Laing O'Rourke and Imperial College London have announced the creation of a new multi-disciplinary academic centre of excellence to advance the systems engineering profession and leverage innovative thinking to benefit the construction industry.

Laing O'Rourke, will fund the Centrefor Systems Engineering and Innovation at Imperial College London as part of their multi-million pound collaboration with the college.

An agreement signed by Imperial College London Rector Sir Keith O'Nions, and Laing O'Rourke Chairman and Chief Executive Ray O'Rourke formally launched the new centre, which is set to play a leading role in shaping the future of the construction industry by responding to the commercial and environmental challenges facing it.

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The Centre will be a focus for innovative research and teaching, using the insights to deliver greater value in the disciplines of mechanical and electrical engineering, building services and manufacturing systems.

A new two-year part-time Masters course in Systems Engineering will be launched in October 2011 by the Centre, to transform the thinking, practices and performance of construction industry professionals through the teaching and adoption of world class process systems engineering and innovation in science.

The programme will create intelligent and challenging leaders with the skills to drive the industry to the next level of achievement, pushing students to think creatively about society, technology, economics, environmental policy and their inter-relationships.

It will encompass the full spectrum of systems approaches from data networks in mechanical and electrical engineering through to the latest innovations in low-carbon energy technologies. The course modules will have a strong focus on sustainability and whole-life performance with topics including energy policy, systems safety and data transmission. The programme will be multidisciplinary, aiming to embrace a broad range of sectors, taught by experts in their fields drawn from academia, industry and government.

(CD/KMcA)