CEED 2018 Topper Interview: Rank 3, Akshay Arvind Kamthe likes adventure cycling & sketching

Result - 4 Mar '26

Updated on Sep 1, 2021 19:26 IST

With a score of 71.42 in CEED 2018, Akshay Arvind Kamthe secured AIR 3 in the design entrance exam conducted by IIT Bombay. Shiksha spoke to Akshay to know how he cracked CEED 2018.

With a score of 71.42 in CEED 2018, Akshay Arvind Kamthe secured AIR 3 in the design entrance exam conducted by IIT Bombay and became one of the toppers of CEED exam. When asked if he expected to secure this rank, Akshay very modestly replied, “Not at all”. Having worked as a Senior Vehicle Designer at an electric mobility startup based in Bangalore called Ultraviolette automotive for two years, Akshay applied for courses like Transportation design, Product design and UI/UX in CEED 2018.

Talking about himself, Akshay shared that his parents are into estate business and that he pursues multiple hobbies. Elaborating on the same, he said, “I enjoy adventure cycling especially mountain cycling, impromptu travelling, aircraft and military vehicle model building, painting, sketching, motorcycling etc”.

Shiksha got talking to Akshay to know his prep strategy and how he cracked CEED 2018. Read the detailed interview below for more insights.

Q. Congratulations on getting Rank 3 in CEED 2018! What is your score?

In Part A I scored 38.8 and in Part B it was 82.3. My CEED 2018 score is 71.42.

Q. Why did you think of pursuing design?

I was inclined towards fine arts and sketching from a very early age, and my parents saw my skills lay in the field of art. During junior school, 4^th grade, I went to a military expo and things just changed after that, I started sketching vehicles, tanks, guns, jet planes. This was where art and aspect of design started coming together. This interest was highly appreciated by my parents and school teachers, and someone said, why don’t you do designing, instead of engineering? And that was that.

Q. How did you prepare for the exam?

There is no fixed way you can prepare for CEED exam. But first, you have to be aware of the current affairs, history, geography and culture of our beautiful country. This is a MUST! And read newspapers. And apart from this, it is all about common sense and your passion to solve problems with finesse. Actually, I did not prepare for the exam.

Q. Which coaching class did you join?

None.

Q. When should one start preparing for the exam?

If you are aware of things happening around the globe, you are already one step closer to score well in exam. One should also go through design ideas and student/professional design portfolios and understand the process and the logic behind it, and always keep asking question like “why this” and “why not”. After this, time required to get a good score in CEED would be significantly less.

Q. How long did you prepare for the exam and how many hours did you study in a day?

I went through older exam papers few times. Did take 2 to 3 hours of the day.

Q. Did you refer to any important books or study material? What were they?

I just surfed Google.

Q. Are there any important topics to score well?

Indian culture, geography, choose and solve the design question in which you are sure you will be good at.

Q. Any preparation tips from your experience?

Part A is mostly about application of common sense, strong focus to find flaws in patterns, and general knowledge.

Part B is about solving design problems with form and function. Some questions are inclined towards pure functionality and few test your hand and visualisation skills. And the 50 mark question is where one needs to apply form, feasibility, function, without forgetting laws of physics (if you are looking out for anything in industrial design).

Q. What as per you, are the mistakes one should avoid while preparing for the exam?

Don’t over think, don’t stress yourself.

Q. How did you manage time while giving the exam?

It was tough. It was one of the most exhaustive exams I have appeared for. I spent little bit more time on the questions with higher marks. Because of you get them right, it’s a big bonus. For MCQ’s, answer each within a minute. And eventually one can end up saving around 5 to 10 minutes, in part A. This is very valuable, you can go back and re-check the answers ticked/given. Whereas Part B requires one to direct a story, and convey the answer through hand skills. To better that, one should practice sketching every day and do quick design projects once in a while. In short, you have to be really fast to sketch down your ideas on paper.

Q. What mistakes should one avoid while giving the exam in order to score well?

Don’t lose your calm, don’t be in a hurry. Don’t forget to wear a wrist watch.

Q. Which as per you, was the most difficult part of CEED exam?

Solving the Part B within 2 hours time was the most difficult part of the exam.

Q. Is there any section that plays the deciding factor for getting shortlisted in the exam?

All the sections are important and all of them play the deciding factor.

Q. How are you preparing for the interview round?

Making a design portfolio is a must. The jury must be able to see the skills and passion and attitude towards design through the portfolio. Portfolios speak louder than anyone else in the jury room.