conference and putting it on paper is very difficult. My hope is to promote the profession more because Quantity Surveying we are a gift from God as said in Luke 14:28 “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?”
​
- Sister Kashala, Quantity Surveying Student at UCT
Sister Kashala
"The conference contributed to my personal and career development a great deal. I learnt a lot about where the South African construction economy is heading and how to predict and survive the changes that come our way. Navigating the waves of change was a very applicable theme especially because we are soon to be honours graduates and we will have to adjust to a lot of changes. The conference gave us an opportunity to step into the industry and get to know who’s who of the industry, a step in the right direction indeed! Some of the people I got an opportunity to network with was the phenomenal inspiring man, Dr Stephen Ramabodu (President of the ASAQS)."
- Nthabiseng Mahloko, Quantity Surveying Student at UCT
Nthabiseng Mahloko
"This was the first ever professional/academic conference I had ever attended and as a result I had no idea what to expect. The first night, which was the ice breaker and it was a really fun and interesting networking experience. The second day was long and very productive. The first thing was opening and welcoming remarks and after that the first keynote speaker, Ms Bronwyn Crawford, took the stage who was speaking about the process of change, which was very relevant to the theme of the conference; Sea Change.
We spend the rest of the day listening to research paper presentations and most of these were very interesting and educative to say the least. We had a Gala Dinner that was organised by the ASAQS that night and it was the highlight of the conference. The food, the entertainment, the company and the music; everything was great.
Before the conference, I had no confidence in myself, if I had any it was very minimal; I had no confidence in what I know and what I learned at school and beyond school. Interacting with other students and other professionals made me realise that I have to have confidence otherwise no one will believe me or anything I say or do. So now I am somewhat ready to market myself, I am ready to take on the industry next year, I know there is something in me that the industry in missing and is in need of and I have the confidence to take it to wherever I am destined to be (hopefully a QS firm, I want to work towards becoming a PrQS)"
- Masala Nelwamondo, Quantity Surveying Student at UCT
Masala Nelwamondo
"The SACQSP 2016 conference was held in Port Elizabeth by Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. This was my second academic conference during my years at University and I must say that it was an amazing, eye opening and a very informative event generally the event was well organized. The conference was 3 days long and in those days they were certain activities that allowed the students to interact with professionals in the industry and this networking allowed us to get an insight of what working in the industry is like. The professionals who attended the conference were very helpful and informative. The guest speakers were amazing, I was inspired by most of their presentations, they shared their live stories and how planning is essential at this stages of our lives. The research presentations helped me understand problems and challenges faced in the industry. I was not aware of most of the problems but attending the conference and listening to the presenters was very beneficial to my understanding.
​
In conclusion the conference was an amazing event. I loved the experience and this has really inspired me to work harder and be able to fulfill my dreams. I also would like to thank ASAQS for the sponsorship which helped making our trip a success."
​
- Rocky Banda, Quantity Surveying Student at UCT
Rocky Banda