CIB President Prof Dongping Fang and Chief Executive Don Ward undertook a tour of leading universities in China in December 2025. Over 17 days they visited seven cities (Beijing, Fuzhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Hong Kong), and met with over 20 universities and research institutes.
Special visits were hosted by the following leading CIB members:
- Tsinghua University
- University of Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Other visits were organised with Tongji University, Fuzhou University of Technology, Fujian University, Guangzhou University, Shenzhen University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Wuhan, and City University of Hong Kong.
Other organisations who attended meetings or seminars to learn more about CIB and membership included China University of Finance and Economics, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), Gammon Construction, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and where Don was reunited with former working colleague John Kwong, now Vice .
Don was the keynote speaker at a special seminar on the High-Quality Development of Construction Management Programs in Shanghai Universities attended by the members of the Shanghai University Association for Construction Management Programmes. This was attended by senior representatives of Tongji University, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai University, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai Sanda University, Shanghai Jianqiao University, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, and Jiaxing University.
Following the tour, new membership applications have been received from Tongji University, Shenzhen University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST). More information will be shared as these applications are processed.
The visit featured seminars on the value of global research collaboration, meetings with the two CIB Student Chapters in Hong Kong, and keynote presentations at the NCTI-DCHK Conference - Advanced Digital Construction and Innovation in the AI Era - organised by the University of Hong Kong.
Three CIB Working Commissions supported the latter conference (W112 – Culture in Construction, W092 – Procurement Systems, W118 – Clients and Users in Construction) and it was great to catch up with many members there including the following Coordinators: Steve Rawlinson, University of Hong Kong (W092), Isabelle Chan, University of Hong Kong, and Wilcko Tijhuis, University of Twente (both W112).
We would like to express our deep appreciation to everyone for their exceptional hospitality, and we look forward to engaging with many existing and new members of CIB in China.
Don Ward
December 2025
