Oakridge International School Bengaluru to become first Design EngineerConstruct! school in India, adopted by RICS

Oakridge International School Bengaluru is set to become the first school in India to deliver Design Engineer Construct!® (‘DEC’), the award-winning built environment learning programme created by Class Of Your Own (COYO), in a landmark school adoption by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The partnership brings together a globally respected professional body and a forward thinking international school to inspire young people, support teachers and open new pathways into surveying, construction, infrastructure, design, digital technology and the wider built environment.

Following a personal request to “help find the perfect DEC school” from COYO’s founder Alison Watson MBE, the Rt Hon Lord Jim Knight, who has supported the DEC programme since hosting its launch at the House of Lords in 2013, introduced Oakridge Principal Kavita Sukhani. The “perfect school” would ultimately work with local school teachers to support the growth of a local talent pipeline.

Already an advocate for social impact and opportunities to enhance community activities, Principal Sukhani readily agreed to open the school’s doors as a future DEC Teacher Training hub. The model will enable local teachers to train alongside Oakridge staff, creating a practical example of social responsibility in which an independent school helps widen access to high quality built environment education across its wider community.

Class Of Your Own will also work with teachers and students to develop a new “Design a Community Data Centre” project, challenging students to explore how data centres can be designed to serve communities responsibly. They will consider location, energy, water, digital infrastructure, security, resilience, biodiversity, social value and the needs of local people using cutting-edge, industry standard tools.

This exciting new DEC Award will then be shared with DEC Schools around the world, enabling children and young people in different countries to investigate one of the most important infrastructure challenges of the digital age through a built environment lens. The launch comes at a significant moment for India. With major investment in infrastructure, urban development, digital delivery, sustainability, construction innovation and data centre growth, the country needs a diverse pipeline of young people who understand how the built environment is planned, designed, costed, constructed, managed and improved.

Through DEC, students work as professional teams on authentic design projects. They take on roles linked to real careers, use industry informed processes and develop the knowledge, confidence and employability skills needed to understand how buildings, infrastructure and places shape society.

RICS’ adoption of Oakridge International School Bengaluru will connect students and teachers with early careers apprentices and graduates and chartered professionals, whose expertise spans surveying, construction, infrastructure, project management, commercial management, sustainability, land, real estate and the wider built and natural environment.

As the first DEC school in India, Oakridge International School Bengaluru will also provide a visible model for other schools, professional bodies and employers. The ambition is to create a scalable approach in which established schools can support teacher training, professional bodies can provide sustained expertise and young people from a wider range of communities can access meaningful built environment learning.

Alison Watson MBE, Founder and Chief Executive of Class Of Your Own, said: “Launching the first DEC school in India is a very special milestone, but the real opportunity is to create a model that can grow. Oakridge International School Bengaluru has the vision, leadership and generosity to show how an independent school can work with a global professional body to support young people, teachers and communities.

“Data centres are essential to modern life, but they raise important questions about energy, water, land, resilience, security and social value. By developing the Design a Community Data Centre DEC Award with Oakridge, students in India will help shape a global learning resource for DEC Schools around the world.”

Kavita Sukhani, Principal of Oakridge International School Bengaluru, said:

“We are proud that Oakridge International School Bengaluru, part of Nord Anglia Education, will become the first DEC school in India. DEC will give our students a practical and inspiring way to explore design, engineering, construction, surveying, sustainability and digital technology through real world learning.

“We are especially pleased to support the development of a DEC Teacher Training hub. This gives us an opportunity to share practice, support local teachers and help create wider access to built environment learning across Bengaluru and beyond.”

Nick Maclean OBE RD FRICS, President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said:

“As a global professional body, RICS has a responsibility to help inspire and support the next generation of built environment professionals. Our adoption of Oakridge International School Bengaluru through Design Engineer Construct! reflects our commitment to education, professional standards and social value.

“By connecting students and teachers with RICS members and industry expertise, we can help young people understand the impact that surveying and the built environment have on communities, economies and the planet.”

The Rt Hon Lord Jim Knight said:

“India’s young people will play a vital role in shaping the future of sustainable cities, infrastructure, digital systems and communities. DEC offers a powerful way to connect education with real professional practice, giving students insight into careers they may never otherwise have considered.

“I am delighted to have helped introduce this opportunity to Oakridge International School Bengaluru, and I look forward to seeing how this professional body and school partnership can grow as a model for India.”

This partnership is intended to become a practical blueprint for social responsibility in education: a structured, long term model that helps teachers teach, helps professionals give back and helps young people understand how buildings, infrastructure and places shape society.