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A parent's perspective: MPlan City Planning

1 April 2021

A group of MPlan students recently won second place in the Penang Bay Competition. Following on from her daughter, Kulkiran's success at the competition, Ipninder Bedi has been in touch to give her perspective of UCL and The Bartlett School of Planning.

Ipninder and Kulkiran Bedi in front of the Portico

My daughter, Kulkiran Bedi is a second year M. Plan City Planning student at the UCL Bartlett School of Planning. From a Parent’s perspective, the experience at UCL has been marvellous indeed! I had accompanied my daughter to London from India in September 2019.We were fortunate that the world had not yet heard of the alarming Coronavirus; so, we were lucky to have a perfectly normal Orientation day.

I still remember my very first glimpse of the majestic main UCL building, called the Wilkin’s building; as I trudged along – trying to keep up with my daughter, as we walked down to the university from the nearby Euston Underground tube station. Parents were posing for photos with their offspring as a memory of the ‘First Day’ and we excitedly did the same! (image above).

The Faculty members and senior students were very friendly and helpful. A senior PhD student gave us a tour of the impressive UCL campus, which was of utmost help in finding our bearings later on. It was awe inspiring to have a look at the well-preserved statue of Jeremy Bentham, one of the Founders of UCL. The tour also included a round of the various departments and cafeterias as well as the sprawling Student Centre.

The MPlan Director Dr. Michael Short is wonderful in his approach to parents and students alike. He had the foresight, while embarking on this new venture (A two-year Master’s course in City Planning) to bring together students from all over the world and varied academic backgrounds. He has instilled confidence in them to the level of not only competing in competitions at an International level- but also winning them!!!

Five young budding town planners set foot in an International arena, rubbing shoulders with the likes of global professional architects and town planners. Their unique ideas, coupled with enthusiasm and hard work, paid off. They brought laurels to their alma mater as they bagged the second prize worldwide! The esteemed mentors have made these students confident to ‘Reach for the Stars!’

Congratulations to one and all. This is only the beginning for many more chapters to unfold!

Read more about the competition and our students' entry on the BSP website.

The Virtual Award Ceremony is available online at: https://fb.watch/4gt0VjvEzK/. The full competition entry is on the website: https://penangbaycompetition.com.my/winner/.