We are indebted to CREAM, the Construction Research Institute of Malaysia, part of the Construction Development Board (CIDB), for hosting the latest meeting of the CIB Board in Kuala Lumpur in October.
In particular we are grateful to Ir. Ts. Dr. Hj. Mohd Khairolden Ghani of CREAM and Dr Rahimi A. Rahman of Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah for their hard work. We also recognise their back-office teams, for whom no effort seemed too much, from meeting everyone at the airport to arranging meeting facilities and catering, conference passes and site visits.
With such excellent support the Board was free to focus on strategic discussions, and main business included the following:
- Appointment of Prof. Anil Kashyap as CIB Treasurer to replace Dr Paul Chan.
- The appointments of Brian Kleiner as a replacement Board member on behalf of Virginia Tech, and Billy Hare of Glasgow Caledonian University as a Co-opted Board member.
- The role of CIB Regional Directors, to be clarified and enhanced.
- The upgrade of two Task Groups to Working Commission status:
- TG96 – Accelerating innovation in construction – now W125.
- TG124 – Net zero carbon building design and construction practices – now W124.
- Consultation with CIB Coordinators, and the appointment of a Board member in a liaison role to each Working Commission or Task Group.
- Commitment to greater support for GlobalABC and other UN initiatives.
- A sub-committee to focus on non-membership revenue.
Two CIB award winners presented their work to the Board, both were complimented on the clarity of their communication to a lay audience:
- Robert Osei-Kyei, Western Sydney University. ESG in the Construction Industry. Recipient of Vistas funding 2025. See here for more information.
- Elena Casolari, Andrea Giovanni Mainini, Politecnico di Milano. From Waste to Worth: Design Strategies for Circular Plastic. Winners of the Sebestyen Future Leaders Award 2025. . See here for more information.
Board members were also able to:
- Attend various events during CIDB’s International Construction Week, including the 2nd Digital Construction summit where CIB Vice President gave a key note address.
- Host 12 local universities to a seminar to discuss local trends in research and present CIB and the value of membership.
- Undertake a site visit to Merdeka 121, the world’s second tallest building.
We are grateful to our hosts for facilitating all the above, and to those Board members who made the considerable effort at their organisations’ expense to attend the meeting.
