Stonewater partners with University of the West of England on student work experience programme

Postgraduate architecture students at the University of the West of England (UWE) have been given the opportunity to work on a live housing development project with social housing provider Stonewater.

Four students from UWE’s architecture programme are working on the early master planning stages of a new housing site alongside Stonewater and development partner BoonBrown.

The initiative follows previous collaborations between Stonewater and undergraduate students focused on designing homes for Bristol’s diverse communities, particularly underrepresented groups.

This year, changes to the university curriculum allowed postgraduate students to take part in the live project work.

Matthew Crucefix, director of development operations at Stonewater, said: “When you talk to people who have built careers in housing, it is all too common to hear that they ended up in the sector by chance.

“We’re keen to change that by investing in the next generation and giving them a taste of what it’s like to work in housing. Inviting students to be involved in the tangible development of our new site allows them to work on real-world deliverables and gives them invaluable experience working with clients.”

Crucefix said many people entering housing-related professions begin their careers without prior client experience.

He added: “Many people entering architecture, development or other housing careers often don’t have experience working with clients when they start out, so projects like this are really useful in developing learning opportunities for career-ready graduates.”