Abstract/Summary

This chapter examines the role of tertiary education in supporting the need for improved collaboration among construction professionals. It envisions a future of interdisciplinary collaboration in which project participants work together across their professional disciplines, sharing knowledge and skill in a joint problem-solving endeavour, and sharing responsibility for project outcomes also. It identifies important challenges for how construction professionals can be educated to work in this way, not least in understanding what is involved in interdisciplinary collaboration, what competencies are needed, and how they may be acquired and developed. It identifies challenges for institutions also, including how normal jurisdictions of professional knowledge and practice may need to be reconfigured for effective interdisciplinary working. An important conclusion is for educators and institutions to work together to unlock the collaborative potential of construction professionals to develop more creative and rewarding working environments for those who work in construction as well as better outcomes for those in wider society who depend on it.