It has been several months since COVID 19 disrupted normal life. But the show, as they say, must go on and life at RICS School of Built Environment (SBE) is as normal as it could be under the circumstances. Students have been following their normal timetables and attending live classes online. In the same vein, S.L.I.N.G (the student body at RICS SBE) has been active in organising its activities - some of them for fun and some activities to continue learning something new every day. Of course, like the classes, these activities too are happening online.

S.L.I.N.G and ROAR Collaborate

S.L.I.N.G and ROAR (Rise of Alumni of RICS SBE) which is the alumni group of RICS SBE, collaborate from time to time so that the alumni can share with the current students, the experience of their journey after leaving the School and their inputs about the industry. They give the students very useful insights from their past college days to present work life. Students learn about how they work in their environment and what worked or did not work for them after they left RICS SBE. On July 23, 2020, S.L.I.N.G and ROAR organised an online guest lecture or rather knowledge sharing session for the students. The two guests were none other than alumni of RICS SBE. 

Vimal Shanmugasundaram joins in from Chennai

Mr. Vimal Shanmugasundaram who completed his MBA in Real Estate and Urban Infrastructure in 2019 was the first speaker. He is currently a part of the Land and Development services team in JLL India – Chennai and has also worked as an intern for Research and Consulting team at P.E Analytics, Gurgaon. He chose to address the students on the “Importance of technical and soft skills for a Land Transaction Advisor”. Vimal emphasised the need to have your technical knowledge on your fingertips and he also reiterated that trust-building and effective communication were the key soft skills to aim for.

Krishna Kishore joins in from Bahrain

Mr.Krishna Kishore was the second speaker of the afternoon. He completed his MBA in Construction Project Management from RICS SBE in 2017 and is presently working as a project planner at Havelock One Interiors in Bahrain. Krishna has also worked with L&W Construction Pvt Ltd and interned at Mace. His discourse was on “Case-based learning on a journey from structure to commercial fit-out and joinery”. He used a case study presentation to give an intensive and detailed account of how various elements of project management apply in construction. He also shared his views about the Bahrain work culture as compared to the work culture in India.

The respective talks were followed by question and answer sessions where they took questions from the students. Both the alumni were very forthcoming in sharing their experience and gave very useful tips to the young enthusiastic students on what skills would be helpful to inculcate. 

No doubt the students regularly participate in lectures with industry experts but these knowledge sharing sessions with the alumni give them a fresh perspective about how the industry works from the bottom up and what are industry practices. They get direct input about how these alumni are applying the knowledge that they have acquired. They are not only beneficial for them on a technical level but are also very helpful in establishing a rapport between the students and the alumni. This is their first step at networking which is one of the most important soft skills for professional growth.

About RICS SBE:

RICS School of Built Environment (RICS SBE), Amity University is an industry led academic institution which delivers specialized undergraduate and postgraduate programs to students ambitious to work in real estate, construction and infrastructure sector. It also aids as a hub for research and development of technical proficiency in built environment.