Dr. Ashwin Mahalingam

Bringing Interdisciplinary Thinking to Project Management

Business and Leadership, Work Culture and Communication

The ContraMinds Podcast is available on

Dr. Ashwin Mahalingam is a Researcher and Advisor.

He is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Madras. Ashwin is also a co-founder of Okapi Advisory Services and serves as a Director on the Board.

He is the Editor of the Engineering Project Organization Journal (EPOJ) and has served on many National Committees.

His research interests are in the areas of  Infrastructure and Construction Management, Cross Cultural Issues in Large Engineering Projects, and Public Private Partnerships (PPP).

Ashwin earned his Bachelor’s Degree from IIT Madras and holds a Master’s Degree and PhD from Stanford University, all in the field of Civil Engineering.

Selected Links​

Connect with Ashwin

IIT Madras Faculty Page

Okapi Research and Advisory

IIT Madras – Department of Civil Engineering

Stanford University – Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

UWaterloo – Promoting Effective Classroom Participation

What is Peer Learning and Why is it Important?

Differentiating Normal, Complex and Megaprojects

Megaproject

Infrastructure


Chennai Metro Rail Project

Chennai Metro Rail (Twitter)

Chennai Metro (Website)

Chennai Metro – Project Status

Drawing Competition at Metro Stations

6 Common Causes of Cost Overruns in Construction Projects

Sydney Opera House Named to Over-Budget Hall of Shame


East-West Gas Pipeline Project (China)

Overview of the West-East Gas Pipeline Project

Social Impact Assessment Survey of the China West-East Gas Pipeline Project  (by the UNDP)


COVID-19 and its Impact on Infrastructure Projects

The Impact of COVID-19 on Infrastructure Projects and Assets (Deloitte)

COVID-19 and Infrastructure: A Very Tricky Opportunity (World Bank)

COVID-19 and a New Resilient Infrastructure Landscape (OECD)

The Golden Triangle of Project Management

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (Government of India)

Understanding the Optimism Bias

Cost Benefit Analysis for Projects: A Step-by-Step Guide

Influence: Overt versus Covert


Michel Foucault and Governmentality

Michel Foucault

Governmentality: Notes on the Thought of Michel Foucault

Three Minute Thought: What Is Governmentality?

Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (eBook)

Sample Megaproject Organization Chart (Image)


Design Thinking and the Stanford d.School

What is Design Thinking?

d.School

d.School Starter Kit


IDEO and the Shopping Cart

Full Length Video (22 minutes)

Short Length Video (8 minutes)


Nagpur Metro Rail Project

Nagpur Metro (Wiki)

Nagpur Metro Rail Project (Website)

Dr. Brijesh Dixit

NEWater (from Singapore)

Explaining the Circular Economy and How Society Can Re-think Progress | Animated Video Essay (Ellen MacArthur Foundation)

Entrepreneurship in times of COVID (Talk by Ashwin Mahlingam)


E-Cell IIT Madras

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

Twitter

Inside IIT Madras’ Deep-Tech Startup Incubator

A Talk on Chess and Music by Prof. Ashwin Mahalingam and Anil Srinivasan


IIT Madras’ 3D Printed House

Finance Minister Inaugurates India’s First 3D Printed House At IIT Madras

Peek inside India’s first ever 3D printed house, as IIT Madras creates history (Video)


Recommended Books

The Jeeves Collection Audiobook (Narrated by Stephen Fry) by P.G. Wodehouse

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari


Professional Engineer License

National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)’s Professional Engineer License

The Institute of Engineers [India]’s Professional Engineer’s Certification


Selected Publications

Megaproject Leadership in the Developing World: An Indian Perspective (A. Mahalingam)

Managing Project Community in Infrastructure Megaprojects (J. Ninan, A. Mahalingam, S. Clegg)

Making Contingent Decisions in Megaprojects – Governance Lessons from an Imitation and Adaptation Perspective (M. Balasubramani, A. Mahalingam)

Branding and Governmentality for Infrastructure Megaprojects: The Role of Social Media (Research Summary)

Engineering Project Organization Journal (EPOJ)

Episode Transcript

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