From Engineer to Educator: The Automation Journey by Muhammad Saqlain Awan
Discover how Saqlain turned repetitive engineering work into a global learning community using automation and Rhino.Inside.Revit.
When Mohammad Saqlain Awan started his career as a civil engineer, he had no plan to become a teacher—or a community builder.
He simply wanted to stop wasting time on repetitive work.
Yet that personal frustration turned into a thriving online community that now helps engineers worldwide master Rhino.Inside.Revit and computational design automation.
The Turning Point: Repetition Breeds Innovation
Saqlain began in the trenches—running calculations, editing parameters, and redrawing plans again and again.
His “aha” moment came while working on a project that required changing 15 to 20 parameters across dozens of Revit models.
Instead of doing it manually, he built a Grasshopper + Excel workflow that automated the entire process.
What once took days now ran in under an hour.
That small breakthrough planted the seed: if one problem could be automated, so could hundreds of others.
The Deep Dive into Computational Design
Rhino.Inside.Revit opened new creative doors.
By experimenting with data structures, scripting, and APIs, Saqlain learned how to connect geometry and building data seamlessly.
Soon, what began as job-saving hacks evolved into reusable tools, shared solutions, and custom reinforcement components.
Each fix solved a real-world pain point—and each note he documented became a building block for something bigger.
Building a Community Out of Curiosity
Over a year, Saqlain’s personal “library of fixes” grew into 100 + lessons and 20 + hours of structured modules.
Rather than let it collect dust, he launched the Rhino.Inside.Revit Community, organized into:
Dedicated categories for modeling, API, and parameter issues
A classroom with step-by-step learning paths
Tips & Tricks modules addressing common bugs
Project challenges for real implementation
1-on-1 mentorship for advanced users
Members don’t just learn—they collaborate, troubleshoot, and even co-design new components with developers.
Lessons Any Business Owner Can Apply
Saqlain’s story mirrors a universal business truth: systemize what works and share it.
Document your process. Every solved problem is potential training material.
Automate repetition. Replace manual effort with repeatable workflows.
Create community leverage. Teaching what you’ve mastered multiplies your reach.
Close the feedback loop. Let user pain points guide your product roadmap.
Iterate publicly. Visibility accelerates trust and growth.
Automation isn’t just about speed—it’s about freeing your mind to innovate.
The Future: AI as a Co-Teacher
Saqlain’s next step is a custom GPT trained on Rhino.Inside.Revit data.
By feeding it structured JSON information from his own research, he’s creating a tool that helps users:
Identify the right component instantly
Understand hidden inputs and limitations
Learn faster without endless forum scrolling
This evolution—from manual tinkering to AI-powered guidance—shows how technical curiosity can evolve into global impact.
Zoom Out, Reflect, Build
Whenever Saqlain hits a wall, he remembers his mother’s words:
“Zoom out and look at what you’ve already achieved. Gratitude attracts progress.”
That mindset applies to any entrepreneur.
When you zoom out, you stop reacting and start designing systems that scale.
If this journey speaks to you, you’ll get even more from the complete episode.
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