Sir Ian Dixon Scholarship

The Sir Ian Dixon scholarship is designed to provide an opportunity for companies to develop the potential of their staff through a research programme.

Sir Ian Dixon was CIOB’s President from 1989 to 1990 and head of Willmott Dixon. He was an enthusiastic supporter of innovation and education within the industry. The scholarship was established in 1997. It is funded and supported by Sir Ian Dixon Legacy, The Chartered Institute of Building and The Worshipful Company of Constructors.

The Sir Ian Dixon scholarship is designed to provide an opportunity for companies to develop the potential of their staff through a research programme.

Each successful scholar will be awarded £3,000 to carry out a research project that will benefit the scholar, their company and the industry. The scholars will continue to work full time during the scholarship year. Their company must agree to provide the scholar with a company mentor and also host a final presentation event.

The subject of the research could relate to any area of construction management including forms of contract, processes on site, emerging trends or management practices. It could be a new topic or extend existing work to increase its value to a wider audience in industry.

    Countries available

    • UK only

    Key Dates

    • The closing date for applications is 28 February 2022

    The Application Process

    • The aspiring candidate emails their CV and a brief report (approx. 500 words) expressing why they wish to become a scholar and their proposed research topic to: [email protected]  
    • At the beginning of the process, the candidate is invited for interview and gives a 10-15 minute PowerPoint presentation to a small panel of representatives from CIOB and the Worshipful Company.  This provides an opportunity for discussion, questions and comment.
    • Once selected, the candidate will then meet with experts every few months to receive support and mentoring, with a presentation, hosted by their company, to share their findings, at the end of the 12-month scholarship period.
    • In addition, the scholar must also produce a report or other suitable outputs which details the findings of the work.

    Meet Our Scholars

    Liz Waters

    Award Name: Sir Ian Dixon Scholarship

    Host Company: Sir Robert McAlpine

    Research Topic: Construction as a Career of Choice for Young People

    Award Year: 2015-16

    How did the scholarship help you in your career? 

    I have already been approached to present my findings at various construction industry events so the hope is that some of the recommendations I have made will be taken on board and I will be asked to input into actioning them. This in turn will help in my career and me personally as it will be extremely rewarding to see all the effort I put in have some real positive impact. 

    Why did you want to do the scholarship and your chosen topic?

    I saw the scholarship as an opportunity not just for personal growth but to also try and tackle an area with a very real problem which was an exciting challenge. 

    I am very passionate about working in construction as it is an  industry which fascinates me at every milestone and which I find personally rewarding. To be able to utilise this to potentially help shape the industry and inspire the younger generation to consider construction as a viable career option was extremely attractive and is why I applied for the SID Scholarship.

    Testimonial

    Liz was an absolute pleasure to mentor.  She was so passionate about her chosen topic and that manifested itself in drive, hard work and commitment throughout.  Her understanding of what the problem is, how she should research it and how we all play a part in fixing it was quite remarkable.  I really enjoyed working with her and everyone from CIOB and SID Scholarship team and found the whole experience very rewarding.

    Andrew Thompson

    Award Name: Sir Ian Dixon Scholarship

    Host Company: Lakehouse

    Research Topic: Increasing Primary School Places in London and the South East

    Award Year: 2015-16

    How did the scholarship help you in your career? 

    When I started the scholarship I was working as an assistant contacts manager and during the course of the scholarship was promoted to compliance manager. I strongly believe this would not have been possible without undertaking the scholarship. I feel that the skills I gained from the research and mentoring from the panel really positioned me to go higher in my career.

    Why did you want to do the scholarship and your chosen topic?

    I wanted to learn more about the industry, the scholarship was a perfect opportunity to do this. I would receive mentoring to boost future career prospects, help raise my company’s profile and have my research be useful to the industry. I chose the topic of my research because it is a current social issue affecting the young , old, contractors and non-contractors. Working for a major contractor I was also heavily involved in building schools already, so I was very passionate about it.