Josh Luckens interviews Ilyas Bhatti, Professor of Construction Management at Wentworth, who reflects upon his rich career in public service and the connections that have defined it by sharing stories and lessons learned.

Ilyas Bhatti is the Interim Dean of the School of Management at the Wentworth Institute of Technology and has been a beloved professor of Construction Management at Wentworth for 21 years.

As a child in Lahore, Pakistan, he nearly died of typhoid, which he contracted from contaminated drinking water. After training as a civil engineer in Pakistan, he immigrated to the United States and worked in wastewater and watershed management, rising to become the director of the public water supply for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

He then served as the Metropolitan District Commissioner under both Democrat and Republican governors of Massachusetts, helping to manage the Big Dig, the largest infrastructure project in the history of the United States.

Bhatti shares how he inspires his students to be inquisitive and engaged in the classroom, and why sparking curiosity in college students sets them up to be adaptive and resilient professionals.

He stresses the importance of sharing positive feedback and real-life examples with students, helping them to see the relevance of their work and reframe failures as learning opportunities.

Bhatti highlights the power of supportive relationships in education, stressing that teaching and learning is a two-way street. In his words: “By sharing knowledge, you enhance your own knowledge.”

Learn more about Construction Management at Wentworth

(March, 2022)