{"id":229370,"date":"2026-02-11T16:20:40","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T02:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=229370"},"modified":"2026-02-11T16:20:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T02:20:40","slug":"gca-engineering-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/02\/11\/gca-engineering-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> Mānoa, Â鶹´«Ã½ contractors team up to build future engineers"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"person<\/p>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa College of Engineering<\/a> is continuing a long-standing partnership with the General Contractors Association of Hawaii (GCA<\/abbr>) to strengthen construction engineering education. Through funding from the GCA<\/abbr> Education Foundation, the college supports a dedicated faculty position that brings construction industry professionals into the classroom.<\/p>\n

“This partnership not only enriches our students\u2019 learning with practical, real-world experience but also strengthens connections with employers, helping launch their careers and support Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s construction engineering industry,” College of Engineering Dean Brennon Morioka said.<\/p>\n

\"person
Joshua Au<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Joshua Ka Tung Au was recently appointed to the GCA<\/abbr>-funded position in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering<\/a>. He replaces longtime instructor Randy Akiona, who taught construction engineering courses at UH<\/abbr> Mānoa for more than two decades as part of the same industry-supported effort.<\/p>\n

Au brings more than 20 years of experience in construction engineering, project management and education. A UH<\/abbr> Mānoa alumnus, he earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in civil engineering and later completed a master\u2019s degree in civil engineering with an emphasis in construction engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. His professional experience includes work on major projects in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and internationally, most recently as a project engineer with Allied Builders System.<\/p>\n

“I am honored to join the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and contribute to shaping future construction leaders,” Au said. “This position allows me to bridge my industry experience with academic teaching, preparing students to tackle real-world challenges with confidence and innovation.”<\/p>\n

GCA<\/abbr> has supported the College of Engineering since the 1970s, funding instructors from the industry to align academic programs with workforce needs and support student projects and experiential learning.<\/p>\n

“Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s construction industry needs professionals who understand both engineering fundamentals and the realities of working in the field,” GCA<\/abbr> Executive Director Cheryl Walthall said. “With Joshua joining the faculty, GCA<\/abbr> is investing in a stronger, more prepared local workforce for the long term.”<\/p>\n

Read more about Au on the College of Engineering website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GCA<\/abbr> has supported the College of Engineering since the 1970s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":229371,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[1477,179,182,1466,9],"class_list":["post-229370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-civil-environmental-construction-engineering","tag-college-of-engineering","tag-engineering","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/manoa-engineering-gca-partnership.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229370"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":229374,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229370\/revisions\/229374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}