ISA BTP engineering students build a school in Tajikistan

The class of 2018 of the ISA BTP (Aquitaine Higher Institute of Construction and Civil Engineering) based at the Arkinova Technology Park spent several weeks in the central Asian country of Tajikistan, building five classrooms on to a dilapidated school.

The ISA BTP is a state school within the University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour. Over five years, engineers are trained in the areas of construction or civil engineering. Each annual intake comprises around 50 student engineers. For 12 years now, the Human’ISA association has been driving the solidarity project led by the school’s fifth-year students.

As part of their final project, these student engineers can devise a communal project to provide a community (town or village, association) in countries of the South with the means to develop and improve its self-sufficiency. So far, the association has helped out in nine countries, building schools and social and cultural centres.

For its project, the ISA BTP class of 2018 chose somewhere with a harsh climate: Tajikistan, a country in central Asia, where temperatures can go from -20°C in the winter to +40/45°C in the summer. The school in Mingijar was too small to accommodate its 214 pupils and didn’t have any thermal insulation. The project devised by the 56 student engineers of the class of 2018 revolved around the construction of two school buildings on the site of the existing school.

Having launched the project and raised funds for it, the student engineers were able to use equipment at the Arkinova Business Generator to develop prototypes. They took off for Tajikistan last February and stayed there for between five and seven weeks. During that time, they constructed two identical buildings, each comprising three 40m² classrooms with bioclimatic features and earthquake protection.

One original aspect of the project was the decision to use wood. Upon completion of their project, the students explained: “For the first time, we dropped bricks in favour of the more noble material that is wood – a decision that forced to us to be extremely detailed in the preparation of the project, right from the start. To that end, the prototypes we were able to make at Arkinova were a great help and allowed us to anticipate potential problems. […] According to the heads of teaching, we built the first wooden building in Tajikistan! Our plans and the Mingijar school will be used as a model for other schools in the country.”

To find out more, visit: www.humanisa.net