The RICS School of Built Environment is supported by Amity University, India's leading research and innovation driven university, by leading Indian and international firms and the Indian Ministry of Urban Development.
RICS said that it will be an industry led, world-class academic institution delivering quality education and training and serve as a hub for research and development of technical standards and best practices in the built environment.
A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the RICS School of Built Environment, Amity University and the University of Salford, the UK’s premier destination for built environment studies, to support research, course development and student exchanges. Professor KT Ravindran, previously dean of the School of Planning and Architecture, has been appointed as the founding dean.
The School aims to bridge the skills gap in India by training 15,000 to 20,000 construction, real estate and infrastructure management professionals over the next three to five years. It will deliver a globally relevant curriculum for BBA and MBA programmes through a practice based pedagogy. Leading Indian and international companies in these sectors have committed to hiring its graduates.
The School is located at Amity University’s Noida campus and the first batch of students will start at the end of July 2013. It is estimated that India has a shortage of millions of specialised professionals in the building sector.
The School will offer a range of academic degree programmes, including a three year full time BBA in Real Estate and Urban Infrastructure; a two year full time MBA in Real Estate and Urban Infrastructure with specialisation in Investment Finance or Marketing and a two year full time MBA in Construction Project Management.
The School will also offer management development programmes to meet the training and development requirements of existing professionals in the sector.
‘This is a first and it will lay the foundation to setting new benchmarks that other institutions will subsequently try and emulate. The challenges of urbanisation in India are already immense. India has a very young demographic profile that’s extremely mobile and we’re already seeing small towns becoming the hub of economic activity,’ said Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Urban Development at the inauguration of the School.
‘This is probably the largest aspirational society on the planet with growing disposable incomes. One of the biggest challenges facing the real estate, construction and infrastructure sectors is that of good human resources. The RICS School of Built Environment, Amity University will therefore enable quality and relevant education for young professionals entering this sector,’ he added.
According to Atul Chauhan, chancellor of Amity University, the courses offered by the School will be viewed as a ‘career of choice’ by all aspiring professionals.
Professor Ravindran said it will start to fill the complete vacuum of education and training options available for professionals in the sector. ‘The School of Built Environment has been launched to provide students with a strong foundation for a specialised career in this fast growing sector. An innovatively designed curriculum will ensure that the graduates passing out from the School are wholesome, employment ready professionals that meet the changing needs of the industry,’ he added.