Brushing up on construction

The ISG team at UCL Eastman Dental Institute (EDI) Relocation Project, Royal Free Hospital, recently volunteered at the Royal Free Hospital Children’s School, introducing pupils to a taste of construction through art.

We are currently carrying out works for the Royal Free Hospital as part of the UCL framework, which is directly linked to the first phase of a £300 million scheme to build a world-leading Institute of Neurology centre in London for University College London (UCL).

The Eastman Dental Institute, due for completion in November, will become part of the largest hospital in Europe specialising in complex oral health care and advanced ear, nose and throat treatments.

The team presented to the class, introducing ISG, our graduate programme and the construction industry. 

Students were given with watercolour drawing sets and tasked to come up with poster designs portraying their perspective on ‘what is construction?’.

The students were then taken to the ISG site office and shown where their posters will be displayed on a dedicated wall in the office – in the spirit of our team’s commitment to our ‘always care’ corporate value.

Many of the pupils suffer from mild mental health issues such as social anxiety and symptoms of depression. 

According to Mental Health UK, our UK charity partner, through art, students can find comfort and express emotions without words, process complex feelings and find relief – all of which can be invaluable in treating depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and even some phobias.

Lee Thomas, project manager, commented: “It was a pleasure to be given the opportunity to interact with the school pupils, showing them that there is more to construction then building structures and digging holes.

“It was especially rewarding that the school is recognising mental health illness in students early on, at a vital time in their lives, helping them get the assistance they deserve.

“A special mention to Eleanor Chew for her assistance with the initiative.”

Siobhan Aubergé, creative arts teacher at the Royal Free Hospital Children’s School, added: “Our school is so grateful to the team at ISG for sparing their time to give a fascinating talk to our young people about their incredible work in construction.

“I believe it will inspire many of them to take up apprenticeships in construction when they finish their GCSEs.

“The pupils were engaged throughout the talk and enjoyed designing artistic posters – their own responses to the work of construction.

“We look forward to further collaborations with the team at ISG.”