Suzanne Wilkinson
Professor of Construction Management and Associate Dean (Research)
Massey University
Highly commended- Helen Tippett award
Suzanne won the Highly Commended award in the Helen Tippett category
. A small snippet of her story was shared at the awards. We thought it may inspire you to know more about her journey so we asked her for a few words to share.
What inspired you to get into construction?
I was initially inspired by the opportunities to work outside and create better spaces for people to live, work and play. I followed a fairly traditional path - maths and physics at school (with a physics teacher who thought civil engineering would be a good option for me), a Civil Engineering Degree and then after some industry experience (with a Council, a local contractor and British Gas, all in the UK), I deciding to do a PhD in Construction Management (at Oxford Brookes University, where I studied Civil Engineering). I was initially interested in the management of people in the industry, and my research actually focused on the career choices of men and women in civil engineering. This was in the 90s and there were many poor stories of retention and access to construction for minority groups (including women). However, during my PhD I realized there were perennial problems within the industry which were of interest and research might be able to provide some solutions. I did not initially intend to become an academic (I really wanted to build skyscrapers in New York). I fell into academic life as my husband and I travelled to NZ for some travel adventure and whilst here UNITEC offered me a 2 year research contract, to look at how the New Zealand construction industry was changing. This was followed by an opening at the University of Auckland to teach the construction management courses and that was followed by an opening at Massey University, where I am now. I am currently in the School of Built Environment as Director of Postgraduate Studies and Associate Dean (Research) in the College of Sciences responsible for postgraduates in the School and developing and implementing a research strategy across a College of over 350 researchers.
What are you most passionate about in the industry? or what drives you to be involved?
My work involves interacting with students and developing research to improve the construction industry. I really enjoy working on research projects of national and international significance. In the early 2000’s I was invited to work on several national projects which integrated the construction industry processes with disaster recovery. For the last 20 years, this has been my main area of interest. The main themes I work on are how the construction industry can improve long-term disaster recovery outcomes. I have been working, and leading, teams of researchers ever since. For instance, our research on Christchurch recovery helped inform best processes to use; our build back better research has been used all over the world to help communities, governments and agencies recover well from disasters. Our work on resilience is helping towns and cities in New Zealand, and internationally, to understand what they need to do to become resilient from multiple perspectives (such as business resilience, infrastructure resilience, community resilience). My research team is now looking at how we can develop better ways of mitigating climate change and also researching measures for developing better construction industry resilience post-COVID. Much of our work develops tools for use in industry, such as our resilience water infrastructure tool, resilient transport tool and build back better tool.
What would you like to see for the future of women in construction?
I would like to see women in construction reach their full potential, including more women in senior leadership positions and as directors of companies. It would be good to see more women running their own businesses. We have a talented pool of women entering the construction industry and we need to make sure they are looked after and that they develop their industry leadership skills.
Words of wisdom or tips for women at the start of or considering a career in construction
I would say the following to all women aspiring to succeed in the construction industry, not just my former self.
- Seek out kind people to work with, they become your lifelong friends.
- Ignore those people who can't see how awesome you are.
- You are talented and amazing.
What is your favourite thing to do for fun?
Hang out with hubby and kids, travel and eat in nice places, watch the sun set, and drink a good glass of wine (or 2)!
What has winning this award meant to you?
The award has been really empowering. I have had loads of really positive comments from colleagues and current and former students. I have had colleagues overseas wishing me well. It was such a great experience and the award has also confirmed that I should support and promote NAWIC, having seen and met the amazing women at the awards dinner.
To keep in touch about the awards in 2022 check our awards page
here.
