Proteges' Global Travel Experiences
To reward all our Protege finalists this year we anticipate sending them on a short working holiday to one of our global offices locations. This will give them the opportunity to travel to a new city and meet some of our global partners, hopefully bringing back some useful insights into different working cultures and experiences. They may also have a little fun on the way...
To see what some of our Proteges of yesteryear have been up to overseas just read on.
Andrew Mason
During his world trip Andrew visited China, Japan and North America and dropped into the Shanghai, Boston and Toronto offices on the way. Please see below his thoughts on his world trip and his visits to our global network of offices:
"Being given the opportunity to travel such a range of countries has really opened my eyes to subtle cultural differences, in both living and working - which was exciting as well as insightful. I learned pretty quickly how to be comfortable in situations which are unfamiliar, unexpected and dynamic which I'm sure will be invaluable, being part of an international organisation. It's been great to visit offices in other countries because it showed how differently business operates as a result of varying national structures and attitudes towards the surveying profession.
From bustling sleeper carriages through smog ridden parts of China, to the beautiful yet diminishing woodland Canadian scenery; it was noticeable how significantly global environmental deterioration is affecting people's lives. It has been great to see how seriously RLB takes corporate responsibility, during the Protege experience and my early days in employment having seen how people's health and habitats are being damaged.
Travelling the world and meeting global contacts was a fantastic way to join the company, and I would recommend the Protege competition to anyone entering the industry."
Andrew
Paavan Popat
Following his degree in Business Management at the University of Leicester and a Master's Degree in Development and Construction, Paavan has spent the last two years with RLB employed as a graduate project manager in London. He has worked for a number of our major corporate clients including British Land, Marks & Spencer, Royal Mail and Tesco and more recently been working on projects for smaller companies involved in the development and operations of Hotels & Care Homes. Please see below some of his thoughts about his involvement in business development and the delivery of a challenging global project.
I have been working with Lance Taylor, David Bucknall and other global Board Directors in setting up RLB operations in India. This has involved several visits to different parts of India to agree partnership frameworks with local players, visiting potential clients, meeting with existing clients in the region and taking part in the overall strategy for the region.
During 2009, whilst maintaining involvement in UK projects, I took on the role of Project Manager with a team of QS's from RLB's Chengdu office in China. The job has involved acting as conduit between a London based client, Government officials in Beijing & Lhasa, a Chinese team of consultants and contractors, a further group of consultants from Kathmandu, and an end user group based in India. The project involves infrastructure works in Tibet at 17,500 feet above sea level, prefabrication, transportation and installation of 40 cottages and a community hall. The completion date for this project is scheduled for September 2010 and I am looking forward to seeing it through to completion.
Pavan