CIB in Conversation with Keith Hampson CIB President and Makarand (Mark) Hastak CIB President – Elect

In May Don Ward sat down online with Keith Hampson of SBEnrc in Australia and Makarand (Mark) Hastak of Purdue University in the USA, respectively CIB’s outgoing President and President-elect. Not surprisingly given the proximity to the World Building Congress 2022, we talked a lot about the value that people can expect from WBC2022, particularly those who are able to attend in person, for whom the Congress will demonstrate the value of meeting in person, networking and making new connections for future collaboration. Other topics we covered included a review of Keith’s three years as President, which comes to an end at the General Assembly on June 29th. Dealing with the challenges of the Covid-19 global pandemic and online-only activity for the large part, significant achievements under Keith’s watch included establishing a new strong and effective secretariat, reinforcing the importance of high quality, globally collaborative research at the core of CIB, and seeking to strengthen global membership through much improved communication and new value propositions as well as a strategy to diversify our sources of revenue. Mark gave an insight into some of the issues he will seek to progress as President if elected at the General Assembly. These include continuing to improve the value of membership, increasing women in construction research and innovation, growing CIB’s profile and influence including with the United Nations and particularly the Sustainable Development Goals. Mark concluded by looking forward to engaging with as many people as possible at WBC2022 in Melbourne and over the coming months.