Mohammed Rizwan Ansari - How IHM helped me face bigger challenges
How IHM helped me face bigger challenges
Mohammed Rizwan Ansari
Amsterdam, Netherlands. Year 2012. It was a global competition organized by Bentley Systems, a company that makes the world's leading Software for Engineers. 200 teams from 45 countries were competing. There were 10 distinct categories. In the category of 'Connecting Teams' Three projects were nominated as finalists. My project was one of them. The other two finalists were projects implemented in the USA.
While I designed and implemented the “Engineering Document Management System” over a network of servers across the country, my team traversed deserts and mountains to reach every remote substation and power-plant of the country to scan the drawings. As a result of the project, engineers all over the country had the latest, updated drawings at the click of a button. No more travelling long distances in deserts and mountains to get a copy of the drawing. According to the Saudi Electricity Company, it was a remarkable project, that saved them thousands of hours in operations and increased safety in operations.
As a finalist, I had to face the jury, which consisted of editors and reporters of some of the leading engineering magazines in the world. Apart from many technical questions, there was one question that elicited a pause before my answer. "What was the most challenging aspect of the project". The most difficult aspect was convincing the Saudi Engineers at each facility to give up their copies of drawings to be scanned." They unanimously agreed and laughed.
Across the world, in such utility companies, there are frequent modifications to the facilities to keep them operating optimally. The engineer in charge usually keeps his own version of drawing, which he keeps updated. It was indeed difficult to convince him to give away his copy to be stored on the computer, miles away. The next question was "How did you handle the challenge". I wished I could answer them "I am a Madcat". But I just replied "Yes, It did require a lot of convincing". My project won the competition. Our team celebrated.
As is obvious, neither am I an engineer, nor an IT graduate. The competition itself was not related to Hotel Management, Catering technology, or Applied Nutrition. And there I was, winning a Global award for implementing an IT project in an Engineering Organization.
All this did not happen overnight. I had to make some bold and wild decisions, in seeking out what I loved to do. Following my 3-year diploma, i trained as a Management Trainee at Adayar Park, then moved to Advertising, then to sales in a pharmaceutical company, then a hotel again in Saudi Arabia, where I was introduced to Interior Design and Computer graphics. When I look back and chart out the chaotic path I have taken, I see a pattern, a thread, that strings together all the choices I have made. I have enjoyed helping companies sell their products, helping patients get the right medicine, making homes look better, and training people to work efficiently. This passion to make the world better was ingrained in me during the three years of my study at our Institute.
Our IHM trains us in so many different skills - food preparation, service, housekeeping, front office, management, etc. Not only do we learn the theory in depth, but we also undergo rigorous training in a real environment. Daily, the only validator of our performance is a five-star hotel guest who pays the highest amount for the services we offer and demands excellence to match what he pays for!
We are forced to turn up in our best form, no matter what happens, get briefed for the day's agenda, do what needs to be done, with a smile, and not even expect any thanks. Looking our best and being courteous are part of the job. It is a training that forges us in iron and transforms us forever. I do not know of any other course that can give such an all-round development and makes an individual ‘battle-ready!’
It is quite common to see that many graduates do not pursue their careers in the same industry they graduated from. If any +2 student, who is not bent upon pursuing a career in a specific field like medicine, engineering, or IT, is not sure of any options and is willing to put in the demanding work, then this is the course they should opt for. He/she will be ready to take on the world in any form.
Due to the nature of my dad's work, I frequently changed schools. I did my primary schooling in a Residential Convent in Nellore, Southern Andhra Pradesh. Then I did my secondary education at the prestigious La Martiniere College, Lucknow, Northern India, and later at a Montessori school in Vijayawada, Southern India. Cultural shocks became the norm. Always a newcomer in the class, I grew up as an introvert and found myself attracted to painting. It was my interest in painting that attracted me to the glamour of five-star hotels.
Later the actual arduous work in the industry made me realize that I did not belong there and forced me to look elsewhere. Currently, I am the co-founder of a startup, in Design and Construction industry, and live in Saudi Arabia. Painting and IT are my passions. Although both these fields used to appear too far from each other, over the years technology has converged them together at a tremendous speed. Although I am 58, I feel young and excited to be standing at the threshold of an exciting era. Rock-balancing is my new-found hobby.
I am indebted to my parents, teachers, colleagues, and friends who have encouraged and helped me in numerous ways to take bold decisions in life and make it so fulfilling.
Mohammed Rizwan Ansari, Class of 1986
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