July 2015

Welcome to the July 2015 BEPE Update 
It may be time for summer holidays but work continues with the Built Environment Professional Education project (BEPE). Since the last update we’ve had a change of government and have welcomed a new Minister for Disabled People Justin Tomlinson MP. 

He has given his support to the project and met the BEPE Board members at their meeting in June. He is also planning a visit to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to see how inspired inclusive design delivers the highest standards of accessibility - such as the newly installed tactile and audible map at Mandeville Place (pictured right).  

Royal Society of Arts (RSA) Student Design Awards
Sevra Davis, Director of Design and Challenges, at the RSA also attended the BEPE Board in June and gave a presentation about their student design awards. These awards have been going for over 90 years and are a great way to engage students in tackling a wide range of real world challenges. The RSA would like to introduce an award next year that focuses on achieving an inclusive environment – potentially a great fit with the BEPE project.

The RSA are looking for a sponsor to provide financial support and help with the judging. The prize for the winning student is usually an internship at the sponsor organisation, so the ideal organisation would have a strong connection to delivering inclusive environments. If you would like to sponsor the award or would like to find out more, contact Sevra.Davis@rsa.org.uk.

BEPE featured in the RICS Building Surveying Journal
Also at the June BEPE Board meeting, Louise Brooke-Smith confirmed that The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), as part of their continuing commitment to improving professional standards, will be reviewing their accreditation standards over the next 12 months with the aim of ensuring that appropriate recognition is given to inclusive design and that it is embedded within RICS accredited programmes. RICS also published an article on BEPE in their Building Surveying Journal in July - see http://www.rics.org/uk/news/journals/building-surveying-journal/building-surveying-journal-july-august-2015/ .

University of Reading - Breaking Down Barriers
The BEPE project lead has been talking to a number of universities about the work they are doing to ensure their students develop a good understanding of inclusive design issues. The University of Reading has recently launched a project called ‘Breaking Down Barriers: Embedding inclusive design into our curricula’. This cross-disciplinary study takes up the challenge of embedding the theme of inclusive design into the curriculum at undergraduate and postgraduate level within built environment programmes and beyond. A particular opportunity is presented by the new architecture course which begins in 2016. Contact Christina Duckett for more information c.duckett@reading.ac.uk, or see - http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/breaking-down-barriers/2015/07/03/welcome-to-breaking-down-barriers/. 

A poster about the project will be displayed at the RCA Include conference, alongside a poster about BEPE - see http://www.rca.ac.uk/research-innovation/helen-hamlyn-centre/include-2015/ and a presentation is to be given about the initiative at the CHOBE (The Council of the Heads of Built Environment) iBEE conference (Innovation in Built Environment Education) in September - see http://ibee-conference.com/. 
As always, if you’d like to lend support contact me at julie.fleck@dwp.gsi.gov.uk and don’t forget you can also keep up to date with all things legacy-related via @2012govuk.