Our Research

Welcome to the School of Construction Economics and Management CEM’s research page. The school offers a distinctive opportunity for research candidates to explore knowledge to a high level. With academics from all over the globe, you are well poised to receive the best of both industry and academic excellence. Under the new leadership of Professor Sam Laryea, the school has recently undergone a myriad of transformative and innovative changes which has the researchers as the key focus. At the School of CEM, you have the opportunity to learn and engage with students and researchers from all walks of life, while enjoying the cultural, social, and recreational facilities of one of the world's greatest major cities.

With a broad of construction, project management, and real estate-focused research themes, the school has an expansive array of intellects and NRF-rated professors to assist you to achieve your research goals on a variety of modern research themes such as artificial intelligence for the built and human environment, building information modeling BIM, financial engineering and education. As a researcher at the school, you will be working alongside some of the best and established researchers in your chosen field.

From the moment you apply for your course of choice, there are instantly numerous research support and resources available to you, our support staff are helpful and are ready to ensure that you have a seamless experience in this regard. Once your application is accepted, you are added to the school’s monthly research seminars, you are eligible for supports such as library services, office space, teaching and research assistantships, industry internship opportunities, and funding support.

I look forward to welcoming you to one of our courses in the school, should you have other questions about the courses or process, please visit our school website on http://www.wits.ac.za/study-at-wits/ or send an email to the school’s Postgraduate Officer, Ms Janice Wilson on janice.wilson@wits.ac.za

All the best,

Prof Kola Ijasan
PG Research Coordinator

We engage extensively with a wide range of firms and industrial partners including the following organisations and government departments.

• Major and emerging contractors
• Association of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS)
• National Treasury
• Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA)
• Vela VKE
• Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)
• Bowman Gilfillan
• GIBB Engineering
• Wits University Capital Projects Department
• Major procurers of construction work in South Africa

Current research of School staff is focused around the following areas

• Contractor Development
• Corporate Governance and Executive Compensation in Real Estate Firms
• Corporate Real Estate
• Digital technologies and automation in construction
• Education and training
• Facility management
• Gender in the Built Environment
• Housing market regeneration and renewal
• Innovative Procurement Systems
• Knowledge and technology transfer
• PPP, Mega Projects and Public involvment in construction projects
• Procurement and commercial relationships in contracts
• Project Management Practice
• Project risk management
• Real Estate Finance and Securitisation
• Real Estate Investment in Emerging Markets
• Reward Management in the Real Estate Sector
• Safety and Health in the Built Environment
• Sustainability in the built environment