Meet Shashank Dixit, a man with several feathers in his cap. He passed out of Apeejay Institute of Technology – School of Architecture and Planning (AIT-SAP) 14 years back and is now a well-acclaimed lawyer and an architect. In a candid interview, he shares about setting up his firm that proudly handles many state Government projects along with the challenges that come along his way.
Tell us about yourself.
I am an Architect-Planner and a law scholar. After completing my graduation from AIT-SAP in 2010, due to my early-age love for city planning, I chose to join the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority as a Manager and Planning Consultant instead of going for post-graduation. I took advice for the same for my HoD and my senior Bhupendra Kumar who has helped and guided me to join the Greater Noida Authority. I am very proud of that decision in my tenure as Manager at GNIDA from 2010 to 2016.
What does a typical day look like?
After getting ready for the day, before going to the office, the day starts by reading almost all regional newspapers and national newspapers to keep myself updated about the action plans of the Tricity authorities. The first half of the day starts with interacting with the team in the office to pace up for the day, reading New Urban Local Policies, and Government Authorities Office Orders. The second half is focused on meeting government officials, joining authorities seminar’s group meetings, webinars regarding real estate Laws, visiting regional community groups, and meeting with architects and clients.
Tell us about your college life.
From day one of college my journey of learning about collaborative and co-working experiences started. Our seniors, faculty, and administration helped me a lot and injected the confidence to create my life toward understanding community development at the urban level while learning design and planning principles through academics. The administration’s approach of equality for all in terms of everything was the key takeaway from my academic life at AIT-SAP.
Share a few nostalgic memories from college.
Everyone has lots of memories from their college days, but I would like to share an overwhelming experience of mine when at the time of the Final Thesis Jury. Due to some inter-batch misunderstandings, a few batchmates protested that I should not be allowed to present my project and requested the management to mark my project as a copy of someone’s project. However, the faculty’s equal approach for everyone gave me 24 hours to defend myself before the jury and present my project which was eventually approved with great marks by the jury gave me a lifelong experience.
What is your dream?
To participate in India’s Urban & Infrastructural Growth and to serve society through our building compliance and regulatory advisory skills, to save the time and resources of every stakeholder of the real estate industry, and to protect the interest of the farmers with the help of complete online, B2B and B2C solutions for building approvals, permissions and obtaining different NoCs without the hassle of visiting authority offices while procuring approvals.
Any message for the students of the school?
Becoming an architect is the first step towards your contribution to nation-building while going into the field it should be our primary duty to respect building compliances and regulations. We are the ones who are responsible for creating abodes for many lives under one roof, violations of the building by-laws and compliances are becoming very common these days. But we all should have to understand that focusing our design skills following the building compliances is very necessary for the whole architecture fraternity to contribute their part in nation-building for generations.
How did college help you hone your skills?
The college provided a comprehensive education with theoretical knowledge and practical skills that helped me to build my design and planning concepts before Joining the Greater Noida Authority with a key role. The faculty at AIT-SAP were experienced professors and industry experts who shared their practical skills to give us a better understanding of planning principles, design, and construction concepts. Their guided mentorship helped me a lot to excel in my career with all-time confidence.