Building skills in East Africa, UK business investment, Kenya urbanisation, Malawi architect news
Building skills in East Africa
17 August 2024
Groundbreaking research and training facility in Malawi Opening
Location: Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHes), Blantyre, Malawi.
A specialist postgraduate medical specialist and research training centre in Malawi, designed by leading African architecture and engineering practice FBW Group, has been officially opened.
FBW Designed Facility Will Transform Health Research And Training
The new Clinical Research Excellence And Training Open Resource (CREATOR) will provide the most sophisticated clinical research training environment in the region.
The new development at the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHes), in the city of Blantyre, was officially opened by the President of Malawi, Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera.
FBW Group was appointed to lead the design and technical team on the life-changing project to deliver Malawi’s first specialist postgraduate medical training centre.
CREATOR is a partnership between KUHes (previously the College of Medicine), Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), the University of Liverpool and the medical research charity Wellcome.
It will significantly enhance the work of The Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Research Programme (MLW).
The multi-million-pound investment will support MLW with additional research facilities and space for postgraduate medical training, helping to retain talent and expertise in the region, and scaling up research capacity by 30% over the next decade.
The FBW designed building houses an innovation hub, a new laboratory allowing for single-cell transcriptomics, modern imaging and rapid pathogen sequencing, modern teaching spaces, a postgraduate resource centre for 200 clinical trainees and library space and offices to support advanced epidemiology and clinical trials.
Professor Henry Mwandumba, Director of MLW, said: “CREATOR is extremely important because it creates the infrastructure and support that will enable clinicians to conduct high quality research that can promote the health and wellbeing of people in Malawi and beyond. It is a significant milestone in health research in Malawi.”
CREATOR is one of a number of ground-breaking, high-profile medical developments planning, design, architecture and engineering group FBW is working on in collaboration with major international organisations.
FBW has been delivering medical projects in Africa since it was founded more than 25 years ago, including clinics and hospitals serving remote rural areas – developments that have made a real difference to people’s health and lives.
Paul Moores, FBW Group managing director, said: “We are very proud and honoured to have played our part in the development of CREATOR.
“It is an important facility that will transform the future of medical research and training in Malawi and the wider region. CREATOR will meet a critical need.”
Medical projects have been a cornerstone of FBW’s work since it began work in East Africa more than a quarter of a century ago. FBW also has a strong track record in supporting organisations delivering international standards in the region.
Its recent work includes the first phase of a $1m state-of-the-art research clinic in Entebbe.
The clinic is a joint project involving the UK’s Medical Research Council (MRC), The Wellcome Trust, the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) and The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
FBW was also involved in helping deliver a ground-breaking women’s health project in Kigutu in Burundi.
Stuart Harley, FBW’s chief operating officer, said: “We have built strong links with the healthcare sector from our very earliest days and we’re proud of the portfolio of clinics, hospitals and research facilities that have benefited people in so many ways.
“The projects we are involved in, including CREATOR, are truly life-changing. We strive to provide practical solutions, respond to the local conditions and at the same time create healthy environments for patients.”
For more information on its wide portfolio of projects please visit www.fbwgroup.com
Previously on e-architect:
30 June 2021
Building skills is vital for East Africa’s sustainable future
Developing and harnessing young professional talent is vital if East Africa is to meet the challenges of sustainable urbanisation, according to one of the region’s leading architecture and engineering firms.
FBW Group African Building Skills
FBW Group believes the private sector must increase its role by investing more in the development of the next generation of ‘home-grown’ architects and engineers who will deliver the vision of green, sustainable urban growth.
The multi-disciplinary group, which has just celebrated 25 years in East Africa, is playing its part in growing the region’s skills base and is actively nurturing the development of young professionals in its offices in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda.
Malawi Creator Centre building design by FBW Group:
FBW Group nurturing talent
As well as an in-house intern programme and links with educational establishments, FBW’s commitment to professional development sees its young talent encouraged and nurtured as they gain knowledge and experience on their career journeys.
That includes supporting them as they work in-house to pass their exams and become registered professionals in their fields. A pipeline of FBW talent continues on that route.
Junior and mid-tier staff are exposed to different working environments and a wide range of projects as part of their training and development.
Paul Moores, FBW Group managing director, said: “It is really important that businesses like ours play their part in developing the young professionals who are the future of East Africa and will drive the green and sustainable growth agenda that is so vitally important for the region.
“There is still so much more to do to bridge the skills gap and we’d urge all businesses involved in planning, design and construction to commit to the development and training of young people.
“The transfer of knowledge and the continual drive for higher standards is a professional responsibility for all of us. East Africa needs to see more registered architects and engineers.”
Peter Mugisa:
Peter Mugisa, Kampala, says
:
Peter Mugisa, based in FWB’s Kampala office, has progressed from graduate to a registered professional architect during his time with the practice. He passed his Uganda Society of Architects (USA) exams and took his place on the Architects Registration Board of Uganda (ARB) register just before lockdown.
Peter, 33, who has been a member of the FBW team for six years, said: “I was supported throughout the process by everyone in the business, from the directors, right down the organisation. Everyone was right behind me and prepared to give me all the help and advice I needed.”
Peter Nyamutale:
Civil engineer Peter Nyamutale, another member of FBW’s Kampala team, has recently passed The Uganda Institution of Professional Engineers (UIPE) exams and joined the Uganda Engineers Registration Board (ERB) register.
Peter, 32, said: “There is a big push in Uganda to encourage more people to get professional accreditation as part of the skills agenda. It is vital as work goes on to raise standards and as more large-scale projects are planned, and Africa’s urbanisation accelerates.”
FBW’s ongoing development of affordable housing solutions in Kenya, East Africa:
Frances Nakabuye, also 32, a graduate architect in FBW’s Kampala office, is currently working towards her professional registration.
Her career journey has taken her from FBW in Uganda, where she was an intern, to Milan, where she studied architecture. Since returning to FBW, she has worked on major projects, including masterplanning the expansion of the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Butaro, Rwanda.
Frances is looking to sit her professional exams with USA later this year. She said: “I feel I’m continually learning and developing through the projects I’m involved in delivering with FBW. Working with project managers, engineers and the people on site is proving invaluable.”
Comments for this Building skills in East Africa: FBW Group News page are welcome
Focus on sustainability grows in East Africa construction
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Comments / photos for the Building skills in East Africa: FBW Group News page welcome