The Higher Education Review

The evolving role of an interior designer is not hidden from anyone in the present times. It is not only about decoration, instead, a trained interior designer understands the structure, technology, air quality, lighting, materials and even the psychology of the clients. Unfortunately, India has only a handful of institutes that have taken the responsibility of providing robust interior designing training. Academy of Applied Arts is one such institute known for its specialized Interior Design training. Within few years of its establishment, Academy of Applied Arts has been recognized by NIESBUD, an autonomous institute under Ministry of Skill development and Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India. Considering the quality of training and other factors like infrastructural facilities and faculty members' proficiency, the institute has bagged several recognitions in the recent years including the Best Interior Designing Institute in 2016 by Pride of Indian Education Award and Best Visual Merchandising Institute for the year 2016 by Global Education Excellence Awards.

Academy of Applied Arts, in order to stay ahead of time and remain up-to-date with the industry needs, has internationally collaborated with Made in Italy School, which is based in Rome, along with many other organizations. "Interior designing is a fast growing profession and being a leading single disciplinary institute solely for Interior Designing, we put our entire effort to churn out graduates who are well-informed and skilled," shares Avneet Alag, Director of Operations, Academy of Applied Arts. However, Academy of Applied Arts highly differs from all other counterpart institutes when it comes to delivering the training in most holistic manner. Alag pinpoints, "We follow a step-by-step process at our institute. The curriculum is designed in a way that enables even the students from non-interior designing background imbibe the necessary creativity and the skill set by the end of the program."

The institute offers a wide array of interior designing courses with

specializations in subjects such as Visual Merchandising, Retail Design, Luxury Residential Design, Furniture Design, and Event Exhibition Design. "The entire curriculum is closely monitored to ensure the standard of the education is up to the mark and industry relevant. We always keep a check on the industry requirements and add everything in the course accordingly," shares Alag. The expert faculty members of the institute start the courses from the basic to strengthen the foundation and gradually move to the advanced level. The course duration of the classes is also kept to make sure that the students get ample time to work on design and complete their assignments.

"Academy of Applied Arts offers a wide array of interior designing courses with specializations in subjects such as Visual Merchandising, Retail Design, Luxury Residential Design, Furniture Design, and Event Exhibition Design"

Meeting the Industry Demands
The best part of Academy of Applied Arts is its campus location, which is placed strategically in the vibrant center of design within walking distance of showrooms of some of the eminent brands like Fab India, Kohler flagship store, Seasons furnishing, Leela furnishings and many more. "Our campus location assists greatly our students to go for showroom visits and surveys and experience lots of practical activities. We focus on perfectly blended practical and theoretical aspects, while executing the training," opines Alag. The faculty members constantly, on the other hand, stimulates the students to think out-of-the-box and creatively. "Students are rendered enough scope to exhibit their works. They are also encouraged to participate in various national and international design exhibitions and competitions such as FOAID, ACETECH, and Ambiente India to name a few," mentions Alag.

Along with such activities, the students get the opportunity to access the state-of-the-art facilities of the campus that centers around the requirements of the Interior Design Industry and study in an environment which is not only positive but also is favorable for budding interior designers. "We conduct master class sessions regularly where prominent personality from the industry comes and share industry insights with our students," shares Alag. The zealous placement cell of the institute organizes sessions on personality development for the students and guides them in every step followed

by helping in developing a portfolio and in undergoing mandatory internships. Given the strong connection that the institute has with industry, reputed companies such as Lifestyle, Evoke, Seasons Furnishings, Luzlight, DLF, H&M, Stanley Boutique and so on, let the students complete their internships and learn the nuances of design industry while working in a real-world situation.

"Our partner concern, Transform Design is one of the leading Interior Designing firm in India in terms of Retail and Luxury residential designs. This partnership lets us share vast knowledge and experience and eventually this benefits the future designers," says Alag. For providing the students an enriching professional life idea, the institute further motivates them to execute various industrial projects which play a vital role in boosting their confidence. Giving the primary focus on overall development of the students and continuing to prepare aspiring designers to prosper in the dynamic design industry, Academy of Applied Arts aims to have footprints all over Asia in terms of campuses and deliver quality design education to students all across the globe.

Avneet S Alag, Director of Operations
With a strong background in retail, visual merchandising, expertise in lighting and also designing and executing a number of visual merchandising projects for renowned brands and esteemed clients, Avneet S Alag practices and teaches visual merchandising and retail design at Academy of Applied Arts. His expertise has helped numerous students to shape great careers for themselves in the field of retail and interior design. Other than being a driving force for the Academy, he is also an eminent speaker for Retailers Association of India.

Ashmit S Alag, Director
With almost a decade of interior design and visual merchandising experience in the US and now almost the same in India, Ashmit S Alag is the Director at Academy of Applied Arts and the Principal at Transform Design in New Delhi. With backgrounds in practicing and teaching interior design, interior & spatial psychology, visual merchandising and retail design, his specialization lies in providing bespoke solutions in the field of premium living and retail by studying lifestyle patterns, personal preferences and social living. His experience goes across three continents and plethora of lifestyles and formats.