photo opportunity, Thursday July 11, press point in City Square following the morning graduation ceremony (around 12 noon), where the gowned Architecture graduates will be celebrating together.
Fired-clay bricks and corrugated tin may not be an architect's usual choice of building materials, but that is exactly what 10 University of Dundee Architecture graduates will be dealing with when they start their first jobs after graduation on July 11.
And while the latest graduate earning figures show graduates earn an average of £4 thousand more a year than their non-graduate peers, this lot will be surviving on just a few pounds each per day.
The ten, part of a 12-strong group of students from the University of Dundee's School of Architecture are to travel to Kenya five days after the Caird Hall ceremony to spend two months in remote villages, constructing houses for families in need. The team will sleep on the local school's floor and live on food prepared by the villagers and, including flights, will have a meagre budget of just £7 a day.
So far, the group has organised various ventures to raise £18,000 of the £20, 000 target set by the charity organising the trip, Habitat for Humanity International. Living and travel expenses aside, the money will fund the cost of building materials for the houses, which are being built for families living in seriously substandard conditions, without water or sanitation.
The team were chosen for the architecture skills they will bring to the project. They will be assisted by local homeowners who, as part payment for their new home, must contribute labour or "sweat equity" to building their house and the houses of others.
Team member Fiona Mullen said, "We have spent six years together on our course and graduation is traditionally the time when most people go their own separate way to take up their chosen careers. We organised this trip because we wanted to do something together one last time, while actually helping those in need."
Note to Editors
The Architects travelling to Kenya on July 16 are:
Ken Wan Lee - From Cowdenbeath, Fife (24)
Justin Kinsella - From Bettystown, County Meath, R.O.I. ( Aged 23)
Gareth McMahon - From Coalisland, Co. Tyrone. N.I., (24)
Paul Moffat - Erskine (23)
Pete Wilson - Richhill, Co. Armagh, N.I., (25)
John Kelly - Arklow, Co. Wicklow, R.O.I., (24)
Sam Foster - From Arasaig, Inverness-shire, (24)
Jenny Millar - From Templepatrick, Co. Antrim, N.I., (24)
Stephen Miskelly - Crossgar, Co. Down, N.I. (25)
Fiona Mullan - From Omagh, Co. Tyrone, N.I. (27)
Colin Hull* - Derriaghy, Co. Down, N.I. (25)
David Taylor* - Leven, Fife (23)
*David and Colin are not graduating this year.
For more information on the project, please contact Fiona Mullen on 078160 73632, or the Press & Publications Office.