CHANGE IS ALWAYS GOOD & BETTER!’ New Chairman Should Be Called as ‘Ujwal ‘BRIGHT’ D’Souza’- Chief Guest Dr Mahabaleshwara M S, former Managing Director and CEO of Karnataka Bank Ltd (Quoted ‘UJWAL)” meaning ‘BRIGHT) during the Association of Consulting Civil Engineers-India ( ACCE (I) -Mangaluru Chapter Installation Ceremony of Office Bearers for the year 2023-25, held on Wednesday, 10 August 2023 at St Sebastian Hall, Bendore, Mangaluru
Mangaluru: Serving as a Chairman of an organization is a privilege and honour bestowed upon you by club members. When you are selected, your peers have recognized your leadership skills and potential to manage the association effectively. Your term in office will offer many opportunities to learn new skills, enhance the experience of others and grow as a leader. By taking advantage of the many opportunities to learn and grow, your term can have personal and professional development benefits that will last a lifetime. All of the members of your association are part of your team, and it is the chairman’s responsibility to guide members toward reaching the association’s goals.
Having goals and making plans to achieve them are two key steps to being successful. Every office-bearer and every member has his/her important role to fill, and by working together, your association will be able to meet its full potential and serve a vital role in your community. To accommodate these facts, there is a great deal of latitude in how you choose to manage your association as long as you follow the basic association rules/standards. In today’s rapidly changing world, individuals must blend their family demands, work commitments and volunteer work. While the responsibilities of an individual association president/chairman may be demanding, he is able to share challenges, ideas and perspectives with fellow officers.
“A good scientist is a person with original ideas. A good engineer is a person who makes a design that works with as few original ideas as possible,” said Adam S. and for that matter, Er UJWAL D’SOUZA is a person of that calibre. Quoting Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya – “The way to build a nation is to build a good citizen. The majority of the citizens should be efficient, of good character and possess a reasonably high sense of duty. Hard work performed in a disciplined manner will in most cases keep the worker fit and also prolong his life. To give real service, you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money”- and Er Ujwal and his team will surely reach the Mangaluru ACCE (I) to greater heights.
As they say, Change in leadership is always good and better, it was time for a change in Chairmanship to lead The Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (India) -Mangaluru Center (ACCE) for the year 2021-2023. The installation ceremony of the office bearers of ACCE (India)-Mangaluru Chapter was held at St Sebastian’s Hall, Bendore, Mangaluru on Wednesday, 10 August at 7 pm. Live-wire Er Vijay Vishnu Mayya compered the event with his professional talents as always and kept the audience glued to their seats with his punchy and witty dialogues.
Following the invocation by Er Vimal Keerthi Jain, the welcome address was delivered by the Outgoing Chairman of ACCE (I) Mangaluru Unit Er Sathyaranjan Rao, followed by Er Arun Prabha, former Chairman of ACCE (I), and current General Manager (Technical) of Mangaluru Smart City Ltd (MSCL) introducing the In-Coming Chairman Er Ujwal D’souza and the elaborate ancestral history of D’souza. Outgoing chairman, Er Satyaranjan Rao in his farewell speech thanked and appreciated all the support, love and encouragement shown towards him during his two years tenure as Chairman of ACCE-Mangalore Center. He appreciated the changes brought by the team over the past two years, resulting in increased membership, effective management during the pandemic, and successful collaborative activities.
The ceremony was inaugurated by lighting the traditional lamp by chief guest Dr Mahabaleshwara M S, former managing director and CEO of Karnataka Bank Ltd, joined by guest of honour-, Er. J Premkumar N –Governing Council Member, ACCE (I); Er Rajendra Kalbavi – Installing officer and Secretary General, ACCE (I); Er Satyaranjan Rao – Chairman; Clody Jarald Lobo – Secretary; Vice Chairman – Er Ujwal D’Souza; Er. Devendra Shetty – Treasurer, among others. The introduction of the chief guest and Guest of honour was done by Er. Sandeep Rao, the ACCE (I) Mangaluru member.
Then came the moment of the evening, when Er Ujwal D’Souza was installed as the incoming Chairman of ACCE-Mangaluru Center, along with the other team members for the year 2023-25. The Team members for 2023-25, are: Chairman: Ujwal D’Souza; Secretary: Vinod T D’Souza; Treasurer: P Eknath Dandekeri; Managing Committee Vice Chairman: Devdas Kamath; Joint Secretary: Ravi Shankara A N; Joint Treasurer: Shankaranarayana K; Committee Members: Jagadeep Shetty, Mahabala M, Dr HC Chinnagiri Gowda, and Sandeep Rao
In his acceptance speech, Er Ujwal said, “Being a Chairman of this prestigious Association is one of the most vibrant, performing and growing centres of ACCE(I) which nationality is one of the most powerful bodies of professional Civil Engineering Professionals. It is a great honour to be in front of this august assembly to be installed as the Chairman of this premier association which represents the might of Civil Engineering consultants on the one hand and the aspirations of the consultants to not only carry out the profession ethically but also contribute to the growth of the profession and the City. This association has grown by leaps and bounds and is not only a formidable professional force in the region but is regarded as one of the best centres in the country. This is a testimony of the amount of commitment of members and the foresight of the past office bearers who have taken a keen interest in the administration of the association”.
In his inaugural address, the chief guest Dr Mahabaleshwara MS said, “Engineers play a vital role in the development of the nation, so we need to appreciate their great contribution to creating new infrastructures. Giving the examples of the unplanned and unscientific Mangaluru Pumpwell Flyover/Underpass, where it gets flooded during heavy rains, and also the new Bengaluru-Mysuru NH, where a few hundred accidents have taken place, you as engineers need to have an exchange of responsibility, accountability, and commitment, and plan systematically and scientifically.”
“As civil engineers are addressed as nation builders, you all should be proud to be civil engineers. We need to implement integration. And as UJWAL, which means “BRIGHT”, the years under his tenure the ACCE (I) will surely have a BRIGHT future, as it is moving into its 25th anniversary. We all should look for great years ahead of us- we can all work together and come out with great results. Long live Civil Engineering and Civil Engineers!” added Dr Mahabaleshwara MS.
J Prem Kumar, Governing Council member of the Association of Consulting Civil Engineers, praised the Mangaluru Chapter’s active and effective role. As the chapter celebrates its 25th anniversary, the goal of establishing 100 centres by the term’s end was highlighted. The event also included felicitation of Dr Mahabaleshwara MS for his contributions. Er. Rajendra Kalbhavi noted the remarkable achievements of the past two years, which included navigating the challenges of the pandemic and establishing a new centre. He too was felicitated. Three other persons were felicitated-Er Vinod Pinto, for being the president of CREDAI- Mangaluru; Er Balasubramanya Mayya, being President of Nanara Builders Association, Mangaluru; and Sharan Rao (student at NITK, Surathkal) and son of Dr Shubhananda Rao (Acce (I) member) for his achievement as International Master in Chess.
The vote of thanks was proposed by Secretary Vinod T D’Souza, and the glittering ceremony ended with a fellowship dinner, with a bevvy of engineers entertaining the audience with their karaoke talents.
About Er UJWAL D’SOUZA-the Chairman of ACCE (I) -Mangaluru Chapter for 2023-25:
MANAGING PARTNER – MARIAN INFRASTRUCTURES, MANGALURU; DIRECTOR – O&A – MARIAN PROJECTS PVT. LTD., MANGALURU;
QUALIFICATION:
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING-UNIVERSITY OF BANGALORE –RV COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING; DIPLOMA IN M.S.PROJECTS;n CERTIFICATE COURSES IN A-CAD; CERTIFICATE COURSES FROM ASCE; CERTIFICATE IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT
ASSOCIATION/MEMBERSHIP:
FELLOW MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF CONSTRUCTION CIVIL ENGINEERS (INDIA); PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER-ENGINEERING COUNCIL OF INDIA (ECI); SERVED AS SECRETARY AND VICE-CHAIRMAN, ACCE(I) MANGALORE CENTRE; TRAINED INTERNAL QUALITY AUDITOR (BVQI)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: TOTAL YEAR OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE -33 YEARS- INDIA – 24 YEARS; BRUNEI, QATAR & SPAIN-9 YEARS
BRIEF HISTORY :
VAST EXPERIENCE IN THE EXECUTION OF MULTI-STORIED BUILDINGS, INFRASTRUCTURE-RELATED WORKS, COMMERCIAL COMPLEXES, FIRE STATIONS, MEDICAL COLLEGE CAMPUSES, AND ENGINEERING COLLEGE CAMPUSES INCLUDING KNOWLEDGE IN VARIOUS TYPES OF PILING.; EXPERIENCE IN OIL & GAS INDUSTRY INSTALLATIONS VIZ; REFINERY HOUSING, SUBSTATIONS, INSTALLATIONS OF JET FUEL LINES, PETROLEUM HEADQUARTER BUILDINGS, MULTI-PURPOSE WORKSHOP COMPLEX.ETC; HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE IN INSTALLATIONS SUCH AS HYDROPNEUMATIC PUMPING SYSTEMS, PLUMBING & SANITARY INSTALLATIONS, FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEMS & CONSTRUCTION OF SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS;
HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE IN HANDLING/IMPLEMENTING CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY VIZ.; CONCRETE BATCHING PLANTS, EARTH MOVING MACHINERY, VERTICAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS TO LARGE HEIGHTS OF MANPOWER & MATERIAL, TOWER CRANES ETC; KNOWLEDGE OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTATION; KNOWLEDGE OF QA/QC PROCEDURES & IMPLEMENTATION PERTAINING TO BUILDING CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY; KNOWLEDGE OF EPIC PROJECTS, TENDERS, MECHANICAL COMPLETION OF PROJECTS.
MAJOR PROJECTS EXPERIENCE:
650 UNITS –APARTMENTS COMPLEX AT VIJAY NAGAR BANGALORE, INDIA; MANGALORE REFINERY & PETROCHEMICALS- 42 NOS HOUSING QUARTERS (BUILDINGS), SUBSTATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURAL WORKS, CONTROL STATION AT MANGALORE PORT, -MANGALORE, HOUSING SCHEMES FOR GOVERNMENT OF BRUNEI, WITH RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE; COMMUNITY CENTRE FOR GOVERNMENT OF BRUNEI.; MULTIPURPOSE WORKSHOP FOR QATAR PETROLEUM (PRE-ENGINEERED BUILDINGS); HEADQUARTERS BUILDINGS FOR QATAR PETROLEUM; FIRE STATIONS FOR QATAR PETROLEUM – REFINERY COMPLEX; COMMERCIAL COMPLEX FOR QATAR PETROLEUM; COMPOSITE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION IN BARCELONA, SPAIN; LARGE SCALE TOWNSHIP COMPLEX AT OLD AIRPORT ROAD, BANGALORE; LARGE SCALE APARTMENTS HOUSING (HIGHRISE) IN MANGALORE WITH RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE; FAST TRACK FACTORY BUILDINGS AT INNA, PADUBIDRI, UDUPI TQ
COMPANIES WORKED:
SKYLINE CONSTRUCTIONS LTD; BANGALORE, INDIA- SENIOR ENGINEER; GALFAR ENGINEERING & CONTRACTING – BRUNEI DARUSSALAM-SITE ENGINEER; MFAR CONSTRUCTIONS LTD-BANGALORE, INDIA- DEPUTY CONSTRUCTION MANAGER; ALMUFTAH CONTRACTING – DOHA, QATAR- SENIOR ENGINEER; HARRY BCN-BARCELONA SPAIN-PROJECT COORDINATOR; INDU PROJECTS LTD- BANGALORE, INDIA- ASST. GENERAL MANAGER; EMMANUEL CONSTRUCTIONS PVT LTD- PROJECTS CO-ORDINATOR; MARIAN PROJECTS PVT LTD, MANGALORE INDIA- DIRECTOR (O&A)
AWARDS/HONORS:
ANANTHA MITHRA KALBHAVI AWARD – ACCE(I) MANGALORE CENTRE & RAMCO CEMENTS LTD. DURING ENGINEERS DAY CELEBRATIONS – 2017; FELICITATION BY SRINIVAS UNIVERSITY, MUKKA ON ENGINEERS DAY CELEBRATIONS – SEPTEMBER 2018; FELICITATION BY LIONS CLUB/LIONESS CLUB/LEO CLUB MANGALORE DIST 317D ON ENGINEERS & TEACHERS DAY CELEBRATION ON 18TH SEPTEMBER 2018; EMINENT ENGINEER AWARD ON ENGINEERS DAY CELEBRATIONS BY ACCE(I) MANGALORE CENTRE & RAMCO CEMENTS LTD. ON 15TH SEPTEMBER 2022
ACADEMIA PARTICIPATION, INTERACTION & TRAINING PROGRAMS:
MOU’S WITH SJEC, VAMANJUR, MANGALORE & MIT, MANIPAL FOR INDUSTRIAL TRAINING TO CIVIL ENGINEERING STUDENTS; INDUSTRY EXPERT FOR BOS (BOARD OF STUDIES) AT SJEC, VAMANJUR, MANGALORE; IMPARTED INDUSTRY RELATED TRAINING PROGRAMS (ONSITE & ONLINE) FOR ENGINEERING STUDENTS OF VARIOUS ENGINEERING COLLEGES SINCE 2014 & CONTINUING
