PhD Completion: Dr. Peng Zhang

Congratulations to Dr. Peng Zhang, RMIT Property, Construction and Project Management PhD Candidate who recently completed and passed his Doctor of Philosophy. Dr Zhang’s topic was “Comparative research between the Chinese and the Australian construction industries based on productivity and industrial competitiveness”. He completed his doctoral studies under the supervision of Prof. Kerry London and Prof. Ron Wakefield. You can find the thesis in the library research repository under the following link:

http://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/view/rmit:161497

Dr Zhang explored the development and differences between the Chinese and the Australian construction industries based on productivity and industrial competitiveness. This research developed theories in relation to a certain country’s construction industry development level and status in the international market and the industrial competitiveness of the construction industry.

Dr Zhang states ” The School of Property, Construction and Project Management has a really strong relationship with industry and this was the place to deepen my knowledge while staying closely tied with the practical needs of those working in construction management. My supervisors in the School were fabulous and I’ve been lucky to have had many opportunities during my research at RMIT to connect the theory and knowledge with the real world.

During my PhD journey, I’ve been involved with two major research projects.The first one was funded by Sustainability Victoria, and involved identifying better ways to build and manage the housing construction process to avoid construction waste being sent to landfill. The second one was funded by the Australia-China Science and Research Fund (ACSRF), and involved working on the creation of a knowledge cluster for seamless off-site housing (OSH) systems. These projects enabled me to connect theory and knowledge with the real world. Moreover, through these projects I’ve learned a lot from professors, industry fellows and managers in various leading construction companies of Australia.

I believe the secret of success is constancy of purpose and nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. I won the Innovative Paper Award at the 1st International Construction Business & Management Symposium 2011. I was one of only three finalists of the Victorian International Education Awards 2013 in the category of International Student of the Year – Postgraduate and I won the 2015 Centre for Integrated Project Solutions Inaugural Distinguished Research Award. I’m currently looking for a position in either academia or industry in Australia. The most important part of gaining a PhD for me was developing a different way to explore and analyse problems and develop innovative solutions. “