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Why Join RGF

Who We Are & What We Do

The Rice Global Forum for Engineering and Construction (the Forum) is a collaborative organization consisting of members from engineering, construction, energy, and supporting firms, as well as project Owners across the global E&C and energy industries. Established at Rice University, the Forum provides a platform for open discussion and analysis of the challenges, opportunities, and emerging trends shaping the contracting and Owner communities within these sectors.

Rice University serves as a neutral host for these activities, offering Forum members unique access to its academic and research resources, including the George R. Brown School of Engineering, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, and the Jones Graduate School of Business. This academic partnership enhances industry dialogue by connecting members with world class research, interdisciplinary expertise, and forward looking perspectives that support informed decision making across the engineering, construction, and energy landscapes.

1. Information, Analysis and Insight

The Forum sponsors and carries out discussion and analysis on a wide range of issues, both short and long term, that impact the energy industry globally. These provide information and insight from experts from both inside and outside the industry, including senior industry personnel and their counterparts in client organizations, vendors and suppliers, clients, consultants and financial, legal, regulatory and other specialist organizations.

The primary vehicles for these discussions are the Annual Forum session meeting and the quarterly Roundtables. The Annual Forum is an prestigious event held on the Rice campus in November. It focuses on an important issue or opportunity facing the industry. Presentations and panel discussions by senior executives and issue experts discuss and analyze the issue from a variety of viewpoints. The Keynote Speaker is generally a CEO or Senior Executive from the E&C membership. Experts from Rice also are an important part of each program.

2. Mutual Cooperation with Rice University

Rice Global Forum is based at Rice University, one of the nation’s premier research universities, and acts as the industry’s advocate at the university. The Forum is sponsored at Rice by the George R. Brown School of Engineering, the James A. Baker Institute III for Public Policy and the Jones Graduate School of Business. Each of these organizations gives the Forum access to world class academic and research faculty, subject matter experts and support.

The Forum interacts with Rice in a number of ways:

  • Rice faculty support Forum activities with input, advice and guidance and participate in Forum activities.
  • Rice Global Forum acts as an advocate for the energy industry with Rice faculty, students and other Rice organizations. Rice faculty and students are invited to attend Forum events held on campus, at no charge, providing opportunities to learn about the Energy business and network with industry personnel.
  • The Forum provides scholarships annually to deserving Rice engineering students.
  • Rice Global Forum provides financial support to Rice student organizations including the Rice Engineers Without Borders chapter and Civil Engineering students competing in national contests.
  • Rice Global Forum sponsors an engineering competition open to all Rice students held during national Engineer’s Week. This competition challenges students to solve an engineering problem using common office products giving them “hands on” exposure to Engineering and Construction type problems.

Networking Opportunities

Networking is a key aspect of all Rice Global Forum events. Forum events are one of the premier networking opportunities for the engineering community in the greater Houston area. Attendees at Rice Global Forum include people from Clients, Contractors, disciplines, suppliers and support firms. All Rice Global Forum events include allotted time and opportunity for attendees to network with their peers in the industry and with Rice University students and faculty.

The Annual Forum is traditionally held in November and features speakers drawn from all sectors of the engineering, construction, and energy industries. These presenters are recognized for their leadership expertise and bring diverse perspectives that enrich the Forum’s discussions and professional development focus.