Collaboration key for Tomorrow’s Leaders at Members’ Forum

Six members of CIOB’s Tomorrow’s Leaders community from across the globe were invited to attend CIOB Members’ Forum earlier this year, to network, learn and contribute to the discussions at the event whilst representing their respective CIOB regions. While each had different highlights from the event, all said that the opportunity to meet other professionals from around the world and to discuss the shared challenges and successes has been important to their future careers.

Tadiwa Taimu (Assistant Project Manager - Cape Town, South Africa)

“One thing that I really enjoyed was the sense of community and camaraderie between everyone. It was interesting how we were able to come together and express our similar difficulties. Sometimes when you're all the way in the Southern Hemisphere, you think you're alone, but it's very interesting seeing that a lot of the challenges that we have are paralleled.

“Here in South Africa, we don't have an issue with engaging with the youth as much as other areas like the UK and Australia. So it was very interesting how here in the Southern Hemisphere, our highest engagement is with the newly employed and the younger generation. It was really nice to be able to give tips and advice as well, and to have a platform where I felt genuinely heard.

“Being very young in the industry that is very male dominated, sometimes you can feel stifled, but I felt welcomed, and it was nice to be able to share my thoughts and experiences and also help other hubs find ways to face their challenges as well.”

Liz Moss (Apprentice Site Manager - Essex, England) 

“One of Sandi’s (immediate past CIOB president Sandi Rhys Jones OBE, FCIOB, FWES) key topics was collaboration, and it did feel like Members’ Forum was a collaborative experience. Sitting on different tables each day, speaking to different people and learning about their culture and how that influences their working place, how the government influences their working place, and thinking how I could potentially bring what they do over to the UK or vice versa, and that kind of collaboration of ideas was really useful. I met some really interesting people, and seeing how people had developed their careers was also really insightful for me as I've just started my career. 

“I definitely think I've got a better perspective on dealing with different personalities, because there were so many different kinds of people and what they did for work there. It was nice to be able to come back and apply what I learned. Trying to create a bit of diversity and show that there's a big difference between us and some countries, but there's also a lot of similarities as well.”

Hamza Momade (Director, Special Projects - Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada)

“We met some incredible people, people that were actually the real definition of construction leaders. Every one of them is so humble, everyone is willing to share their knowledge, everyone is willing to spend the time with you … you can talk to these people and spend some quality time learning about their experience. For a younger generation like we are in Tomorrow's Leaders, we look up to the chairs and the members from all over the world and hope we can achieve something similar in the future. 

“Collaboration was a big part of it, how to collaborate with other hubs globally, and not only through hosting events, but also business opportunities. Sustainability is [a key topic], that’s the new agenda that the new president, Mike Kagioglou FCIOB, has in place, and what we wanted to do was to come up with initiatives on how we can promote sustainability related technical events, hosting key leaders in this part of the region who can come and speak on that. 

“Members’ Forum is just five days, but the work goes on for a longer time after that.”

Dr Chiranjeevi Rahul Rollakanti MCIOB (Senior Lecturer  - Muscat, Oman)

“Participating in the Members' Forum 2024 has been a transformative experience, especially in terms of fostering international collaboration and expanding my professional horizons. The event not only brought together individuals from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, but also helped build professional connections. The collaborative atmosphere cultivated through this forum has had a direct impact on my own professional growth and future plans.

"One significant outcome of the forum for me is the opportunity to initiate international internships and job placements for students. Until now, the internships I’ve been involved in were primarily within the Sultanate of Oman. However, through the professional network I developed with other members during the forum, I now have the chance to collaborate with international organisations across the MENA region. By leveraging these new connections, I plan to extend Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) beyond local partnerships to include global collaborations. This will create pathways for professionals from our region to engage in valuable exchanges with organizations abroad, and vice versa.

"Moreover, the forum has helped me connect with fellow Tomorrow’s Leaders (TLs) from across the world. We have been sharing effective practices across the regions and we’ve already started working together on research papers and book chapters. This international research collaboration, involving participants from countries such as Australia, Canada, and the Middle East, is one of the most promising outcomes of the forum. Without the platform the Members' Forum provided, these connections would have been difficult to make.

"The forum has created a "global triangle" of collaboration that I believe will lead to significant academic and professional achievements. If we can publish research papers or even launch a collaborative journal, that would be the most substantial and rewarding result of this experience. The Members' Forum 2024 has truly opened doors for growth, providing me with the networks and opportunities to expand local and international collaboration.”