Thank you for registering for the CIOB's first Global Student Challenge (GSC).

With the global construction market forecast to grow by over 70% by 2025, we need to ensure that we have extraordinary talent across the globe to deliver on this target. GSC is the first steps towards this. The CIOB is delighted to host this initiative and we believe the GSC journey can help mould the leaders of tomorrow.

We wish you all luck with the competition and we hope to see you in Hong Kong for the finale!

Period 5 results

The opening round has Corinth from Loughborough University, Bau Costruction from Nottingham Trent Unversity, McRanked from Glasgow Caledonian, Quad from Hong Kong University, 3CL from the University of Greenwich and RMIT CM Team 2 from RMIT. Lurking just outside the top six are Oxford Brooks, University of the West of Engand, Northumbria University, Derby University and UCL. Barely 5% separates the top six so this is very tight at the top and those just outside the top six could well catch them in a single round.

The opening round is always a bit misleading. The teams that are at the top are usually those that have run the most trails. This has developed their understanding of what they are doing. As the other teams develop their understanding they'll catch up. There will be great upheaval and change in the league table positions. Team scores can change by as much as 20% in both directions in a single round so every team in is still competing. We look forward to the turbulence in the pecking order.

The backup tutorial will guide teams on their decisions but the key difference between he most successful and others is leadership, organisation and discipline.

The more successful teams are those that organise themselves as a 'Board of Directors' would and take decisions as company directors do. This means each team member having clear defined responsibilities. The individual team member needs to understand all aspects of the input to the decisions for which they are responsible. The team member is an individual specialist.

The key post is that of Chief Executive Officer or Managing Director. This role is the one that oversees the work of all others. The CEO ensures that actions of each team member are taken on time and by questioning the colleague ensures that the recommendations they are making are sound.

Consider a Board Meeting. Each individual reports on their activity since the last meeting, makes recommendations as to what decisions should be approved for which they are responsible. The CEO and other Board Members then interrogate the individual to test that the recommendations are soundly based and have not arrived at on a casual basis. In this way the quality of each suggested decision is tested.

Individual decisions such as employing labour or deciding with contracts to bid for sit within a 'Company Strategy', The strategy is the collective responsibility of the Board. Arrived at after each individual, responsible for their own area of responsibility has had an input. Strategy formulation will face conflicting views and confliction scenarios and conflicting data. These differences are resolved by disciplined discussion. The discipline is imposed by the CEO. This is leadership. The most important aspect of strategy is to determine whether it's achievable and how to implement it. Without these there is no effective strategy. The CEO together with their team of expert Board members must be convinced.

The most organised team with the most disciplined approach to decision making will win this.