While India is striving hard to reap the benefits of its young population, the lacks of the skilled workforce remains a major challenge. As per various reports from the industry, only about 4 percent of our 1.2 billion people are formally skilled, as opposed to countries like the UK, Japan, and Korea where 62 percent, 75 percent and 92 percent of their respective populations are skilled in different vocations. Ar. Priti V Patwari, Principal of Dayanand College of Interior Design opines. “India is a country with abundant talent and skill. What we lack is awareness, training, and appreciation. There are no proper facilities and services which could inform about the other sources for training and improving the skill among the people.”
In fact, bridging the skill divide is of utmost importance to the Indian economy, as our country is getting ready to enter a phase of accelerated industrial growth that will spur greater demand for skilled workers. “At Dayanand College of Interior Design, we aim to make our students stand tall with confidence among their peers in the market, by shaping, guiding, and making them ready for the market with up-to-date skills that the industry needs,” shares Ar. Priti. Dayanand College of Interior Design is one of the eight institutions operating under the aegis of Dayanand Education Society that is offering full-fledged Post Graduation, Graduation, Diploma and H.S.C. Courses housed in fully developed campus imparting education to over 20000 students.
Established in 1961, Dayanand Education Society started out with a motto to educate the people of Marathwada, Maharashtra, one of the remote areas in India. Over the years, society has made incredible progress with constant efforts and today it has established a unique identity as one of the premier education societies and created the “Dayanand’’ brand not only in Latur but in entire Maharashtra. In 2013, the society established Dayanand College of Interior Design with an aim to deliver the best education in the field of interior designing and shaping the finest interior designers.
Ar. Priti pinpoints, “We provide an excellent infrastructure for our students, along with libraries, training in the latest software, Web Labs, Workshops, Seminars, Site Visits, that acts as an aide for our students in enhancing their skills and is helpful for them in facing the demands of today’s industry in the long run.” Having MoUs with various consultants, software, modular furniture, and services, DCID conducts training sessions for their students that help them apply their artistic skills in a practical setup. “We aspire to attain professional excellence in the field of Designing, for the benefit of the society by training our students in interpersonal, management, sets-artistic, and technical skills,” adds Ar. Priti.
Providing a conducive, creative and a rich ambiance for their students, DCID highly advocates the difference between Design and Decoration. The curriculum comprises of more than just aesthetics and aims to impart outcome-based education, to meet the trends and demands of future designers. The institute majorly focuses on the software skills, site execution, and the current requirement of the market, to help their student stand out among their peers. The students are trained to use the software, that is majorly used for project monitoring and estimation.
Ar. Priti points out, “To boost our students’ confidence, we host annual competitions and arrange exhibitions where they can display their works. Also, we host a cultural event, “Sumakh”, to encourage sports and performing arts among the students.” Along with this, the students of DCID regularly present PowerPoint Presentations in front of the class, to help them combat stage fear and enhance their communication skills. Giving the students a chance to utilize their talent and creativity, DCID hosts annual competitions, focusing on industrial and electronic wastes and encourages them to utilize the design laboratories to paint in their free time and excel in those fields too.
A Stepping-Stone to the Future
With a plethora of opportunities for the students in the industry, almost 90 percent of the students at DCID prefer to take the route of entrepreneurship. While 10 percent of the class pursue their further studies, the rest of the class are placed in companies like Sleek Kitchens, Ekbote Furnitures, Shirke Kitchens, Theme Interiors, Barure and Associates, Architects, and Developers, Ar. Sahadev and Associates.
Receiving the Special Jury Award in “Nirman 2015”, DCID is on its way to make a national impression and has already planned their next moves. Planning to start campus placements in the upcoming years, the institute is going to set up laboratories for Material Testing, Plumbing, Survey Lab, and Model Making. The students of DCID will also be trained to be more aware of industrial waste and come up with a green take on the designing aspect, with an aim to provide and attain a sustainable environment. “In today’s world, employment is said to be one of the major problems the people are facing. We strive to beat the problem of unemployment, by hiring youngsters who can’t compete with the scores of others,” concludes Ar. Priti.
Ar. Priti V. Patwari, Principal
Currently serving as the Principal of Dayanand College of Interior Design and HOD at Dayanand College of Architecture , Ar. Priti V. Patwari has been in the field of Architecture for 17 years. She has completed her Bachelors in Architecture from Sir J.J. College of Architecture, Mumbai, and is pursuing her Post Graduation from D.Y. Patil College of Architecture,Akurdi in Pune. Experienced in working on residential and commercial spaces, she is well versed with Interior Designing and has designed commercial spaces as well.