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University of Reading

UoRM lecturers win research awards at international industry congress

Friday, 11 August 2017

UoRM at 2017 PAQS Congress

Noor Azeyah Khiyon and Theong May Chuan at the 21st Annual PAQS Congress.

Two lecturers from the School of the Built Environment, University of Reading Malaysia (UoRM), have won awards for their research at a prestigious international conference. 

The Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors (PAQS) is an international association of national organisations representing quantity surveyors in the Asia and Western Pacific region. Members include quantity surveying and cost engineering institutions from countries including Australia, China, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Malaysia, Fiji, Brunei, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Philippines, South Africa (observer), Indonesia and Hong Kong.

The annual PAQS Congress aims to highlight and promote excellent practices within the industry – those delivering research at the Congress are also entered into award categories for the work they present. We are delighted to announce that after presenting their papers, Sr Dr Theong May Chuan and Ms. Noor Azeyah Khiyon won awards for their research.

Built Environment lecturer, Sr Dr Theong May Chuan, won the PAQS-Iwata Foundation 2017 Essay competition (Highly Commended) for her paper “Green Developments: The New Era”. In her essay, Theong argues that green development is no longer an option, but should instead be made a priority to all construction stakeholders as a pathway into a sustainable future (dubbed as ‘the new era’).

BSc Quantity Surveying programme lead, Ms. Noor Azeyah Khiyon, won the PAQS 2017 Best Paper Award for her research piece “Whole Life Cycle Costing for Sustainable Facility Management”. As part of her PhD research, Azeyah established a conceptual framework for a ‘Whole Life Cycle Costing’ concept that will encourage sustainability within the facilities management industry. The framework assists construction professionals with decision-making in relation to choosing value-for-money sustainable alternatives. 

This year’s Congress (the 21st Annual PAQS Congress) was held in Vancouver, Canada, and was attended by approximately 1,000 industry professionals from around the world.