Our international tie-ups provide students exposure to foreign markets, says RICS School of Built Environment MD

In a conversation with Shiksha.com, Managing Director of RICS School of Built Enviornment Ashwani Awasthi talks about various initiatives institute has taken. Such initiatives improve employability and career progression chances globally. Also, the institute is working extensively to prepare students well for placements. Ashwani has over 25 years of experience with 15 years at leadership level in operations management, strategic planning & execution, Asset Management and CRE & FM across varied industries.

Read the excerpts of the interview below:

Q: What are the three things that your University is doing that will enable it to differentiate itself from competition?

A: We are the only educational institution that is backed by a professional body (RICS). The professional body helps identify the industry needs along with skills and competencies required while the education institution helps deliver these skills and competencies and produce industry-ready professionals.  We also provide a great opportunity to our graduating students to become trainee members of RICS and later a chartered Member of RICS or MRICS.  MRICS is a leading global chartered qualification that significantly improves employability and career progression of a professional and is recognised as a stamp of excellence by employers worldwide. Graduating from an RICS accredited degree program provides a fastrack route to become MRICS as the students would possess all the required skills and competencies for the job roles.

Our curriculum is designed with the help of the industry and focuses not only on students acquiring knowledge but also knowing how to apply this knowledge in the real world.  Our international student-exchange programmes, case-based teaching, site visits and interaction with industry experts provide an unparalleled learning experience to our students which not only leads to an excellent job placement but also a great career in the industry. Our students are placed with top organisations in the domestic and international markets.

Q: What are the top three initiatives undertaken by you that are helping your students become more industry-ready?

A: Besides many initiatives, the most important are curriculum-oriented. Below are initiatives undertaken by the institute:

• Our curriculum is oriented to make our students industry-ready. Our new-age curriculum now includes elements of education which include the latest technologies such as BIM, IoT, Big Data, AI, AR and more.
• We believe in hands-on experience on software such as Oracle Primavera risk analysis, Bentley systems, Trimble Tilos, ArchiCAD, Autodesk Infrastructure Suite, CostX, MS Project Pro and Lindo Classic solver as they are widely used across industries
• Our international tie-ups with reputed universities such as RMIT Australia, Liverpool John Moores and Northumbria University UK allow our students and faculty to engage in traveling studios, semester exchanges, and summer internship programs to provide an insight into international construction and real estate markets. 

Q: What are the key attributes that a student should have to qualify for your institution and get top grades in your institution?

A: To qualify for admissions, a student must possess good engineering and architecture knowledge, number-crunching skills, awareness of global scenario and a keen desire to make a career in the built environment domain. And, to be eligible for admission in MBA program, the applicant must qualify any entrance exam such as MAT, GMAT, CMAT, CAT or NMAT or can opt for the in-house AMCAT.

To get good grades, a student should have innovative & critical thinking skills, teamwork & leadership skills, ability to apply the knowledge and skills and drive to stay updated with industry developments and trends.

Q: Which programmes would you say are your best? What is it that helps your institution differentiate itself for this programme?

A: All our programmes are best in their field and are accredited and recognised by the industry as a benchmark of quality. We have three key MBA programs and each one of them deals with a different aspect of the built environment.

• MBA in Construction Project Management (CPM) deals with the project management aspect of the construction of a project and draws maximum students at our campuses.
• MBA in Construction Economics and Quantity Surveying (CEQS) deals with estimation and monitoring of construction costs to ensure that the project remains within budget.
• MBA in Real Estate & Urban Infrastructure is a unique program that deals with a complete lifecycle of a real estate project. It deals with investment & finance, sales & marketing, entrepreneurship & business skills, valuation and facilities management.

All three of our MBA programmes are unique, prepare the student to excel in the role of working in a team, often as a team leader heading teams of specialists, including architects, structural engineers, electrical engineers, sustainability experts, valuers and finance experts.

Q: What are you doing to drive better campus placements for your current students and alumni?

A: To prepare students well for placements, we conduct extensive pre-placement activities which include personal grooming, soft-skills training, mock interviews and technical workshops. We have a strong alumni network that supports our students with their career moves.

Q: What kind of jobs routinely come to campus? What would you say are the key recruitment trends for your college (observed over the past five years)?

A: Companies visit us with multiple profile openings such as Project Management, Cost Management, Planning, Contracts, Design Management, Sales, marketing, Transactions, Finance, Valuations and Business Development. Organisations look for multi-dimensional professionals who have an eye for detail and are strong on the technical as well as the managerial front.