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A Talk by Mrs. Barkha Kedia Agrawal

Ms. Barkha Kedia Agrawal is an International Long Distance Swimmer. She is recipient of the “Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award” (Equivalent to Arjuna Award) at the hands of Honourable Prime Minister Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpai, on 20th May 2003 in New Delhi. She was felicitated by Honourable President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, in Rashtrapati Bhavan New Delhi, for achieving excellence in the field of swimming. Barkha has successfully crossed the Gibraltar Strait from Spain to Morocco, a distance of 22.2 km in 3 Hrs. 50min, establishing the record of “Second Fastest Woman in the World” in crossing of Gibraltar Strait on 14th September 2001. At that time the waves in the sea were 19-20 feet high and the water temperature was 19⁰ C. She has successfully crossed the most prestigious and challenging of all the channels in the world, The English Channel from England to France, a distance of 39km in 17Hrs. 12Min. on 25th September 2001.

She addressed the students, faculty and staff of DJAD and DJAME on 25th March 2019, on her journey as a sports woman. She concluded on the inspiring note that the students need to develop endurance and focus in order to achieve their goals in life.

Inauguration of Cafeteria

In order to accommodate the long pending requirement of availability of titbits on campus, a cafeteria is now functional. Keeping in mind health hazards of fast food, only healthy snacks are available here. This will be functional in the forenoon from 10am to 12pm and in the afternoon from 3pm to 10pm.

International recognition for D J Academy of Design student – Ms. Kiran.S

COVID 19 has thrown up challenges of various nature. IIT Bombay recently organisedD’source Corona Design Challenge in seeking creative, innovative, out-of-the-box, design solutions to current challenges incurred by the coronavirus threat.

Kiran.S, a second Year Post Graduate student of D J Academy of Design, had taken part and not very surprisingly came out successful in this International competition. There were more than 2,000 entries from 1,242 participants from 52 countries. Her work, an illustrated book titled ‘HOPE’ has been selected to be awarded with the winner’s trophy in an event during May 2021 at IIT Bombay.

The style throughout the book is inspired by Kalamkari art form, which is hand painted. The same is used traditionally for block printing on sarees. Kalamkari would give a very different view to a children’s book as the style has hand painting effect and the same carries throughout the book, says Kiran.S.

Collaboration with Alagappa University

Alagappa University is located at Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu, and was brought into existence by a Special Act of the Government of Tamil Nadu in May 1985 with the objective of fostering research, development and dissemination of knowledge in various branches of learning. Alagappa University is recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India.

National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) of UGC accredited Alagappa University with A+ Category with 3.64/4.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). Thus the University became eligible to collaborate with Institutions.

Now, DJAD shall offer B.DES (Bachelor of Design) and M.DES (Master of Design) degrees effective from 2019-20, in collaboration with and under the approval of Alagappa University.

HEEK Educational Expo Visit (Kochi)

A team from DJ Academy of Design visited the HEEK Educational Expo at Kochi, Kerala between the 19th to 21st of July 2019. The objective of the visit was to enhance the brand awareness of DJ Academy of Design among the prospective parents and students visiting the expo. The team comprised of Mr. Nilesh, Mr. Supratik, Ms. Kothai, and Ms. Venugopal (student).

A total three workshops, which included a Calligraphy, Rapid Sketching and Kirigami Workshop, were conducted during the expo. Favourable feedback has been received for both the workshops.

Corporate Training Workshop for Venus Home Appliances, EXPO ID and CD

A 2-day in-house workshop on Exposure to Industrial Design and Communication Design was conducted on the 9th and 10th of July 2019 for Venus Home Appliances (P) Ltd. The experiential workshop conducted by DJAD faculty members covered areas such as Product Design and Development, Product Communication and Aesthetics, Semantics, Design and Innovation, Product Sketching, Visual Communication, and key areas of Sustainable Design.

The participants have expressed that they found the topics relevant and interesting and they also found the learning environment provided by DJAD to be inspiring.

Presentation on Sound and Design

On 1st July 2019, Prof. Tridibesh Sanyal discussed his unique work using sound mixing and composition in a session called Soundscapes. The session explored sound as form and also the link between sound, color and design.

Student Life Cycle (SLM) Management Software

A SLM software has been finalized for implementation which consists of the following modules: Institute Information, Student Information, Faculty Information, Course Management, Attendance Management, Time Table Generation, Feedback System, Mentor–Mentee System, Reporting Module Including TNG (Term Not Granted) and CNG (Course Not Granted) reports and Visiting Faculty Module.
This software will help DJAD in maintaining all student data on server, thereby reducing the use of paper to a large extent. Also, it will provide detailed information to parents, faculty, staff and students.
Student’s data will be available and processed in digital format right from admission, registration, till placements and alumni.

India Design Mission, Finland

On behalf DJ Academy of Design, Prof. Atul Kedia (Dean, DJ Academy of Design) participated in India Design Mission to Finland which was organised by CII between the 13th & 17th May 2019.The aim was to expose a team of select Indian design practitioners and industries to global design best practices. This meticulously planned mission had design firms ranging from product design, branding and service design sharing their processes and important projects.

On the academic front, visit to Aalto University Design department; PDP Design factory and Product design Gala Day (student Exhibition) were the highlights.

Order In Space: Understanding Geometry

The foundation students, during February 2017, had a module with Prof. A.G. Rao, a pioneer in Design Education from IDC, IIT Bombay, along with in-house co-faculty Mr. Subramanya. The students were introduced to 3D geometry and basics of 3D structures. The students used the learning to build Geodesic domes and Tensegrity Structures.DJAD is stepping into a new academic year, 2019-20. This is going to be a milestone in its history with courses of B.Des and M.Des on offer from this year. We start with lessons learnt in the past one and half decades and new ideas that are sweeping the world of design.

Stone Craft Development

The 2nd year Industrial Design students had a course on Craft Development and this included a visit to Thirumurugan Poondi in Thirupur district and meeting the master craftsman Mr.Radhakrishnan. They did a study on understanding stone, their types, manufacturing process and current trends. With these insights each of the 15 students conceptualized ideas using stone as a material. Students explored lighting, jewellery, accessories using stone. The students then went on to developing the products using the actual materials. Many students worked on the model themselves using the tools, and were supported by the craftsmen and their team. On 27th March 2019, students displayed their products at the campus. Craft Council of Tamil Nadu members visited D J Academy of Design Campus to see the finished products and expressed their appreciation for the students’ work.

Pana Olai Pinnal – A Craft Study

The 3rd year Communication Design students of D J Academy of Design for their craft study course visited the Pana Olai Pinnal Craft at Kolathur, Bodipalayam, Pollachi. This course was done in collaboration with the Craft Council of Tamil Nadu. The students during their visit interacted with the craftsmen Krishna Swamy and his wife, Karuppatha. It is important to document the crafts, because most of them are going extinct due to the rapid growth of technology and the mass manufacturing methods.

Pana Olai Pinnal is a craft that deals with weaving of palm leaves and Krishna Swamy has developed his own unique weaving style. He has developed weaving patterns to make little ornamentations and these ornamentations are found in different forms such as parrot, fish, deer, flower etc. These ornamentations are used to decorate temples or houses during festivals and are now being used at weddings as well.

Following the visit, the students have come up with a publication and a documentary film on Olai Craft weaving. As designers, the visit not only made students understand the craft but also brought a level of understanding and empathy in them. It also made them more aware of the possibilities to work with such artisans and also realise the importance of bringing the craft to the forefront.

Clay Embark

Clay is an extremely pliable and versatile material that is extensively used in the ceramic industry for sculpting and model making purposes. Not only is Clay Modelling a very useful skill to learn in the design field but it is also a very joyous one as it is a skill that requires a combination of both cognitive and physical involvement. As a beginner, ‘Hand Building’ is the asset of clay working techniques that one needs to learn and master as it is a crucial part of working with clay. In March 2019, the DJAD students had open elective with DJAD alumni Sushmita for Clay Embark. The students explored the material and displayed their work in an exhibition.

Design Movements – Learning History with Fun

The Design Movement course is a course which deals with the design history. The actual course is very theoretical but by adopting this method it becomes more interesting to the students. Using this approach the students learn the nuances of the movement, its philosophies, designers etc. During March 2019, the 2nd year students of Industrial and Communication Design worked on a dance musical. The whole idea of a performance helped students in grasping the core idea of each movement in a creative way. It is very interesting way of learning about the movements and breaking monotony.

Jury/Diploma Jury for 2018-19

Juries for 1st, 2nd and 3rd years were held in the month of April. The Jury panel Included external as well as internal members. Pre-jury for final year diploma project was held in the last week of May, where the students were given feedback about their final presentation so that the same can be fine-tuned before final jury, which was held in the first week of June.

DJAD Re-opening 2019-20 (for 2nd and 3rd years)

DJAD reopened for the year 2019-20 on 10th June 2019 for the second and third year students and for the final year students, the classes commenced on the 1st July 2019. During the re-opening day meeting, Prof. Atul Kedia, Dean and Capt. K Senthil Kumar, Chief Executive, interacted with the parents and shared the overall vision for the upcoming year and also took the opportunity to clarify specific questions on academics and other topics. Faculty members who were available on the day also could participate.