When I first applied for the MIP fellowship I was a little bit sceptical because I had to leave the current job, I was not sure if this experience would benefit my professional development and more and more similar thoughts. Now that I completed the fellowship and returned back in Albania I am convinced that I made the right decision by applying at MIP fellowship.
I joined the Virtual, Design & Construction (VDC) team of DPR Construction in January 2019. DPR Construction is one of the largest general contractor/construction management company in USA by developing large commercial, healthcare, advanced technology projects. Being part of such large projects and implementing cutting edge methodology and tools of the construction industry was a unique experience. My involvement consisted in implementing 4D BIM construction scheduling and project management. More specifically by implementing the 4D scheduling tools in planning phase was possible to identify possible issues that can occur during construction before it starts by minimizing projects risks. In execution phase the 4D BIM tool was used to track the production in every day basis and the project team had a real time information on the progress of the project.
An important component of the MIP fellowship was the executive education program “Leading Change in Complex Organisation” at MIT – Sloan School of Management in Boston. The program presented innovative perspective on organizational challenges, offering proven tools and frameworks to address them. The issues examined in the program – ranging from digitization to dynamic work design to workplace meritocracy – apply across sectors, industries, regions and technical domains.
During the 6-month period I had the opportunity to travel in different places, meet new people, and to be part of community initiatives. Through all these activities I came closer to the US culture and made new friends.
After completing this 6-month program my goal is to implement most of this knowledge and know-how in Albania. My desire is that in the future to change the headline of this post to: “Get that kind of USA experience also in Albania”.
Andon Qirushi