We all know that Wales is a great place to live and work. But we need to make sure other people know it too – what’s more, Welsh people have to pull together to attract investment into the country to help drive the economy.

So, how do we promote Wales as an economic centre for innovation, science and commerce? One way is to invest in our universities and education system to help showcase talent and encourage different organisations to base themselves here.

That’s why the recent news about Cardiff University’s proposals for £300m of new buildings is just the kind of exciting vision that Wales and our construction industry needs to boost the economy. Dubbed the Cardiff Innovation System, the new buildings include a world-first social science research park called Spark, an Innovation Centre to help start-up firms, a Translational Research Facility that would assist in turning academic research into applications in the real world, and a Research Institute for Compound Semiconductor Technology.

But how is it going to be delivered and who will drive the scheme? Karsan Vaghani previously director of capital projects at Bristol University and now deputy director of estates at Cardiff University attempted to give delegates at a recent CEW South East Wales Best Practice Club event some answers. Drawing on his own experience he talked about what he has learned in his career within further education estates and capital projects and looked at the plans for Cardiff University and focus on the thinking behind the Innovation System.