Innovative program to encourage more graduates to enter the architectural profession CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- RMJM, an international architecture firm with U.S. headquarters in New York City, and Harvard University Graduate School of Design will announce today the launch of a $2 million program aimed at tackling a global shortage of architects. The announcement will occur at 6:30 p.m. in Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, Harvard Graduate School of Design, 48 Quincy Street, Boston, MA. RMJM's $1.5 million donation, matched by another $500,000 from the Harvard GSD, establishes the "RMJM Program for Research and Education in Integrated Design Practice," which aims to stem a "brain drain" in the design and construction industry. It is the largest cash donation received by the GSD since a donation from The Aga Khan in 1999. Despite the current building boom, many recent graduates from architecture and engineering schools are choosing to pursue more lucrative careers in high-tech and management consulting, according to The Society for Marketing Professional Services, a nonprofit trade association serving the architecture, engineering and construction industry.* This dearth of talent could have major consequences for the design construction industry, experts say. "Our contact with former students reveals that very many qualified graduates do not actually go into the profession," says Spiro N. Pollalis, Professor of Design, Technology and Management at Harvard. "This seems to be indicative of a wider trend elsewhere. We have particularly noted an increase in the number of graduates who instead pursue careers in investment banking and management consultancy." Dubai and China are most often cited as countries in the midst of a building frenzy, but forecasters predict a rapid building boom throughout the world over the next 25 years, from the United States to Kazakhstan. Large scale retail, commercial, and infrastructural projects are expected to be particularly buoyant. "Huge growth is predicted in the number of buildings to be constructed over the next 25 years," says RMJM Chief Executive Peter Morrison, "at a time when a high number of designers who graduate from leading design schools are opting to leave the profession. The loss of architects to other professions is a global problem. Who will design all those buildings?" The RMJM Program aims to encourage more architects to enter the profession by training them to integrate business management principles and knowledge of advanced technologies with design skills to improve project delivery, client satisfaction, and bottom line results. This well-rounded skill set will enable architects to excel in business by incorporating an understanding of all aspects of the construction process, from commercial and economic drivers to environmental and financial considerations.
