Championing the student voice: a Q&A with UCEM Student Trustee Ben McManus

Posted on: 23 April, 2024

Ben McManus has recently been appointed as our new Student Trustee. We sat down with Ben to learn more about his journey in the built environment to date and his plans for the role over the coming year.

Ben McManus is currently a Consultant for WSP studying the Quantity Surveying chartered surveyor pathway with UCEM. As our new Student Trustee, he will be a member of UCEM’s Board of Trustees and act as a crucial link between the institution’s senior decision makers and its students.

Learn more: UCEM makes two new appointments amid updates to Board of Trustees

We sat down with Ben to learn more about his background, what made him apply for the role of Student Trustee and understand what his responsibilities will be moving forward.

This interview was conducted by Daniel Ashton, Content Marketing Manager at UCEM.

Q: Tell us how you first become interested in a career in the built environment

A: I’ve always been curious about the development and infrastructure side of the built environment – how different moving parts come together to form a completed structure or building.

There wasn’t a lot of awareness about the opportunities in the built environment in school, but like many others, I had role models in my life who’ve pursued a career in the sector. My father worked in various roles across the sector, and my older brother is also a Quantity Surveyor – he started out just as I finished school. With their influence, the built environment was a natural fit for me.

Q: What appealed to you about Quantity Surveying specifically?

A: The varied responsibilities day-to-day that you undertake as a Quantity Surveyor really appealed to me. From chairing a site meeting, to undertaking valuations and resolving contractual disputes, the experiences and opportunities have been insofar as excellent. With both my brother and father in similar roles, their pathways helped me realise how much of an emphasis quantity surveying places on maths and contracts, and the exit opportunities this provides.

Maths is something I’ve always enjoyed, right down to GCSE level. Contract law obviously isn’t something you sit at school, but alongside my aforementioned family members, my sister was a trainee solicitor at the time of my searching for a career, again providing invaluable advice and piquing my interest to the QS route.

Q: You’re in the final year of your studies. How have you found your time at UCEM so far?

A: I’ve actually been with UCEM since 2018, and have studied on various courses. The key thing for me is the flexibility of the distance learning model, which I think is really fitting in today’s world.

Finding the balance between work, study and personal commitments is tough, so the ‘on-demand’ aspect of UCEM and the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) has been a key positive for me. If I miss something, I know I can go back and watch it via the VLE, which also has a whole host of other information on it as well.

Another positive for me is the lack of formal sit-down exams I’ve taken to date on the course. This has been really helpful, as the period up to these sorts of exams usually requires intense revision, which is difficult to fit in when you’re essentially working full-time.

Q: What attracted you to the role of Student Trustee?

A: There are three main things that appealed to me about the role. The first was the first-hand exposure in terms of high-level business management, decision making and strategy – seeing what goes on behind the scenes in an organisation of this kind and learning from that experience.

Secondly, I recognised the opportunity to expand my network and learn from some of the individuals on the board who are already very far in their careers. Many of them have a long history of experience in the field, so the opportunity to learn from what they have to offer will be invaluable.

Finally, there’s the responsibility of the role – to champion the student voice. The purpose of UCEM is of course to serve the needs of its students, so being able to feed back their experiences and perspectives and pick up any positives, negatives and potential learnings is so important.

Q: What will your responsibilities be as Student Trustee?

A: I’m still very much in the onboarding process at this time, so I’m looking forward to attending my first board meeting month, and getting a greater understanding of both the business management of UCEM and my role within the Board of Trustees. As I touched on earlier, my key responsibility will be championing the student voice – feeding back to the board almost like a reverse mentor, for the lack of a better term. I’ll be looking to get to grips with the role, connecting with representatives and understanding the various channels with which we garner student feedback over the next few months.

Q: What would be your advice to fellow students?

A: The first thing I’d say is don’t be afraid to ask questions and pick up learnings from those around you.

Everyone starts somewhere, and at some point, everyone is going to feel or look foolish. Having the confidence to ask questions and learn from the experience of others, instead of just being sat quietly, has really snowballed both my understanding and the number of opportunities I’m involved in.

I’d also say to push yourself forward for new opportunities – there are so many great opportunities to network within UCEM.

Learn more: 7 UCEM students and alumni share their tips for work, life and study

Q: What do you hope to achieve in the next five years of your career?

A: In the short-term, I’m obviously looking to finish my degree and achieve the best results possible. Then, of course, there’s obtaining the RICS chartership that follows on from the degree.

Once the programme is finished, I’d like to gain as much further experience as I can from my current role. I’d also love to gain experience working further afield, potentially abroad, in the next five years.

Q: Do you have anywhere in mind for where you’d like to work abroad?

A: Somewhere hot!

If you’re a student and you’d like to get in touch with Ben McManus, please contact him at the following address: mcmb1@ucem.ac.uk.