16 Jul 2020|Gurgaon (Manesar) | onlone
Guest Lecture on Architectural Education and Profession in Pandemic Times by Ar. Habeeb Khan, President, Council of Architecture, New Delhi and Dr, Padmakali Banerjee, Pro-VC, Amity University Haryana
Amity School of Architecture and Planning, Gurugram had organized an Online Dialogue on Architectural Education and Profession in Pandemic Times’ on 16th July 2020.
The main objective of the session is to discuss the challenges faced in the Architecture Profession and Address the queries of the students of Architecture from various universities and institutions across India.
Dr. Padmakali Banerjee, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Amity University Haryana, addressed the participants and welcomed the President, Council of Architecture. She motivated the students for performing well and being resilient in times of crisis. She assured all the students for every support from the University side in order to continue and excel in education in these difficult times.
Ar Habeeb Khan addressed the participants before the interaction session. He appreciated the leadership of Amity University Haryana and the efforts of the Pro Vice-Chancellor in managing the education in pandemic times.
Students from 8 schools of architecture from different universities across India (Amity Universities- Gurgaon, Raipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Jaipur, GGSIP University, Bundelkhand University and Gautam Budhha University), participated in this event and also asked following questions.
1.Challenges in online education in architecture and shift in approach to teaching learning architecture in short term and long run.
Ar Habeeb Khan assured the students that there will not be many changes in the architecture curriculum and approach post COVID. He insisted that there is no substitution for hands-on-learning and experiential learning in architecture. On-campus education will start as soon as the situation is normal and learning environments are safer.
2. Concerns in student community regarding the latest Supreme Court judgment related to the practice of nonpracticing architects.
Ar Habeeb Khan explained ‘The Architects Act 1972’ and the entire context in this regard. He assured the students that this judgment does not have any major impact on architecture practice in India. However, he also told the students that the Council of Architecture is in communication with senior lawyers and is going to take legal steps for challenging the judgment.
3. Internships in online mode:
In pandemic times many students have shown great concern for getting appropriate internship opportunities on work from home basis. The Council of Architecture earlier also had supported students in this regard. Ar Habeeb Khan advised schools to impart practical training to students which are close to the training which students get from working in architectural offices as a substitute.
J4. ob opportunities and concern of low salaries:
Many students raised issues of getting low initial salaries even after undertaking a rigorous 5 years long course. Students felt that this situation is going to worsen during this pandemic. Ar Habeeb Khan assured them that architects generally do well and prosper after the initial few years. He assured the students that after the pandemic is over and when the economy starts showing positive signs, the job scenario for architects will surely improve. He motivated students to keep patience and work hard till then.
Ar Habeeb Khan satisfactorily addressed all the questions from students. Towards the end, he also announced that NATA 2020 will be conducted in online mode and details regarding these will be published soon by Council of Architecture.
Overall it was an interesting and knowledgeable session for the students and faculty.