Glasgow Kelvin College

Glasgow Based Further Education College - newsite

Keenan Award For Endeavour Winner

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GKC Civil Engineering student Leanne Lindsay was one of the proud recipients of the 'Keenan Award for Endeavour' last week at the Scottish Parliament.

Leanne was one of a number of GKC students who took part in Constructionarium Scotland last term, and the award was to recognise her efforts during the event.

Constructionarium Scotland is now being re-branded as ConStructEd and GKC will continue our involvement, which stretches back 13 years.

From the ConStructEd facebook page:

"What a great night to celebrate what was achieved by our students during 2019 with our inaugural 'Keenan Awards for Endeavour' along with our collaborative universities, industry partners and friends. Many thanks to to Fiona Hislop MSP who sponsored our reception within the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood Edinburgh and everyone that has supported us over the years.

As with our industry, we continue to adapt and evolve. The opportunity that we have taken to rebrand our experiential learning proposition as ConStructEd Scotland will see us creating new projects including a mobile project to reach out to more rural colleges and schools."

The award was named for Brian Keenan, recently retired Director of Constructionarium Scotland, and former Business Development Manager at Stow College.

Sighthill Regeneration Civil Engineering Visits

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The £250 million Sighthill Regeneration project is the biggest development of its kind in the UK outside of London. It is right on the doorstep of Springburn campus, so the Civil Engineering team have arranged a series of site visits for HND Year 1 students as part of their Personal Development Planning unit.

Main contractor Morgan Sindall visited the college 2 weeks ago to put all the students through a Site Health & Safety Induction and have been kind enough to accommodate 3 visits between January and February 2020. The students have observed a number of works operations on site which will greatly enhance their learning. This is the 3rd Year of the relationship between GKC Civil Engineering and Morgan Sindall, so thanks to the staff who make it happen.

Scottish Canals Project Visit

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The Civil Engineering Foundation Apprenticeship students went on a recent visit to a new project being developed by Scottish Canals. Just one mile from our Springburn Campus and the city centre lies the site Glasgow’s only inner-city Local Nature Reserve – The Claypits.

Originally the home of a clay quarry used when the Forth & Clyde Canal was first built in the late 1700s, it was also the site of a foundry, glassworks and boat-building yard.

This site is being constructed by Mackenzie Construction and includes footpaths, landscaping, sustainable drainage ponds and a new footbridge adjacent to Firhill Stadium.

The FA students had a very informative guided tour around the site and the good news is that some of the students will be doing work placements with both organisations over the next 6 months as part of their course.

The Civil Engineering team hope to schedule a return visit in the near future. Thanks to Scottish Canals and Mackenzie Construction for their time.

Civil Engineering Foundation Apprentices Industry Challenge

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Last week our Civil Engineering Foundation Apprentices completed an industry challenge. The event was set up by Advance Construction Scotland and ENGIE and was a work-based learning opportunity in a real working construction site in Easterhouse.

This event took place at the Auchinlea Housing Development and the students were treated to a realistic site experience, starting with an initial briefing and induction upon arrival on site. They were then given an overview of the development and the work carried out by ENGIE/Advance Construction on this project.?

The students had to use their communication skills, work as part of a team, and learn the basic principles of monoblock paving.  This involved using tools, reading drawings and checking levels, all which contribute to the vocational element of their award.

It was a very successful event for the FA Civil Engineering students who can carry this experience forward to their work placements later in the term. Thanks to the staff of GKC FA and Civil Engineering teams for support and the staff of ENGIE and Advance Construction for organising the event.

Civil Engineering Survey Camp 2019

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Last week saw a successful Survey Camp 2019 taking part in mostly sunny conditions.

Survey Camp 2019 was a project-based residential workshop for our Year 1 HND Civil Engineering students and took place for the second successive year at Lapwing Lodge, near Paisley. 35 students and 4 staff members took part in the event from 3-4 June and it was another great success.

The students were doing practical surveying exercises during the course of the 2 days and there was also an enjoyable High Ropes activity on Monday evening.

Thanks to all the staff who helped organise, facillitate and cover classes so this could go ahead.