From 'Make in India' to 'Design for India': Ajay Piramal Charts a Vision for Nation-Building at Anant National University

PRNewswire
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], December 12: Anant National University celebrated its 7th Convocation, awarding degrees to 299 students across the fields of design, architecture, sustainability, and climate action. Graduates from the Bachelor of Design, Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Design, Anant Fellowship in Sustainability and Built Environment, MSc in Sustainability and Built Environment, and the Anant Fellowship for Climate Action received their degrees during the ceremony.
The convocation was graced by Padma Shri awardee Dr. Sridhar Vembu, Chief Scientist and Co-founder of Zoho Corporation, who served as the Chief Guest. Mr. Ajay Piramal, President, Anant National University; Dr. Sanjeev Vidyarthi, Provost; along with members of the Board, were also present for the occasion.
"Coming to Anant National University has truly been a joy. The creativity and purpose-driven designs by Anant students blew my mind. I saw remarkable work--the kind of innovation our nation urgently needs," Dr. Vembu shared, drawing the audience of students, faculty and families into deep engagement. He reflected on India's evolving design landscape, emphasising the importance of future-oriented thinking. "We often celebrate the achievements of our past, yet rarely do we pause to honour what we are building in the present. We must think beyond our own lifetimes and create for the future, and Anant is clearly teaching its students to do exactly that."
Dr. Vembu, who co-founded Zoho in 1996 and led it as CEO for over twenty years, now helms the company's cutting-edge AI and deep-tech research--an evolution he describes as "the joy of building for tomorrow."
Following his address, Mr. Piramal, President of Anant National University, spoke about design as a powerful force for national transformation. "Design gives us the tools to reimagine industries, rebuild communities and renew our environment. It is how we transition from 'Make in India' as an aspiration to 'Design for India' as a philosophy," he said.
Provost Dr. Sanjeev Vidyarthi then addressed the 299 graduands from programmes spanning design, architecture, sustainability, climate action and fellowship tracks, situating their journey within India's moment of accelerating growth. "As you enter this new chapter, remember that there couldn't have been a better time to begin. India stands in a moment of remarkable opportunity. We are growing, innovating and moving with purpose toward becoming Viksit Bharat within just a few decades."
He reinforced the generational responsibility the young designers carry: "You will be the builders of the Viksit Bharat, a sustainable, inclusive and globally recognised country. An India where design thinking shapes governance, industry and everyday life."
This year's convocation also honoured exceptional achievers across Academic Excellence, Innovation, Best Graduation Project, Best Thesis, Best Live-Action Project and Best Student categories.
To mark the graduating cohort's creative journey, the university transformed its entire campus into a vibrant, immersive exhibition space. Studios, galleries and auditoriums showcased an array of student-led innovations--from design prototypes and sustainability solutions to architectural models and climate-action initiatives--turning the university into a living museum of ideas shaping India's future.
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About Anant National University
Anant National University, India's premier design university, is dedicated to training students to devise solutions for global problems. Anant follows the DesignX pedagogy, where 'X' is the symbol drawn from mathematics, representing enhancement. This new learning approach multiplies traditional design pedagogy with liberal arts disciplines, emerging technologies and knowledge drawn from hands-on community experiences to help understand our world better and to devise impactful solutions.
Our multidisciplinary undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in design, architecture, climate action and visual arts harness knowledge from various disciplines and traditional practices to integrate it with cutting-edge technology to address diverse challenges. We train our designers to become solutionaries -- revolutionary thinkers with a solution-oriented mindset.
Anant National University has been recognised as the Centre of Excellence by the Government of Gujarat, highlighting our efforts to provide our students with world-class education, innovative pedagogy, high employability and enhanced entrepreneurial and research opportunities. Anant has also received the prestigious '5-Star Rating' in the category of Architecture and a '4-Star Rating' in the University category in the Gujarat State Institutional Rating Framework (GSIRF) 2023-24. These recognitions reinforce our commitment to creating a world-class institution of great eminence and excellence.
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