STATEMENT OF PURPOSE I was four when I first started accompanying my father to his construction sites and was so influenced by the ongoing project work being carried out by Abhilasha Developers, our small real estate construction business, that in my playtime, I would enact all my keen observations to the tee. That interest only intensified through my growing years as I observed the nuances of the business – operations, logistics, legal, management, etc. - turning my interest into a passion for the field of real estate. Among the various projects of the above-mentioned family-owned construction, one instance particularly is of special significance to me. We had successfully purchased a piece of land from a local family in Kalyan City for residential construction, but as we prepared to start work on the site, a legal notice was slapped on us to halt all work. As one disgruntled family member had laid claim to his share in the land that we had purchased and who was not present when the deal was concluded, the land got locked up in dispute. After a long court case lasting for around 12 months, the court recognized us as the rightful owners. This incidence made me cognizant of the lapses in the government verification processes and their policies, which led to time delay and cost escalations in our project. Keen to understand the planning of a project, I started to shadow our company’s chartered accountant, who makes feasibility reports of any upcoming project which needs a great understanding of estimation, valuation, and cost management of materials and services as well. I would also accompany the senior engineer of our company and learn about the conventional construction methodology followed, and observed many proceedings with contractors, who handle different agencies of work like carpentry, water supply, plumbing, painting, electrification, sanitation, etc. The close observations of the construction and real estate sector make me realize that there are many areas of improvement in the real estate industry in India like contract management, financial strategies, productivity and sustainability, costing of materials, and adoption of new technology. Though my family business played a huge role in developing my interest in the construction field, my summer internship with Sanghvi Realty, a Real Estate company, helped me gain a different perspective of the industry. Here I was deployed to work at the construction site of an 18-storey building. Initially, I learned the reading of maps, designs, and schedules on which construction work was lined up. After a month, my working day was divided into two parts, the first part was daily execution work, and the second part was learning site office proceedings. Again, my interests were leaned towards site office work like understanding plans from architects and structural engineers, preparing material & working schedules, costing of materials, and estimation of quantities. My curiosity about the marketing side of the business led me to interact with the sales team and understand the basic marketing workings of the project and new upcoming digital marketing platforms. This internship strengthened my interests in the business administration and construction management of the real estate field. Having gained comprehensive exposure to the world of construction projects, I have realized the importance of their effective management. I wish to work in the real estate industry at various levels starting from the grass root levels, such as financial valuation and capital raising and eventually rise up the ranks to Consulting and Asset Management. To that end, I wish to pursue my MS degree in Construction Management. After graduation, I would like to work as a real estate project manager and developer and also gain experience in other areas like strategy, consultancy, banking, property management and eventually might contribute to real estate industry . Also India as a developing STATEMENT OF PURPOSE industry needs lot of organization and planning. Somehow will try to improve areas like cost & materialefficient construction, sustainable buildings, futuristic architectural concepts, advance construction techniques and construction safety. Apart from my family business, my interest in the real estate and construction industry stems from my prior education in this field. Diploma, followed by a degree in Civil Engineering, played a major role in developing my interest in the field. Core subjects, such as Structural Engineering & Geotechnical Engineering imparted sound knowledge of geology and foundation design theories and its allied subjects of edifice. Hydraulic Engineering is also quite interesting, as it provides thorough understanding of continuity ,energy and momentum equations. Along with it, various design procedures of centrifugal, reciprocating pumps and various shaped channels seems intriguing to me. My final year, subjects like Estimation Valuation & Construction Management helped me understand the nuances of its implementation on construction site of any structure or formation. I am now keen to study the management (Finance/Technicalities/Legalities) side of the real estate coin. In the upcoming education endeavor would like to dive into the commerce aspect of the real estate and construction industry. Working on curricular projects during my diploma and my degree coursework, helped me to understand theoretical concepts due to practical hands-on experience. My Diploma, final year project, was a research-based on ‘Water Treatment Plant of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation’. The said treatment plant had a capacity of treating 300 million liters per day (MLD). This project helped me understand the workings of the plant and learn about its main components, its control management, schedule of norms to be followed, lab licenses, rules and regulations implied on the plant. Another diploma mini project included constructing an eco-friendly model of the building, ‘Burj Al-Arab’ with waste material like cardboard, sawdust, old broomsticks, machine refuse oil paints, used carbon papers, broken LEDs, dry grass, etc. This model was declared the winning model and still holds a place of pride at the institute, where I completed my diploma. My ongoing final year degree project topic, ‘Fire Protection Systems & Assessment’, aims to generate awareness of fire safety systems and importance to any productive industry. Our project will explore factors like the causes and chemistry of fire, fire extinguishing principles, internal & external fire safety systems, and the new innovative techniques in firefighting systems like cobra and the future scope which can be adopted in a highly populated country like India. We are also going to study case studies on firefighting systems in a residential and commercial building. In this project, we also propose to highlight the important fire prevention and life safety act by the Government of India. Balancing my academics with participation in extracurricular activities helped me in learning the importance of time management while developing a well-rounded personality. I have actively been involved in college festivals and student committee. I also did scuba diving on Phi Phi Islands in 2019 and completed 2 treks in 2018 & 2019 - the Yamunotri River Trek and Hamta Pass(Base Himalayas) Trek. I intend to continue with similar participation in extracurricular activities at graduate school too. Though I have been fortunate to have been exposed to the working of the real estate industry from an early age, I realize that in order to effectively manage the operations of real estate, I need to pursue the construction administration course from the Stevens Institute Of Technology. The civil,environmental & STATEMENT OF PURPOSE ocean engineering school with its unique pedagogy, progressive curriculum and state-of-the-art campus facilities, best caters to my interest. With eminent faculty, I would consider it an honor to study under Prof Leslie Brunell and Prof Sarath Jaguilla. I would also like to be part of the student clubs like Construction Management & Indian Graduate Student Association, which will help me to explore intellectually and help in my holistic development. Given my wide exposure to the field of construction, my interest in the same will propel me to strive for excellence and exceed the expectations the university has from its incoming students. I hope that the Admissions Committee views my candidature in a positive light.
