In the last five years, the Indian animation and VFX industry has displayed tremendous growth propelled by the myriad of outsourced projects from the film and television segments. Additionally, the expansion of the eCommerce space, growth of broadband, and rise of merchandising and licensing opportunities will lead to further market expansion. In essence, this market has demonstrated such potential for growth, with the VFX domain appearing to have become an indispensable component of filmmaking, and the advanced work executed by Indian studios today has put them on the global VFX map. To match this market boom and address the need generated by this market growth, skilled talent, industry understanding, and expertise are required, which are met by P. A. Inamdar College of Visual Effects, Design & Arts (VEDA College, Pune). The college is internationally acclaimed as one of the foremost multi-disciplinary colleges for Design, Animation, VFX, and Game Design.
Established in 2012, VEDA College was founded by the Maharashtra Cosmopolitan Education Society, Pune. Shikshan Maharshi, Former Member of Planning Commission of India for Higher Education, Member of Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) Govt. of India, and President of MCE Society Dr. P. A. Inamdar laid the foundation stone for this campus. The college consists of a 3D and VFX Studio along with Graphics Design, Animation, and Film Editing.
Extending Well-deserved Scholarships
In conversation with Dr. Rishi Aacharya, Dean of P. A. Inamdar College of Visual Effects, Design & Arts, about the possibilities of untapped potential attaining accessibility to such cutting-edge education and facilities, he says, “At VEDA College, we are always on the lookout for creative talents wherever they are. We welcome students who are passionate about animation, gaming, VFX, and colors, and who seem to have fresh ideas and a keen sense of observation. In doing so, where money seems a hindrance, we have a solution for that! VEDA College has various scholarship schemes.”
Listed below are the scholarships extended by VEDA College for deserving students:
- Scholarship for Fine Art Students – If the candidate possesses a degree or diploma in Fine-art or Applied Art or GD Art, they are most welcome to join the college. Fine Art students can get up to 40 percent scholarships on selected courses.
- The Lila Poonawalla Foundation offers Scholarships for Girls – Under this scheme LP Foundation offers scholarships to girl students who come under BPL.
- GyanJyoti – Under this scheme, a corpus fund of Rs.5,00,000 (Five Lakh) is established to help selected students.
- PA Inamdar Talent Promotion Scholarship – Students who belong to lower-income groups and have the previous schooling from Azam Campus get up to 70 percent freeship in the graduation courses.
VEDA College boasts a lush green 24-acre campus in the city’s heart. The campus houses hostels for male and female students separately. The campus grounds are monitored with expertly positioned 250-night vision CCTV cameras. Additionally, the college has four hygienic canteens inside the campus. There are students hailing from Dubai, Bahrain, Nigeria, Uganda, Iran, and many nearby countries on the campus. The campus has a dedicated international student welcome center as well. “The campus has a great diversity of students, and we are proud to say that we are truly a cosmopolitan campus by all means,” adds Dr. Aacharya.
Encouraging creative minds to become future-ready, Dr. Aacharya sits with industry mentors and reviews students’ work once a month. Each student submits a five-minute short presentation of what they have produced in the last month. The college has also made internships mandatory from Second Year for the students, thus providing the proper industry knowledge and helping in the grooming process to be more job-ready. Apart from these activities, Veda College hosts various Industry webinars, workshops, and Industry visit programs, ensuring every student is ahead of the learning curve. The college has also started various national-level initiatives such as IT Olympiad, Pune Animation Film Festival, Akhil Bhartiya Kala Shikshak Gaurav Samman, and Golden Pixel Awards, bringing industry and academia close to each other. The college is also a life member of the Indian Society of Art & Animation, Society of Art in Delhi, The Federation for Educational Leaders and Administrators (FELA), ASIFA India, and The Animation Society of India(TASI). The college also strongly believes that Intra institution MoUs are very important for any academic institution, including themselves. The college is recognized as a Certiport’s Authorized testing center and Adobe Creative Technology Academy. “I am also on the board of studies of various universities, and this helps the college to keep our academics synced with the global changes,” reveals Dr. Rishi.
Stimulating the Mind and Fuelling the Brain
The entire curriculum is strategically stitched together with out-of-the-box indoor and outdoor activities, aiming to facilitate enhanced learning. Offering a broad spectrum of mind-fuelling activities year-round, the college offers annual programs, sports and cultural fests, and industry visits. The college also arranges social welfare drives such as tree plantation, blood donation, and visits to old age homes and orphanages to imbibe our students’ emotional connections with society. We have a vast 12 Acre sports pavilion with turf wickets, basketball court, GYM, and Medical facilities, including Unani Medical hospital inside the campus itself. The campus has a 2 GBPS internet line extending a seamless online content experience and round-the-clock WIFI facilities for the staff and students.
While on the subject of attaining complete perfection from its students, the college is also very selective when it comes to the faculties of the college. Envisaging providing superior quality learning experiences to its students, faculties on various academic and non-academic criteria are evaluated.
Equipping Teachers as well as Students of Today
To pursue a teaching career at VEDA College and touch the lives of hundreds of students, all the faculties should fulfill the criteria of possessing a minimum of three years of industry experience in their relevant domain and a minimum PG Diploma or Degree in their subject. “We are proud to mention that our faculties are the best in their academic qualifications and possess various International Certificates from Microsoft, Adobe, and Autodesk. The college’s pedagogy is inclusive, and we practice experiential learning in our classrooms. Faculties take the students outside the college for study tours and give them the classroom experience beyond the boundaries,” informs Dr. Aacharya.
In conjunction with the facilities, the college takes a personal interest in grooming its students. These first steps are the most crucial in an individual’s career, and as such, the college has set up a dedicated entrepreneurship cell and incubation center on the campus where students can work on their startups and freelance businesses. “We are proud to tell you that in the last 12 years, many of our students have started their graphics designing studios, freelancing businesses, and movie production houses,” says Dr. Aacharya.
Helping Students Attain their Career Goals
Over the last decade, the average placement ratio has been a whopping 93 to 94 percent. Having enrolled 3000 students to date, most of them are working on various roles such as Lead Animator, Compositors, Set Designers, Graphics Designers, Game Artist, 3D Modeler, Web Designer, and 2D Animator. Most western studios like Walt Disney, Pixar, Marvel Studios, MPC, Dreamworks, and the likes outsource their work to Indian studios, an opportunity many students from VEDA College have bagged over the years. Last year’s batch got placed in studios like MPC, RedChillis, HMX, Technicolor, and Deluxe at various levels with a handsome CTC. “As Dean, I conduct Inner Engineering classes every weekend, which helps students understand the insights about corporate life, its challenges, and ways to deal with it. The students love these classes, and we have seen tremendous positive changes in their lives due to these sessions,” elucidates Dr. Aacharya.
The college strives to continually maintain market relevancy. Another quickly evolving scenario addressed by VEDA College was the Animation and Visual Design sector witnessing a massive surge with the onset of Covid19. While this pandemic spelled doom for other industries, the Animation and Visual Design segment is experiencing exponential growth as it churns out an influx of new job opportunities. VEDA College is fully prepared to address this market demand. Post Covid-19, the management has introduced 12 new diplomas and certificate programs which can be opted under online and offline modes. The college has also started Google Classroom LMS, where all the important teaching-learning assets are available at your fingertips. “We have also created a massive video library on YouTube for the masses who could not afford the high fees of colleges after the economic recession,” announces Dr. Aacharya.
Going Forward
The college has accomplished much within a little over a decade, and the dean thinks the journey has just begun! The college has already developed a roadmap for the next ten years where Virtual and Online Education will be on the topmost agenda. Dr. Aacharya concludes with his plans for the college, “We are looking for new entrepreneurs, education leaders to come and join us to take and spread our success in various parts of India. At present, we have four extension centers in India. We are inviting proposals to open our extension centers and incubation units with various colleges, schools, and private institutes in the country.”
For More Info: https://www.veda-edu.com/
Dr. Rishi Aacharya, Dean, P A. Inamdar College of Visual Effects, Design & Arts
Dr. Rishi Aacharya has been the Dean of VEDA College since 2012. A postgraduate in Information Technology (M.Sc. Information Technology), Masters in Value Education (M.Sc.VES) and Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and a bachelor of media and animation, Dr. Aacharya is also a Certified Computer Professional by National Computer Science Academy, Texas, USA. He is a Google Certified Professional, Certified Professional from Autodesk, and Certified Associate in Adobe applications. Dr. Aacharya is also a leading guru of digital marketing in the country specially for SMEs. He is also serving as an Academic advisor on the board on academics at various prestigious animation and design universities in India.