Ethical decisions in construction rarely arrive as simple questions with obvious answers. Constructors may need to weigh competing responsibilities, contractual requirements, professional standards, and the interests of owners, project partners, and the public.

For construction management educators, preparing students for those decisions means giving them opportunities to apply ethical principles before they encounter similar pressures on a project. The 2027 AIC Collegiate Ethics Competition provides a structured way to do that through analysis, written communication, and oral presentation.

For participating programs, the competition can extend classroom ethics instruction into a practical construction exercise while asking students to explain and support their professional reasoning.

Registration for the 2027 competition is November 1, 2026 through February 12, 2027.

Bring Ethics Instruction Into a Construction Scenario

A classroom discussion can establish ethical principles, but a construction scenario asks students to decide how those principles apply when professional responsibilities and stakeholder interests compete.

Participating teams will receive an ethics prompt relevant to construction practice. Students are responsible for identifying the ethical issues involved, evaluating the circumstances, and developing recommendations using the AIC Code of Ethics as a central framework.

That process gives educators a structured way to reinforce the connection between ethics instruction and professional judgment. Students must move beyond identifying a problem and explain what a professional constructor should consider, recommend, and communicate in response.

Develop Written Analysis and Oral Communication

Construction decisions also have to be explained clearly.

Under the current competition format being used as the working model for 2027, each accredited construction program may enter one team of up to four undergraduate students. Teams develop a written response for review by a panel of AIC members. Invited teams then advance to virtual oral presentations, where students present and respond to questions about their analysis.

The format asks students to organize an argument, support recommendations, communicate professionally, and think through questions from experienced professionals. For educators, that creates an applied exercise that brings ethics, analysis, and professional communication together around a construction-specific problem.

Connect Students With Professional Constructor Standards

The competition also places ethical decision-making in a broader professional context.

Students approaching graduation may understand ethical principles in the classroom but have fewer opportunities to work through situations where project responsibilities, professional standards, and competing interests intersect. A real-world-inspired construction ethics scenario gives them a defined setting to examine those tensions and explain how they would respond.

By centering the exercise on the AIC Code of Ethics, the competition also introduces students to the standards and responsibilities AIC associates with professional constructor practice.

How the 2027 AIC Collegiate Ethics Competition Works

AIC will confirm the final 2027 schedule. Important dates are expected to include:

• Registration opens: November 1, 2026
• Registration deadline: February 12, 2027
• Mandatory pre-competition meeting: February 19, 2027
• Ethics prompt issued: February 23, 2027
• Consultation/question period: February 23 – March 5, 2027
• Written response due: March 19, 2027
• Oral presentation invitations: March 26, 2027
• Oral presentations: April 2, 2027
• Awards: April 9, 2027

Programs should review the official 2027 competition rules and registration materials before entering a team.

Register Your School for the 2027 Competition

Professional constructor practice requires the ability to consider ethical responsibilities, make reasoned decisions, and communicate those decisions clearly. The AIC Collegiate Ethics Competition gives construction management students a structured place to practice those skills through a construction-focused challenge.

If your program is looking for an applied way to reinforce ethics, professional responsibility, written analysis, and communication, consider entering a team in the 2027 AIC Collegiate Ethics Competition.

Register for the Competition and give your students an opportunity to put ethical decision-making into practice.