Anant National University, India’s first design university at Ahmedabad campus conducts its three-day-long online orientation programme for the new foundation batch 2021-22 of Design students. The programme included around 185+ students for both undergraduate and Post Graduate students of Design. It was open to both students & parents. The Orientation programme is envisaged to help students transition into their new academic environment & role and align expectations to the values that AnantU upholds as a University and community together.
Dr Anunaya Chaubey, Provost, AnantU, gave the inaugural speech & spoke on the topic of climate change, embracing diversity and gaining multidisciplinary perspectives in the journey of becoming Solutionaries to real world problems. Prof. Chaubey boosted confidence in the students by discussing a varsity of opportunities lined up for the Design students at AnantU. He shared AnantU’s journey & how it has established itself as one of the forerunners in Design education by rethinking the pedagogy and the curriculum and bringing together renowned practitioners and faculty from around the world in one campus. The guest of Honor at the programme was Prof. Neelkant Chayya, who addressed the students on Design Thinking. He was there to encourage students by talking about the importance of Design thinking in tackling creative challenges – How it gives many opportunities to take a look at problems from a completely different perspective.
Prof Seema Anand and Prof Prashant Dhawan threw some light on ‘Biomimicry – Nature integrated design thinking’, which has recently become a part of the curriculum. Followed by each department related to the academia and co-curricular life of a student presented their department’s work, background and services in detail.
The students also attended a specialized workshop on communication and interpersonal skills, designed to help them adapt to the Hybrid learning model given the COVID-19 situation. There were sessions on time management for students to balance the time management behaviour for superior student performance. The well-being warriors from the Centre of Wellbeing and the Office of Student Services also held a session on mental health issues to build awareness of the importance of creating a supportive and stigma-free environment on campus. It emphasized how students of AnantU will be extended support by an online counselling platform, an on-campus infirmary, and in-person counselling.
Professor Jasmine Gohil & Ms Roshini Nair introduced the students to the management and faculty members with the commitment to extend support to the students during their academic journey at AnantU, as they make the transition. The orientation programme was recorded and shared with the students, especially for those who missed attending the programme. Along with the virtual discussion, the offline integration of the orientation was the Student Docket – a soft copy booklet, which is shared with the students encompassing the critical elements of their upcoming journey at AnantU.
Anant National University is India’s first design university, with a focus on sustainability and climate action. The University is led by industry stalwarts, philanthropists, eminent academicians and professionals renowned in their field and committed to nurturing young talent. Located in the UNESCO World Heritage City of Ahmedabad, the 100-acre AnantU campus is a budding site for solutionaries.
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