News

A team comprising three (3) students and two (2) lecturers of the Edinburgh Business School (EBS), Heriot-Watt Masters at SBCS, together with students from other highly regarded universities across the globe, recently participated in the AECOM Global Challenge. AECOM is an American multinational engineering firm with over 90,000 employees that provides design, consulting, construction, and management services to a wide range of clients.

AECOM’s Global Challenge granted the small number of our EBS Masters students, the opportunity to help support the development of a business plan for one of the 25 shortlisted innovation proposals. AECOM – named to Fortune magazine’s list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies” for the third consecutive year, and the partnership of SBCS and EBS – an over 20-year journey in education excellence at the Masters level, lent weekly support to the students engaged in the project. Our group comprised the following:

STUDENTS

• Amrit Singh
• Veroon Mahabir
• Laura Lai

LECTURERS

• Sean Fouché
• Ramchand Ramcharan

Our thanks and congratulations to the individuals who participated in and supported this project. From all accounts, it was a deep learning experience for everyone, especially our students, who got the opportunity to apply their knowledge to the solving of real world problems. SBCS and EBS look forward to providing our Masters students with even more global learning opportunities in the future.

About AECOM Global Challenge

AECOM’s Annual Global Innovation Challenge is an open call to all AECOM employees to propose innovative solutions for the complex challenges facing our company, clients, and our world.  Their workforce is over 90 thousand strong spanning 150 countries.  AECOM draws from the best and brightest in their fields; from architects, engineers, IT and cyber security professionals, environmental scientists, to transportation and energy experts, only to name a few.  These professionals submit business ideas in categories such as:

• Cities of the Future– Reinvent the places we live and work with ideas to make our cities smarter, safer and better connected.
• Mobility– Usher in a new era of urbanization and disrupt rush hour with solutions focused on transportation and infrastructure.
• The Digital Environment– Launch our operations into the future by advancing the use of augmented reality, virtual reality, BIM and more.
• A Sustainable World– Transform the ways we use and respect our energy, environment and water resources.
• Resiliency– Tackle the challenges of climate change, natural disasters, and cyber security with methods that help us prepare and bounce back.
• Innovation X– Dream big with other ideas that help deliver a better world