The South African Council for the Quantity Surveying Profession (SACQSP) research conference took place in October 2018.  The conference ended with a gala dinner at the Hyatt Regency Hotel where several awards were given to industry professionals for outstanding contributions as well as to top achiever students.  Professor Hoffie Cruywagen from the Department of Construction Economics was one of the industry professionals who received the Outstanding Contribution Award from the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS) for compiling the document Guide to Life Cycle Costing.  Two of our Department’s students received certificates of achievement from the ASAQS.  Ms Qabilah Abramjee was the 1^st runner up for the ASAQS and RLB Pentad Future Leader’s Award and Ms Carmen Wolmarans was the 1^st runner up for the ASAQS Gold Medal Award.  Both these awards recognise outstanding academic achievement for students studying quantity surveying.