The college provides a year of experience in various disciplines of the design before choosing majors, says Saipriya

I see design as ‘a precaution which is better than cure’. In these lines, I have found that Design is such a space that we have the artistic freedom to incorporate or change the psychology behind all that we, as people, use and are introduced to (from daily used products, ever consuming visuals to basic necessities like clothes). I decided to take up the Arts stream in Class 11. And the reason I picked this subject was that I was confident I was going ahead with Design as a career option, and Arts had Design as one of the subjects that could help me get through the Design entrance exams.

To enter into graduation in the Design stream, one must take part in some of the preliminary entrance exams, such as UCEED, NID and NATA. And, in order to prepare for the same, I decided to go through a five-month training cycle with one of the renowned coaching classes in Bangalore. There, I got to know about the academics, the professors and the prospects at Anant National University. One of the key reasons for selecting Anant National University, besides having the right impact, was the college providing a year of experience in various disciplines of the design before encouraging its students to make a choice in the second year. It was something that provided room and time to consider real Architecture for those of us who had questions about the topic to be able to rationalise one discipline.

One of the key reasons for selecting Anant National University, besides having the right impact, was the college providing a year of experience in various disciplines of the design before encouraging its students to make a choice in the second year.

Anant University conducts an entrance exam twice a year i.e., January and May. This proved to be beneficial for me as I could not appear in the January cycle so I appeared in the May cycle. I found out from a friend of mine who wrote the first one that the exam was very college-specific as compared to other national qualifying exams. The exam has two sections, one written section comprising of aptitude, sketching, creative thinking related questions and the second-round was more about practical and 3D solutions. Besides Anant National University, I also applied for a couple of more colleges such as UID, Shrishti, MID and DJAD. Fortunately, I was able to secure a seat in all of them. But looking at the past trends, students’ reviews and opportunities offered, I chose to move ahead with BDes course at Anant National University.

I have recently completed the third semester of the curriculum. But in my experience, we were offered a plethora of compulsory subjects and a group of electives to choose from for better understanding. Being a design institute, the college offers the latest technology-enabled studios and maker’s lab (with or without material such as clay, wood, paper, etc.) to expose students to the practical aspects of the concepts learned in class. Besides daily interactive classroom sessions, the institute regularly invites prominent industry dignitaries and experts to deliver lectures on recent trends in the market and new practices adopted by the industry so as to help us become industry-ready.

Being a design institute, the college offers the latest technology-enabled studios and maker’s lab (with or without material such as clay, wood, paper, etc.) to expose students to the practical aspects of the concepts learned in class.

The various experience and events at the college in the last three semesters have improved my overall leadership skills, communication, design skills, organisational skills, marketing and coordination skills. As and when I get the opportunity, I try my best to participate in all the events. As of now, I am a part of the dance club, music society, debate club and travel club and I am still open to take up different roles in other societies and clubs at the institute. If given a chance, I would like to begin a chain of traditional events at the institute on monthly basis with an aim to learn new verticals of design on ongoing basis.

No institute is flawless, but Anant National University has provided a new sense of enthusiasm for the subject with a faculty/guest faculty that brings love for what they teach, a simple insight into the world as it is, freedom to make mistakes and learn without being spoon-fed, admiration and compassion for even the most minute activities, new interactions and many more lessons.

About the author:

Saipriya is a student of BDes programme at Anant National University. Besides majoring in Product Design and minoring in Graphic Design, she is constantly shifting and organising while doing mundane things in a variety of ways to find multiple perspectives. The rest of her hobbies include dancing, a variety of art, music, writing, volunteering and spirituality.       

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of shiksha