University alumni become President and Vice President of RTPI

The University is celebrating after two alumni have recently become President and Vice President of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

image of Firth Court

Sue Manns studied Geography BA from 1974-77. Born and raised in the West Midlands, Sue’s career in planning has spanned 40 years including roles at in the public sector at Birmingham City Council and Advantage West Midlands, in the private sector at Arup and Pegasus Planning Group, in academia as a senior lecturer in planning law and practice at the University of Central England (now BCU) and finally as National Planner for RTPI Planning Aid England. Sue now runs her own practice and is a visiting lecturer at Birmingham University.

Dr Wei Yang, who studied MArch and a PhD in Architecture at the University of Sheffield, is the newly elected Vice President. Wei has been chair of Wei Yang & Partners, an award-winning master planning firm in London, since May 2011.

The Department of Urban Studies and Planning works closely with the RTPI, who accredit a number of our undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

The Department also offers the only triple-accredited degree of its kind in the UK, our four-year Masters of Planning (MPlan) Urban Studies and Planning. This flagship course is accredited not only by the RTPI, but also by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH).

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