Kumar Bahukhandi
Growing online design upskilling school, AND Academy, launched by the Indian Institute of Art and Design (IIAD) in New Delhi, has been recognized as an ‘Exceptional Vocational & Skill Development Platform’ at the Economic Times Education Excellence Awards on 19 June. The platform was bestowed with the Bronze award at the highly prestigious event, held alongside the ETEducation Annual Education Summit, at the Leela Ambience Convention Hotel.
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COO & Academic Head receiving the Award on behalf of AND Academy
The Award stands testimony to the strong dedication that AND Academy has shown to revolutionizing education and making highly sought-after design skills accessible and affordable for a wider set of learners across the country. Emerging as one of the winners at the ETEducation Awards further solidifies the platform’s intent to continue offering learners the convenience of online education as well as the effectiveness of offline learning.
Dr. Jitin Chadha, Founder & CEO of AND Academy, has expressed his pride in the achievement, saying, “We are immensely grateful to ET for this recognition and see it as a just reward for a journey that started over 3 years ago. Weve left no stone unturned to truly democratise upskilling in design, transforming the career trajectories of over 1000 learners already. As the design industry grows, we see ourselves playing an instrumental role in narrowing the demand-supply gap for highly skilled design talent and intend to reach over 5,000 learners. By blending time-honoured teaching methodologies with cutting-edge technology and adequate human support, we intend to keep empowering learners who have a passion and knack for design but cannot access it due to any sort of barrier whatsoever. This award has only motivated us further to achieve our goal.”
Aside from coming from a strong design pedigree, a key distinguishing characteristic of courses at AND Academy is the importance the institute places on bridging the growing employment gap in the country by equipping learners with essential technical skills. Career readiness in graduates is ensured through personalized career advice sessions on CV-building, interview guidance, and networking opportunities, which help learners seize key placement opportunities. The project-based pedagogy ensures that graduates have a market-ready portfolio, effectively showcasing their design expertise to recruiters. Additionally, the institute offers software training sessions alongside a broader design-oriented curriculum, ensuring that learners are well-equipped with industry standards upon completing the course.
The classes are conducted by faculty members who are industry experts and focus on engaging learners deeply through experiential and active learning. Robust assessments, external reviews, and guided portfolio-building round off a wholesome learning experience, which is one of AND Academy’s hallmarks and something that is quite rare among upskilling courses. The result is that so far, across nine batches and a thousand-plus learners, the platform has maintained an internal student feedback score of 90% (3.6 out of 4.0) and a Google Review rating of 4.6 stars (out of 5.0).
The school’s commitment to high-quality education and student success is evident in its innovative course structures and supportive learning environment, making it a premier choice for aspiring designers looking to enhance their skills and career prospects. At the moment, AND Academy offers courses in Graphic Design, UI UX Design, Interior Design, and Motion Graphics in various formats. Learners can choose from Certificate, Diploma, PG Diploma (Part-time), and PG Diploma (Full-time) programs, depending on their career aspirations. The stackability of these courses allows for seamless progression to advanced classes for those who wish to continue their learning journey. The duration of each course varies by discipline, typically ranging from 16 weeks to a year.
