Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), the world's largest and the most influential professional body for construction management and leadership, has named Prof Ghassan Aouad, the VP for academic affairs at Kuwait-based Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) said its new president.

Established in 1834, the CIOB is the world's largest and most influential professional body for construction management and leadership with a membership of 45,000 from across the globe.

With its headquarters in the UK and a branch in Dubai, the CIOB accredits universities from across the globe and provides leadership in developing professionalism in the construction sector.

Prof Aouad is the first-ever CIOB president of Middle Eastern descent, said the senior members at the annual general meeting (AGM) of the institute in Qatar.

“Ghassan becomes our 111th President and takes over the role at an exciting time and it is especially poignant that he does so in the Middle East," said Chris Blythe chief executive at the CIOB.

“His leadership, expertise and knowledge of both academia and industry are an invaluable commodity in a world that wants an increasingly professional industry to deliver modern infrastructure, and to hold onto places of cultural significance. CIOB membership in the Middle East is growing at a fast rate and we are expecting Ghassan’s appointment to only encourage more people into a professional construction career,” he added.

Prof Aouad is presently helping the GUST to grow and develop its programs and research in order to support students and faculty alike.

Before his tenure at GUST, Prof Aouad was the president of the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD). Prior to that, he was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation and Dean of the College of Science and Technology at the University of Salford in the UK.

He had also spent five years in the Department of Civil and Building Engineering of Loughborough University, where he obtained an MSc in Construction (1987) and a PhD entitled Integrated Planning Systems for the Construction Industry (1991)

Prof Aouad has spent the last 25 years teaching and researching subjects related to the areas of information modelling and visualisation, multi-dimensional simulation, and process mapping.

His publications record includes over 90 refereed journal papers, 113 conference papers, and a number of books, book chapters and reports. He is also currently on the editorial board of several international journals, and has been an external examiner to more than 52 PhDs and successfully supervised 24 PhD students at Salford.

As a principal investigator, Prof Aouad generated over £20 million ($33.4 million) to support research related to built and human environment processes and products, collaborating widely with many UK and international institutions, and has presented his work in more than 42 countries.

On the appointment, GUST president Prof Donald Bates said this will raise the university’s profile and Kuwait as a whole considering that this is the first time somebody from the Middle East has achieved this prestigious position within the CIOB.

"His expertise and knowledge of the built environment will help many construction organizations in Kuwait, GCC and the Arab world and open doors for them at a global level. The university is fully committed to encourage its staff and faculty to reach their potential professionally and academically," he added.-TradeArabia News Service