Sessions
nima Virtual Conference 2025 / Alison Watson
Alison Watson
Founder & CEO, Class Of Your Own Ltd
Alison Watson MBE is a former land surveyor and the founder and Chief Executive of education
consultancy and social enterprise ‘Class Of Your Own’, established in 2009.
She created the innovative “Design Engineer Construct!” (DEC) accredited learning programme for
secondary school students, supported by world-leading companies, professional bodies and universities through the groundbreaking ‘Adopt A School’ scheme. DEC is delivered in schools throughout the UK and internationally and is embedded in social value strategies that lead to a wide range of technical and professional career opportunities for young people.
Alison is immediate Past President of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors’ (CICES). She was presented with the CICES Richard Carter Prize in 2014 and nominated CICES Honorary Fellow in 2019. She received The Survey Association’s President’s Award in 2013. In 2019, Heriot-Watt University recognised Alison with an Honorary Degree in Engineering “for her immense contribution to the sector and for forging new links between industry, academia and young people.”
Alison was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in Her Majesty The
Queen’s 2018 New Year Honours for services to education. Alison represented Youth and Learning on the 2015/7 Construction Industry Training Board Council and led the ‘BIM4Education’ research project which focused on improving technical teaching in the education sector.
