Mark Vender
The HVAC Centre of Excellence at Holmesglen’s Chadstone campus in Melbourne has won a prestigious CIBSE Building Performance Award in the Learning and Development category.
The awards, open to any organisation internationally, recognise the people, products and projects that demonstrate engineering excellence in the built environment. The 2020 awards were presented at a gala dinner attended by 700 guests at Grosvenor House, London, on February 11, 2020.
The HVAC Centre of Excellence is a joint initiative between the Air Conditioning and Mechanical Contractors’ Association (AMCA) and Holmesglen. It was developed to support specialist training in HVAC, with input and support from HVAC businesses and the Victorian government. It is unique and important in that it simulates and replicates entire systems found in today’s buildings.
“Through exposure to a simulated ‘live’ system, the Centre builds students’ skills quickly in what would take years in the workplace,” says AMCA Executive Director, Sumit Oberoi.
“Integrating the latest technologies such as energy efficiency systems and BIM software, the Centre is a site that is designed and built by industry and is reflective of contemporary industry practices. The Centre is the only applied balancing and commissioning learning centre in the world, to our knowledge, and will make an important contribution to our industry. Balancing and commissioning is critical to the performance, energy efficiency and safety of buildings.”
Holmesglen’s Dean of Building, Construction and Engineering, Ross Digby, says the Centre will drive innovation.
“A roundtable committee with representatives from key stakeholder groups was established to determine industry training needs, skills shortages, forecast demand planning and appropriate pedagogy,” says Digby.
“This has ensured that the curriculum is current and meets workforce requirements today and into the future. The Centre will provide leadership across the vocational education and training sector and drive mechanical services training in Victoria.”
For more information on the Centre of Excellence, click here.
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