Olayinka Omoboye, Chartered Quantity Surveyor, Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Senior Lecturer at Westminster, and Soundarya Sethi, Real Estate BSc Honours student, have both been shortlisted for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) Matrics Surveyor Awards 2026. Soundarya has been recognised in the Student of the Year category while, Olayinka has been shortlisted as an Impact Champion of the Year.
The awards celebrate the highest standards of professionalism, innovation and achievement within the built environment, recognising individuals who are making an outstanding contribution to the profession and demonstrating their potential as future leaders.
Soundarya is a Real Estate BSc Honours student and President of the University’s Real Estate Society. She was named as a University Society Speaker for The Developer’s Club’s Future of Development Conference 2025 and was the winner of Developer’s Women in Property South East Student awards.
About the nomination Dr Jan Wilcox, Senior Lecturer in Real Estate, said: “It has been a delight to teach Soundarya. From day one she has been focused on extracting maximum value from her studies. She whole-heartedly embraces every opportunity for extra-curricular activities offered to her, and creates more of her own. As President of the Real Estate Society she has forged valuable connections across other London universities, raising the profile of the University of Westminster, and has created an enviable network at this stage in her career. She has a seemingly limitless capacity to take on more work having already done, I think, five internships before starting her final year and has also assisted me with various employability and outreach events. Whatever the outcome, I am very proud of her for being shortlisted for this prestigious award.”
Soundarya Sethi and Jan Wilcox
Joining Soundarya is Olayinka Omoboye, who has been shortlisted for the Impact Champion of the Year award. Olayinka holds a PhD in Quantity Surveying and has expertise within construction contract auditing and risk management. He was nominated for the wider impact of his work across education, professional development and the surveying profession through supporting colleagues, students and mentees with professional accreditation and qualification pathways. He has supported professionals through mentoring, application reviews, mock assessments and career development, helping many progress towards chartered status and greater professional confidence.
The nomination also reflects his work leading improvements in the Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management BSc Honours course, strengthening professional-body engagement and helping students connect their university education more directly with professional practice.
Through his involvement with the Artificial Intelligence for Quantity Surveying (AI4QS) initiative and the BRIEF Responsible AI Competence Framework, he has extended this impact into responsible AI and digital capability within Quantity Surveying, bringing together academia, professional bodies and industry to support the profession in responding constructively to technological change.
Olayinka said: “Being shortlisted is both humbling and energising. I see it as recognition not only of my own work, but also of the students, colleagues, professional bodies and partners. The University of Westminster has provided an important platform for this work, and I am proud that its impact is being recognised nationally. Whatever the final outcome, I hope the shortlisting encourages others to use their expertise to create opportunities and positive change across the profession.”
Both Soundarya and Olayinka’s work directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4: Quality Education and 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Find out more about Construction, Surveying and Real Estate courses at the University of Westminster.
