Immersive experiences, hands-on learning and meaningful engagements continued to be the flavour at Anant in May. The second edition of Open House 2026 was a massive hit, once again. Anant received strong media coverage, establishing our voice in the evolving discourse around design and design education in India. Our students and faculty continued to make a mark with their achievements and success stories.
After the resounding success of the first edition of Open House 2026 and the many messages asking “When is the next one?”, Anant hosted the second edition of Open House 2026. Same energy, same vibe and a whole new set of experiences.
Unsurprisingly, the second edition was equally a bit hit with nearly 400 students and parents in presence. Through hands-on workshops by more than 30 Anant faculty, studio walkthroughs and engagement with faculty, current students and alumni, the participants got a taste of what learning is like at Anant.
Through immersive engagement and meaningful dialogue, Open House 2026 enabled aspiring designers to move beyond the conventional understanding of design and experience it as a future-focused discipline.
Anant’s pedagogical approach emphasises experiential learning across disciplines through site visits and fieldwork programmes. Recent visits included an immersive trip to the Arvari River watershed in Alwar, Rajasthan, as part of the Anant-Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Joint Course; Communication Design students exploring industrial processes at Image Gravures through their Packaging Design course and BTech in Climate Change students engaging with indigenous knowledge systems in Jhargram, West Bengal.
Reflecting on these experiences, Dr Hemang Anglay, Assistant Professor, School of Design, shared, “Experiencing industrial processes first-hand helps students understand how design decisions translate into real-world production and packaging systems.”
Through authored articles, expert commentary and institutional announcements, Anant continued to contribute to broader conversations about design, education and innovation.
BusinessWorld Hindi featured an authored article by Dr Sanjeev Vidyarthi, Provost, on design and India’s emerging creative economy, while Dr Subhalaxami Mohapatra, Associate Professor, SCoPE, was featured in Elets Digital Learning for her article on inclusive learning ecosystems through design thinking.
Anant’s initiative to make quality design education more accessible through merit-based scholarships was also extensively covered across leading platforms, including Careers360, Edex Live, MSN and Dainik Bhaskar.
Anant’s Space Design recently hosted Beyond Studio 1.0, a student-led initiative that brought together students and faculty across batches through a day of interactions and collaborations. The event featured a treasure hunt encouraging cross-batch participation, followed by the Capstone Colloquium, where final-year students presented their projects and learnings.
An informal jamming session concluded the day, reflecting the strong sense of community and camaraderie within the department.
Anant takes pride in celebrating the accomplishments of its faculty and associates. Prof Ankur Jyoti Dutta, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, presented his paper at the Conference on India’s North-Eastern States and Eastern Neighbours: A Relation Beyond Horizons.
Dr Bhavisha Sheth, Head, Aarambh Incubation Centre and Assistant Professor, School of Creative Practices and Entrepreneurship (SCoPE), was selected for the prestigious Chevening Research, Science and Innovation Leadership Fellowship (CRISP) at the University of Oxford, UK.
Vagmi V S, a Product Design student of the Class of 2027 with Furniture Design as minor, represented India at the prestigious UN ECOSOC Youth Forum 2026 held at the UN Headquarters in New York. He was among the five delegates from India, selected by the Government of India.
