Just drop by a real estate agency, and find out what people know about an architect....
HOD SERIES
Just drop by a real estate agency, and find out what people know about an architect. In their language, a person who designs and constructs buildings is either called a “contractor” or a “builder”. You will be amazed at how little people know about the discipline of Architecture. And this is the reason why such a promising and interesting field goes unnoticed by the students.
Located in the hub of downtown Karachi and surrounded by numerous heritage buildings, the Department of Architecture and Planning, NED University of Engineering and Technology is an ideal place to study architecture. We decided to meet Dr. Noman Ahmed, the head of the department to discover more about this discipline.
He studied Architecture at Dawood College of Engineering and Technology which was at that time the only institute that offered a degree in Architecture. After graduation, he studied City Planning at Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, and then went to the UK to earn his PhD in Civil and Building Engineering from Loughborough University.
In 2000, late Abul Kalam, Vice Chancellor of NED University invited Dr. Noman to come to the university and set up a separate department of Architecture.
Best compliment you’ve ever received and how do you handle criticism?
We keep hearing this from various government officials that our department plays a significant role in solving city’s architecture related issues. They always come to me looking for solutions; and I am grateful for this.
I quickly analyze the situation and try to find areas where I can make improvement.
How would your students describe you?
A friend!
What’s the scope of the subject?
Everyone lives in a home so everyone is in need of some professional help to improve and organize their space; which means architects are always in demand.
Currently, there are only 4000 architects for a population of 200 million in Pakistan. About half of them leave the country at one point in time or another. This number is further reduced when girls don’t come back into the industry after studies even though more girls make it to the department than boys; I remember teaching a batch that had 34 girls and one boy — who was always shivering with fear!
Unlike other engineering fields where you can only be employed in large scale organization where competition is tough, Architecture is a profession where all you need is a laptop and a place to sit to start providing services. And now, the use of advanced technology in architectural work has made service provision extremely simple. Students can become self-employed as and when they want.
And when the students graduate, we put up a show of their work; we invite prospective employers who see the work of our students and offer them jobs accordingly. For a thesis design jury, eminent practicing architects are invited and they select prospective employees. After graduation, it is very difficult to stay unemployed.
Funny or weird things you hear about your subject.
A lot of people still don’t know what the discipline of Architecture is! Students joke that instead of “architects”, they are called “Architecture”.
What is your vision?
I want this department to become socially and professionally relevant to the society. Being part of an educational institution, it has a responsibility to reach out to its immediate surroundings that includes the entire city; to see what problems the city faces and use them as research questions.
For example, our department is working on the preservation of heritage buildings. Additionally, we are concerned about smaller cities in Sindh like Shikarpur; these cities have extremely beautiful and rich heritage that is unattended and unnoticed.
What degrees do you offer?
We offer the five-year Bachelor of Architecture, the standard qualification for architects all around the country and beyond.
Another degree that we introduced recently is Bachelor of Science in Development Studies that was more to strengthen the overall research work we were doing for the settlements in the underdeveloped areas of Karachi and other cities in Pakistan.
The postgraduate degrees that we offer include Masters in Urban and Regional Planning, Masters of Architecture and Master of Science in Real Estate Management and PhD programmes.
Why did you choose to lead this department?
I think NED is, firstly, it is one of the oldest institutions which is imparting education in technical fields and has a widely spread alumni body. Secondly, the kind of expansion opportunities NED offered was remarkable, especially with regard to research and development work.
I have always believed in the power of collaboration so I thought this could be a place where we could establish collaborative links with other institutions and help each other in all possible ways.
How do you deal with underachieving students?
There are three types of students that we come across. The first type includes students who genuinely desire to become architects but suffer a certain skill deficiency. For example, there are students who don’t have basic drawing skills. We try to help such students by giving them extra coaching.
The second type includes students who aren’t able to perform well due to personal or social problems. In that case we help by counseling.
Then, there are students who end up in architecture by accident. Usually, we get them transferred to other departments after first year because there is no point in having unwilling students who have their hearts and minds somewhere else and are just dragging themselves to become architects.
How do you motivate your staff?
The best way to do this is to become an example for others. If you are punctual and keep yourself engaged in work, the staff will follow your lead. Also, you should support your younger faculty.
What do you think the biggest challenges that this department/NED faces?
The biggest challenge is poor quality of education at higher secondary level. You can’t be an engineer if your basic math skills are weak. Department has to put in extra efforts to work on students’ basic skills. Students coming from Cambridge system are usually better in academics, but in many cases are not able to gel with the overall student body.
Is there any exchange programme/affiliation with the foreign universities?
We do have connection with universities in the West and in this region; and, we have also subscribed to numerous student exchange programmes. Many of our students have been to the US, UK and other countries on semester exchange programmes.
In our department, we encourage students to travel to friendly countries like Sri Lanka and Turkey and spend four to six months there. We talk to our counterparts in these countries who organize workshops for our students.
There are numerous in-house scholarships and the Student Affairs department is always reaching out to philanthropists for more assistance.
Name one thing about your department that most people don’t know.
What people don’t know is that the learning of architecture at NED University takes place in a socially relevant environment; and this is one of the biggest strengths of our department!
What are the titles of the last three books you have read?
1-Asaar-us-Sanadeed by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
2-Biography of Winston Churchill
3-Biography of Kemal Atatürk
