CoSci LinkedIn group provides valuable resource for industry

A rapidly growing group of professionals from the construction industry and related fields have found a valuable resource in the [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/1300187) group managed by the Department of Construction Science at Texas A&M University.

A social networking website designed specifically for the business community, LinkedIn allows registered members to establish networks of people they know and trust professionally. The "Texas A&M - Construction Science" group, established about four years ago, has grown to include almost 2,500 members; many of them graduates of the Texas A&M construction science or construction management programs.

“The page has proven to be a great professional social networking resource for our department,” said George Eustace, the department’s industry relations coordinator and manager of the page. “We use it to post departmental information and make announcements to group members.”

A sampling of recent posts includes a link from a builder about the best ways to introduce new construction methods to employees, a link from a home builder about a their expansion from Houston into the Austin market, a call from Eustace for material donations for a student project, and others.

The department established the LinkedIn group to enhance departmental communications with friends and former students and construction industry professionals.

The idea to use the professional networking website, rather than social media sites like Facebook, came from the department’s Construction Industry Advisory Council, a professional industry group that advises department administrators.

The Texas A&M College of Architecture also chronicles noteworthy Department of Construction Science events on its [Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/TAMU.architecture) and [Twitter] (https://twitter.com/ArchCollegeTAMU) social media sites.