Robin Sweasey

As well as a project management director I am also the national education sector lead for Australia. I’ve been immersed in the education sector for over 20 years and have delivered a broad diversity of complex projects. 

These projects have involved new-build and refurbishment combinations within integrated masterplanned precincts in the context of fully operational campuses. They have entailed innovative procurement and staging strategies in response to the strategic risk profile of the client.

I also have a bachelors of science in construction management and masters degree in project management.

Q. How do you contribute to Turner & Townsend making a difference?

A. Since joining in 2015, the education sector has enjoyed sustained growth due to the depth of the portfolio we’ve been able to build. When we successfully deliver innovative education facilities for our clients, we are creating places in which today’s young people can be equipped with the skills and attributes they will need to sustain long working lives and play leadership roles in this increasingly complex world. I think this is a very significant manifestation of our ‘making a difference’ mantra and I am fortunate to have been able to play a part in this.

Q. What do you most enjoy most about working at Turner & Townsend?

A. Without doubt being able to contribute to the education sector and the long term impact these projects have on the lives of so many people is an enormous pleasure for me. It truly does make a difference to society. Also, I have the good fortune of working with a terrific team of people. They make it easy to come to work and those tough days, not quite so tough!

Q. What is the emerging trend in your industry specialism and how are you responding to this?

A. The issue of declining mental health in students – and young people generally - is something that troubles and intrigues me. It is being recognised that the future of successful and innovative learning is going to be overwhelmingly social. Educators across the schools and tertiary sectors are increasingly understanding that better educational outcomes and results are achieved when students enjoy a sense of community with each other wherever they are studying, and through this better states of mental health. With an increasing trend for universities to transform campuses into integrated precincts, they are becoming urban places that facilitate human relationships within the learning context. The development process is becoming far more complex and demanding through this. So the trend is that  the 'precinct-isation' of campuses requires far greater sophistication of project management. The end result is that the campus community experiences greater connection, which contributes to improved mental health overall. A win by any measure - which we are part of in bringing our skills to the sector