Students compete in construction management competition

A group of USC engineering students traveled to Reno, Nev., last week to participate in “Sparks,” a construction management competition for university students sponsored by the Associated Schools of Construction and large construction firms.

At the competition, the students competed in mock construction projects to produce cost estimates, a construction schedule, and project management plans. They then presented their projects to mock clients and a firm that had actually done the project.

Six undergraduate teams and two graduate teams from USC competed in the event. One USC undergraduate team won first place in the design-build division and another won second place in the commercial division. A USC graduate team won first place in the LEEDS division, beating out Berkeley and Stanford. USC sophomore Elton Kwok also received an individual student award for most valuable student.