FBW Group is looking to build on its commitment to developing professional talent in East Africa through closer links with Uganda Martyrs University (UMU).
The firm’s work supporting the university’s highly rated Faculty of Built Environment (FoBE) goes back more than a decade.
Stuart Harley, FBW’s director of operations, is currently involved in a number of its courses, including professional practice, and is helping to develop ideas around the future curriculum which will shape the next generation of East African architects.
FBW is looking to build even closer links with the faculty and its undergraduate and masters courses in the future through more involvement in mentoring and workshops.
FoBE continues to drive forward the importance of sustainability, community, and restoration in all its teaching and courses, areas which are central to FBW in its project work.
The university’s main campus is in Nkozi, Mpigi District, in the Central Region of Uganda. The institution has a strong reputation in the research field.
Research programmes it has been involved in include Supporting African Municipalities in Sustainable Energy Transitions (SAMSET), and Energy Efficiency in Buildings in East Africa (EEBEA). It has also been involved in the Shared Heritage Africa research project.
Its courses are recognised and validated by the Uganda society of Architects (USA) and the Architects Registration Board (ARB). Students that have graduated from faculty’s Bachelor of Environmental Design (Hons) course have gone on to attain masters’ degrees associated with the built environment.
Stuart Harley said: “Growing our relationship with UMU is really important to us as we look to engage with the next generation of home-produced architects.
“We are looking forward to continuing working with FoBE to help develop students that leave university better prepared for the workplace and understand the profession is not just about designing buildings.
“It is an agenda that is more important than ever if we are to attract and retain the architects who will help deliver the vision of green, sustainable urban growth in Africa.
“The focus on sustainability in building design and construction is becoming even sharper and FoBE is also playing its part through its emphasis on environmental conscious design.”