Hada was also selected as a resource person to deliver lecture and support on preparing fellows project to 105 participants on Comprehensive Crisis Management Course from Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii, USA in June, 2014.
Currently, she's also involved in Chahari Old Aged Home project with Hada Design Associates as a Principal Architect and team leader. She talked to Republica's Poonam Maharjan about her career, challenges as an architect, and her future plans.
Tell us about your first job experience. How was it different or similar to what you had studied in class?
Soon after my undergraduate studies in Architecture from Nepal Engineering College in 2001, I started working as an architect at the Institute of Engineering Consultancy Services. I worked there for a year. Simultaneously, I also worked part time as an instructor at Thapathali Engineering Campus.
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I really learnt a lot at work. In class, we were given a really brief lesson on AutoCAD software and I didn’t really know how to use it properly. So at work, I mastered in using the software.
As a student of architecture, you feel like you have the liberty to design just about anything, you put so much of effort and imagination to work out that perfect design. But when you actually work, you don’t have the liberty to experiment with so much imagination. There isn’t much scope to put your creativity to use until you reach a certain position.
What about your experiences at the UN agencies?
I worked with UNDP’s Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management Program as the Project Officer to support the government in Emergency Preparedness and Response activities and Early Recovery Planning in Nepal. As a focal point for Early Recovery of UNDP, I led, coordinated and implemented the Early Recovery and Disaster Risk Reduction Project in which I provided technical support and monitored earthquake resilient re-construction, renovation and retrofitting of school buildings including community based disaster risk reduction activities in eastern Nepal. While working as a Project Engineer in UNDP, Earthquake Risk Reduction and Recovery Preparedness Program, I supported capacity enhancement of the municipalities and the government’s departments for earthquake resistant building design and construction, municipal profile, risk sensitive land use planning, and implementation of the Nepal National Building Code.
How did you land up in EcoPowerTech?
After my contract with UNDP was over in 2014, I was invited by the Korean Government to attend an international expo from where I got an offer to work for them. When I learnt about this company, I was excited, because this isn’t really the kind of technical work I specialize in. And I decided that it was exciting to do something new. As the regional director for South Asia, I’m more into coordination to South Asian research for the products the company has developed to offer. I’m quite happy till date.
What does it take to become a successful professional?
Besides the right qualifications and required technical expertise, you need to be passionate about what you do. In today’s competitive job market, it’s extremely important to have a good network with people, and you have to be able to market yourself appropriately. An outgoing personality is always preferred in any sector of work today.
What do you consider to be your biggest achievement till date?
The fact that I’ve been able to maintain a balance between my professional and personal life is what I consider to be my biggest achievement. As a woman, as a mother of a five-year-old, it can be really difficult at times, especially because my nature of work is such that I have to frequently travel. Also, from the time I graduated as an architect and now, lots of things have changed. And having been able to adapt to and adopt the changes is something I’m proud of.
Any advice to future architects?
Instead of being city-centric, they should branch out and be willing to work outside the capital, too. There are newly announced municipalities, and there’s a huge scope of work there than in already concrete-clustered cities like Kathmandu. At least for a few years, I recommend them to work outside Kathmandu.
