Regular industry and field visits help us experience how real-life businesses work, says Naitri Mehta

I was a Commerce student during my high school days. However, soon after opting for the stream, I realised that I did not belong to this field. I had a knack for designing more and thought of pursuing the same as my professional degree after school. But there comes a point in every student's life where they are made to choose between different courses and colleges. I was confused as Designing is a vast domain that covers Fashion, Interiors, Graphics, among others. After giving it a deep thought, I decided to choose Interior Designing. Now another challenge was to explore colleges and decide which one to opt for. While exploring the best colleges in the city for Interior Designing, I came across INSD Kandivali - International School of Design. The college offers various three-year and four-year undergraduate degree courses in the field of Designing. 

To know more about the admission process, placements, curriculum, fee and other aspects of the institute, I reached out to the admissions team. I was informed that admission to the undergraduate programmes is offered on a merit basis. But before that, they handed me over a basic questionnaire to analyse my interest in this domain. Also, I was undergoing drawing and designing classes to improve my drawing skills. The team introduced me to the faculty members who were highly experienced and qualified in their own fields. Also, before making the final decision, I chose to speak to a couple of alumni about the placements, opportunities, curriculum, etc. to have a basic understanding of their experience at the campus. To my amazement, all the reviews were very encouraging and positive. Even some of the alumni told me about the industry embedded curriculum at the institute which is updated quite frequently in joint efforts with the industry stalwarts and business executives. The state-of-the-art infrastructure at the campus also contributed to influencing my decision to join the institute. After all these level checks, I got through with the admission process of INSD. Despite the fact that I do not come from a design background, the faculty made sure that the curriculum is delivered in a way that all the students are on the same page. Regular workshops and exhibitions equally contribute to the student's development.

The team introduced me to the faculty members who were highly experienced and qualified in their own fields. Also, before making the final decision, I chose to speak to a couple of alumni about the placements, opportunities, curriculum, etc. to have a basic understanding of their experience at the campus.

Talking of the classroom sessions, we have three-hour-long lectures for every subject which includes theory classes, practical sessions and presentations designed and delivered by students. After regular classroom sessions, we have extracurricular activities to indulge in. This includes students driven workshops, exhibitions and other events that not only make students realise their leadership qualities but also gives them a sense of working in the business environment. As a motivational factor, students are offered merit and participation certificates.

Besides these on-campus activities, we are regularly taken to industry and field visits to experience how real-life business works. A lot of businesss executives there present us various new-age designing techniques and processes to make completion of tasks effectively and easier. We are also given an equal opportunity to host a complete ramp show in which all students are assigned duties as per their expertise. I believe, joining the INSD was the right choice. The journey so far has been successfully transforming me into a new and a more confident person.

After regular classroom sessions, we have extracurricular activities to indulge in. This includes students driven workshops, exhibitions and other events that not only make students realise their leadership qualities but also gives them a sense of working in the business environment.

Going forward, I would like to do a Master’s degree in the same domain and also aspire to be an entrepreneur in the future.

About the author:

Naitri Mehta is a first-year interior designing student at the INSD Kandivali - International School of Design. She likes to paint, dance, read books, travel and watching documentaries. Her reading hobby and interests to learn new software has helped her gain interest in this field.

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