Three of Prof. Brilakis’ Module 3D9 Construction Management students, Max Baker, Joe Williams and Shanjeev Mathialagan, represented the CIT Lab at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) East Midlands Regional Student Challenge. The team, supported by Dr Vajdic, made their way to Nottingham Trent University on the 27th January 2026.
The CIOB Regional Student Challenge is an annual event that aims to engage students, identify future leaders, and create valuable links with industry. This year, the East Midlands competition brought together 13 student teams from across the region and challenged participants to respond to an ambitious and demanding brief:
“Develop a strategy and methodology to address the worldwide housing crisis, or the housing crisis within your own country.”
As part of their proposal, teams were required to align their solution with one or two of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, provide advice on funding and cost breakdowns, and demonstrate how their approach incorporated sustainable practices, community empowerment and improvements to infrastructure.
Following an intensive preparation period, the students presented their proposal to a panel of judges and took part in a live question and answer session. Teams were assessed on the quality of their proposal, the effectiveness of their presentation and their ability to work as a team.
The students made a strong impression on the judges and represented the Cambridge University extremely well throughout the challenge. We look forward to seeing what they achieve next and participating again next year!
A big well done to the students for challenging themselves and a big thank you to Dr. Vajdic for accompanying them.
Joe, Shanjeev and Max challenging their skills while working as a team.
Everyone gathering for the 2026 CIOB Regional Student Challenge group photo.