Following a successful placement season for its 2017-2019 batch, RICS School of Built Environment (SBE) Amity University, battling the Covid-19 constraints, has implemented an innovative internship idea for its current students. Usually the students go through a mandatory 2 month internship in the industry, but in the face of the lockdown, the institute has innovatively transformed the internships into intensive research projects based on the specific needs of the industry organisations.

In normal times, the institute usually arranges these internships by approaching industry organisations. The corporates give their requirements for interns along with the location, profiles and stipend offered. The two months hands-on industry experience often gets translated into pre-placement offers.

This year the pandemic has created unprecedented times and sudden and consecutive lockdowns have brought all kinds of restrictions and constraints for everybody. Managing within these restrictions, and without compromising on student safety, RICS SBE says, it is important to maintain continuity in their education and training. In keeping with this view, the institute has arranged innovative research-based internships which the students have undertaken from the safety of their homes.

With the active involvement of the RICS Research Team, Faculty of Northumbria University, and senior industry professionals, the RICS SBE internship team brainstormed and prepared a list of research topics related to issues for which the industry is looking for answers. Students chose their internship projects according to their interests and were assigned a mentor and industry veteran who guided them in their research.

Some of the leading industry bodies under whom the students have done their internships this year are Joint Plant Committee (SAIL), APERA (Asia Pacific Real Estate Association) Singapore, Excelltize software, Vastu Housing Finance, Thite Valuer, Reliant Surveyors Dubai, Prestige Estates Allied Builders (Seychelles) Limited, JLL, Kaishar Interiors, Rider Levett Bucknall – Dubai, Ahluwalia Contracts, Uniworld etc.

Ashwani Awasthi, MD of RICS SBE said, “Knowing that the students will be disappointed on missing the opportunity to gain direct industry exposure as they can’t go out, we decided to bring the industry home to them. A lot of thought and effort was put into organizing these internships so that students can get as close an industry experience as possible under the present trying circumstances.”