A London university graduate is in contention for a place at this year’s WorldSkills International finals in Shanghai, in the Digital Construction skills competition.
Gabija (Gabi) Gailiunaite graduated in Architectural Technology in 2024 from Middlesex University. She now works as an Assistant BIM Coordinator for BPTW Architects.
“When I found out that I was selected, I felt a wave of disbelief, pride, and sheer joy!” Gabi says. “It felt surreal, so much so that it made me reflect on everything I poured into getting here”.
Gabi is now honing her skills through intensive training and will compete against two other squad members in a three-day trial to decide who will represent Britain at the landmark event, known as the ‘Skills Olympics’, in September.
The Digital Construction competition, which tests skills in the collaborative building design and management process BIM, involves using an architectural software package to recreate the architecture and specifications of a huge university-campus style building in digital 3D. Other tasks contestants face over four days include doing an energy analysis of the building design, then maximising its sustainability credentials; and putting architectural renders onto the skeleton – a subjective effort.
“Training for Digital Constriction is not just about practicing tasks, it’s about understanding the processes, workflows, and industry standards inside and out,” Gabi says.
“You need to know what you’re learning and why. Training becomes a cycle of analysing your work, identifying gaps, practising purposely and constantly improving on technique”.
Michael McGuire, WorldSkills UK’s Digital Construction expert and training manager and a lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University, says he “can’t emphasise enough how big these buildings are,” about the test participants face in the competition.
He praises Gabi for having “pushed herself above and beyond what she [was] doing on her programme” from when she was first involved in WorldSkills, describing her as “very self-driven – very determined and resilient in terms of bouncing back. Gabi is more interested in beating her own score than beating someone else”.
Gabi first took part in the WorldSkills UK national competition for Digital Construction two years ago. Last year she reached the national finals in Wales, where she was highly commended.
At Middlesex, Gabi was a Student Voice Leader for all three years of her programme, worked as a Student Learning Assistant, and became an Associate Fellow of Advance HE (previously the Higher Education Academy). In her final year she did a two day a week work placement with BPTW, leading to her being taken on full-time after she graduated.
Dr Homeira Shayesteh, Senior Lecturer in Construction, Architecture and BIM and Programme Leader for Architectural Technology at Middlesex says the innovative part-time work placement model is “very much a win-win situation… There’s value of [the students’] work to the company, and students learn a lot on the job that helps them improving their course performance.
“From the beginning, Gabi has been an exemplar and always aspired for excellence – we are very proud of her,” Homeira says.
Gabi says: “Opportunities like WorldSkills don’t happen in isolation, but with support, encouragement, and belief from those around me. I am thankful for every single person who was by my side. I am grateful to work with Michael, an inspiration within Digital Construction!”
The Digital Construction discipline, introduced to WorldSkills International for the first time in 2018, is considered the second quickest-advancing area of the skills tested at the event, the fastest being software development and AI.
Michael says how proud he feels seeing students he has trained progress and represent the UK on the global stage. He likens WorldSkills to professional sport in the degree of preparation it requires – which extends to sessions with sports psychologists – but adds the competition is a “very happy world”.
“Within a few days you have hundreds of new friends,” he says. Between rival international teams, “there’s no conflict, no animosity, lots of back-slapping and congratulation – they are very happy for you”.
International Day of Women and Girls in Science was established by the UN to celebrate the contributions of women in science, encourage more girls and women to study science subjects and make career pathways more accessible to close the gender gap in STEM roles. It has been celebrated on 11th February each year since 2015.
