Tankshal ni Masjid: Developing skill through knowledge sharing

“In the present world where technology is changing rapidly and there is a need for individuals to keep upgrading their skill sets, the CEPT Conservation Site School is a much-needed addition of space that facilitates skill development through knowledge sharing.”

Recently, I attended a workshop at a grade-II heritage site, a rare timber mosque, situated within the walled city of Ahmedabad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This four-day workshop on 3D LiDAR scanning technology focused on building the technical capacity of students and practising professionals from diverse fields of design specialism. It was organised in collaboration with Shayona Management Services Pvt. Ltd., a specialised agency in Building Information Modelling (BIM) and LiDAR scanning.

The program began with an online lecture to acquaint participants with the basics of LiDAR operations followed by a brief introduction to the methodologies of on-site assessment and setting up FARO x330 scanner for quick accurate data collection. The following days focused on live demonstrations and detailed discussions on practical aspects of data capture: How to prepare the site for the survey? How to set out the scope of work based on the intent of the survey? How to ensure information is gathered in an accurate and timely manner? The final day of the workshop focused on familiarising everyone with best practices associated with digitisation to ensure seamless integration of information and introduction to easy workflows to process captured data and create error-free sets of survey documents.

As a participant, I thought the workshop was well planned and conceptualised to balance the gap one might experience when learning either in theory or on the job. It did so by covering conceptual and pragmatic aspects that would enable participants to immediately put this skill to use. The initiative also provided an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the survey methodology, deployment strategies, and critical decision-making skills that are crucial for the successful implementation of LiDAR surveys. Personally, I believe this experience has empowered me to easily apply my learning in future projects. The workshop also enabled us to network and learn from fellow attendees through verbal discourse.

In the present world where technology is changing rapidly and there is a need for individuals to keep upgrading their skill sets, the CEPT Conservation Site School is a much-needed addition of space that facilitates skill development through knowledge sharing. 11th May 2021