Following the site visit to the new Queen Mary School of Business and Management building in November, students on the Engineering Project Management module welcomed three industry experts to provide deeper professional insight into the same live project that students observed on site.

This integrated approach connected first-hand site observation with design, delivery, and client-side project management perspectives, allowing students to study one real industry project in depth.

The guest speakers were:

• Craig Handley, Construction Manager at Willmott Dixon, who reflected on construction sequencing, on-site coordination, risk control, and practical challenges encountered during project delivery. His contribution helped students understand how project plans are translated into day-to-day construction management and how risks are managed under real operational constraints.
• James Taylor, Partner at Nicholas Hare Architects, who provided detailed insights into the architectural design process, early-stage decision-making, design development, and the interface between architectural intent and engineering feasibility. Students particularly valued understanding how design decisions influence cost, programme, constructability, and stakeholder expectations.
• Nawed Khan, Project Director at Queen Mary University of London, who offered the client and governance perspective, explaining how strategic objectives, funding constraints, risk management, and stakeholder coordination are handled at an institutional level throughout the project lifecycle.

Students responded very positively to this combined learning experience. Many highlighted that seeing the building on site first, and then hearing directly from professionals involved in its design, engineering management, and delivery, significantly improved their understanding of engineering project management in practice. Students noted that the sessions clarified how risk management, stakeholder management, and decision-making evolve across different project stages and professional roles.

Several students commented that studying one live project from multiple angles—industry site visit, architectural design, construction management, and client-side governance—made abstract project management concepts far easier to understand and apply. The experience also helped students appreciate the complexity of coordinating diverse stakeholders and disciplines within a large-scale construction project.

This site-based and industry-integrated approach directly supports the learning objectives of the module by linking theory and real-world practice, and by enabling students to engage with project management as it is executed in a genuine industry context.

We sincerely thank our guest speakers for their time, their openness in sharing professional experience, and their continued engagement with our students.