The HVAC Centre of Excellence at Holmesglen’s Chadstone campus in Melbourne has been awarded the CIBSE Building Performance Awards 2020 for Learning and Development.
The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) presented the Award at a gala dinner attended by 700 guests at Grosvenor House in London this week.
HVAC Centre of Excellence is a joint initiative between the Air Conditioning and Mechanical Contractors Association (AMCA) and Holmesglen TAFE.
The Awards, open to any organisation internationally, recognise the people, products and projects that demonstrate engineering excellence in the built environment. The Award was presented at a gala dinner attended by 700 guests at Grosvenor House, London on 11 February 2020.
The HVAC Centre of Excellence was developed to support specialist training in HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning).
A truly collaborative initiative, it was created through a partnership between Holmesglen and peak industry body AMCA, with input and support from HVAC businesses and the Victorian Government. The brand-new, purpose-fit Centre is a unique and important training facility through its simulation and replication of entire systems found in today’s buildings.
AMCA executive director, Sumit Oberoi, said that through exposure to a simulated ‘live’ system, the Centre builds students’ skills quickly in what would take years in the workplace.
“Integrating the latest technologies such as energy efficiency systems and BIM software, the Centre is a site that is designed and built by industry and is reflective of contemporary industry practices,” he said.
“The Centre is the only applied balancing and commissioning learning centre in the world to our knowledge and will make an important contribution to our industry. Balancing and commissioning is critical to the performance, energy efficiency and safety of buildings.”
Holmesglen’s Dean of Building, Construction and Engineering, Ross Digby, said the Centre will drive innovation.
“A roundtable committee with representatives from key stakeholder groups was established to determine industry training needs, skills shortages, forecast demand planning and appropriate pedagogy,” he said.
“This has ensured that the curriculum is current and meets workforce requirements today and into the future. The Centre will provide leadership across the vocational education and training sector and drive mechanical services training in Victoria.”