NICMAR sets up Construction ERP lab

The National Institute of Construction Management and Research (NICMAR) has set up a Construction ERP lab at its Pune campus that would benefit more than 8,000 students nationally. Software giants Microsoft and Aurigo Software Technologies have jointly provided its international standards software to NICMAR to set up this laboratory, which the institute claims to be the first in the country.

NICMAR, the premier research institution in construction management in India, currently has more than 8,000 students across its four premises in India while it runs two development centres in the gulf region.

It runs post-graduate management programmes, under-graduate programme and also distance learning programmes for executives in the architecture, construction and engineering (ACE) vertical.

Speaking to Business Standard, NICMAR director general Dr Mangesh Korgaonker said, "As the size of real estate and infrastructure projects in India is constantly growing, developers need to hire not just civil engineers or architects but project managers. The subject of construction management hence becomes crucial for professionals form the ACE vertical. The Construction ERP lab will help our students learn the most advanced software tools required to handle bigger projects."

Microsoft has agreed to deploy free licenses of its own Dynamics AX ERP software to the lab while Aurigo will implement Brix2009 ERP tool.

"We have set up the first such lab in Pune. Subsequently, we will have similar setups in Hyderabad and Goa as well," Korgaonkar added.