my membership qualifying examination in 1970 - photo by my wife Kalpana Sen, 2014
Fifty years ago, in the spring of 1970, I sat for the membership
qualifying examination of the Institution of Civil Engineers London. I sat in the
library of the Institution, at this table, and on this chair. Since then, the
Institution will have refurbished the furniture. But this is where I sat and
took my examination Figure
1.
On that occasion, I was the only candidate for the membership qualifying
examination. I sat in one of the corners of the vast library. Aside from me,
there were a couple of women who worked there. I could not see them but could
only hear their infrequent whispers, and the silence suited me fine.
Having earned my PhD in structural engineering at Imperial College
London, the previous year, I had fulfilled the educational base requirements
for membership. (Then the Institution did not recognise my undergraduate and
postgraduate degrees earned in India. India became a signatory of the
Washington Accord in 2014; since then Indian degrees from accredited
universities are recognised in all Washington Accord signatory countries,
including the UK). I had also completed the required years of professional
experience to fulfil the initial professional development requirements and had cleared
the initial professional review.
So, on that occasion, for me, it was a written examination
followed by an interview. I did up to my expectations in both. After a few
weeks, in the middle of the summer, I was admitted as a member of the Institution.
In the spring of 1970, as I entered through the front portal into the
imposing building of the Institution, I had my share of trepidation. My mentor
at Imperial College London, Dr J C Chapman, was a distinguished Fellow of the
Institution. He was my role model and had sponsored my membership application.
I was so to say following his footprints, and those were large footprints. So I
had trepidation. (Much later, I wrote a eulogy for Dr Chapman in my blog after
his demise in 2011. The interested reader may look up the eulogy at this link: https://hiraksen.blogspot.com/2011/03/dr-john-clifford-chapman-mentor.html ).
Aside from trepidation, I had great expectations from the
Institution. Looking back after fifty years, I find that much of my
expectations are met. The Institution, among other influencers, has shaped and
trained me in many ways to become a better professional. On my part, I have humbly
served the Institution as the chairman of its local chapter in Kolkata in 2014.
More recently, in 2019, the Institution has accepted a paper authored by me,
entitled 'Victoria Memorial Hall, India: engineering, architecture,
conservation and modernisation'. The paper will appear in a volume of the
Proceedings of the Institution soon. The interested reader may find the
abstract of the paper at the Institution's website at this link: https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/jenhh.19.00035
For those who may not be familiar with it, let me say a few words
about the Institution. Founded in 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is
the world's first professional Institution. It engages in developing members'
skills and knowledge-exchange and thereby promotes the contribution that civil engineers
make to society. It is a qualifying body
that sets the standards for qualification and registration for professionals
working in civil engineering. It is one
of the most respected learned societies in the world. Its library where I sat
and took the examination, has the world's most extensive collection of civil
engineering resources. Figure
2
shows a part of the library with my wife Kalpana in the foreground when we
visited the Institution in 2014.
Figure 2 My wife Kalpana Sen in one part of the library in 2014 - photo by me
Today, the Institution has 95,000 members in all categories—Student,
Graduate, Technician, Associate Member, Member, and Fellow—in more than 150
countries across the globe. Currently, I am a Fellow.
The imposing headquarter building of the Institution is situated,
within an easy walking distance from Parliament Square, at One Great George
Street, Westminster, London Figure
3. The front and side elevations, the entrance
hall, and the area under the central dome are of Whitbed Portland Stone. It is
a steel-framed structure, the second such structure to be erected in London
after the Ritz hotel in 1905.
Figure 3 The front facade of the headquarter building of the Institution at
One Great George Street, Westminster, London -
photo courtesy of the Institution, for the private viewing of my blog readers
More than two centuries ago, the founders of the Institution set
out the objective of the Institution. 'The Institution will foster and promote
the art and science of civil engineering ….directing the great sources of power
in nature for the use and convenience of man'. Since then, the Institution has
modified the objective to the extent that we will work with the great
sources of power in nature rather than direct them.
Over the past fifty years, I have visited the Institution on many
occasions. In 2014, I took my wife Kalpana to show her around the building. On
that occasion, we also invited a few friends for lunch at one of the many well-appointed
restaurants of the Institution—about that lunch, I will write a separate blog.
As the founder and chief executive of my firm H K Sen And
Associates, I have had the opportunity of leading the design and delivery
process of many nationally significant projects across eight states of India.
These include the following: India's largest football cum athletics stadium in
Kolkata which hosted ten matches of FIFA Under17 World Cup in 2017; a
recreational complex in Vizag with an indoor stadium, an outdoor stadium, an
amphitheatre, an auditorium; a horse racing complex in Hyderabad; four
integrated townships respectively in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and
Sikkim; and an airport terminal building in Kolkata. These projects, in one way
or other, have positively touched the lives of tens of millions of persons over
the past few decades. The Institution, among a few other influencers, helped
develop me professionally and enabled me to lead the teams to conceptualise,
design, and deliver such complex projects. That is why I feel that the
Institution has fulfilled my expectations and beyond.
Figure 4 Certificate of recognition for completing fifty years of membership
The Institution has recently sent me a scroll certifying that I
have achieved the distinction of having been a member of the Institution of
Civil Engineers for fifty years Figure
4.
It is a recognition of my work in adding to and improving the built
environment in India in my small way.
The certificate brought much joy to me, to
my family, and friends. I have written this blog to share that joy with my
readers.
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