Kaustubh Das is currently serving as Associate Professor Faculty of Architecture at Sri Sri University, Cuttack. Having almost 15 years of full-time teaching experience, he has worked in various capacities in the industry ranging from Design Firms, Real Estate companies to Retail. He has taught in various parts of the country and abroad, and has also been invited to present at various international symposia like Forum UNESCO. Passionate about education, he believes in bringing out the latent talents in students for their success.

Sri Sri University

What are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

“Mentoring for academic success of students”

I take part in regular teaching and practical activities of theory as well as sessional subjects. I act as a mentor and arrange, along with other faculty, various orientation programmes for new and existing batches. I am also involved in counselling prospective candidates for admissions, guiding for thesis, and suggesting books both for students reference as well as procurement of Library. I also head the R&D Cell of the Department which includes the task, and International Collaborations and Archiving & Documentation for the further benefit of students. 

What challenges do you face to uplift the quality of education at your department?

“Pacing placements and admissions”

Being a fledgling department with just 2 batches out, we are yet to build an alumni network that typically facilitates placements and internships. Due to this we teachers have to work extra and often use our own contacts for placing students. Being new, we cannot be very selective in admissions, so sometimes we may need to tone down our lectures as well. However, in spite of toning down, we do not lower quality just make things a bit lucid.

How do you try to bring in a practical approach towards subjects?

“Internships, workshops and site visits”

Apart from the mandatory internship, we often invite industry experts to interact with students. Sometimes, it may be in the form of a guest lecture or even a site visit. We have also conducted extensive collaborative workshops with Institutes like NIFT. We are also affiliated to IIA and students often participate in design competitions and exhibitions. We have actually built structures like brick arches (in full scale) to demonstrate the process of construction. Many times students are taken to site visits and students have also built an informal Amphitheater and carried out its landscaping on the campus. 

What best practices are offered by the department to help students gain necessary skills?

“Fusion of modern and ancient knowledge”

Apart from the constant strive to provide Academia-Industry Interface, our curriculum has been framed with a lot of linkages across different subjects, even often seemingly discordant ones like the history of Architecture and Construction. Whenever we teach these subjects, references from history both ancient and modern are deliberately done to help students see the “connect” between seemingly discrete unrelated subjects. All this with the primary aim to produce Architects who design structures with a soul, not merely buildings, we also have a lot of flexibility with assessment techniques apart from the conventional sit-down exams. We also Integrate Vernacular Architecture and Architectural design as well. This is done to make students not only see the importance of vernacular architecture but also develop a respect for it. 

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How does your department prepare students for higher education?

“Preparing and guiding on Individual traits”

We try to guide students on the choice of specializations and institutes for higher learning. One thing that we stress is individual traits and their aspirations. Individual students often get in touch with faculty personally when applying for Masters Programmes. We are also striving for the Internationalization of the Department for facilitating students’ higher education abroad. 

How do you strategize your curriculum to make it befitting for the students?

“Intellectual thought with the Professional application”

The curriculum at SSU with its strong emphasis on linkages and flexible modes of assessments is a big advantage for students. Being a deemed university, we have a Board of Studies with top expert members from diverse fields of Architecture. We meet annually to discuss and update the curriculum. Currently, we are trying to align it with the NEP. Although we meet officially once a year, in between we have a lot of discussions and are welcome to add in suggestions as we feel. We try to equip our students with the latest updates and by exposing them to current thinking, we are trying to get them future-ready. To exemplify we are attempting at aligning Design Projects with UN SDGs to enhance students’ portfolios. 

How does the curriculum of your department ensure the best practice of the industry?

“Enhanced industry interactions and exposure”

Sri Sri University has a number of professional memberships that provide good industrial exposure to students. We have collaborations with the Indian Institute of Architects, IGBC Student Chapter, BEEP, etc. The President of IIA invited our institution to join the elite group and we got our affiliation with them. We are the first institution in the state with this prestigious status. Last year, we carried out a Design Hackathon involving a Slum up-gradation project in Bhubaneswar in Collaboration with TARU, an NGO with whom we have signed an MoU. The proposals are made for live projects which are then graded by external jurors. We also have an MoU with PJMT ( Prem Jain Memorial Trust – Dr. Prem Jain, Father of Green Building movement in India who took over as Chairman of Indian Green Building Council in 2007 and significantly increased Green buildings in India).

What do you see as your department’s greatest strengths?

“Focusing largely on quality and placements”

Our greatest strength is our flexibility along with the constant striving for upgradation. We are now working on floating some interdisciplinary courses and workshops in collaboration with other departments both from our university and outside Institutes. We actively try to help in placements in two ways—first during Internships and secondly by helping in jobs. By calling in external practicing Architects for juries we indirectly try to facilitate recruitment. 

What valuable advice would you like to give to the students?

“Start afresh and learn a lot”

I believe that every student is unique and offers individual talents. The architecture allows one the luxury of tailoring one's career according to individual strength. Not every fresh graduate needs to be a traditional designer, many can work in Design and Project Management. Latent talents like drama can be used in a career for getting into set designing. We discourage giving in to peer pressure and herd mentality in favour of charting career paths in an individualistic manner.

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How does SSU train faculty according to the industry standards?

“Skill enhancement and knowledge upgradation”

Our Faculty Training is not just limited to faculty knowledge upgradation only. As faculty members apart from our duties in academics, we are encouraged to attempt FDPs and publish research papers as well. We are also encouraged to move into upcoming disciplines like green Architecture etc. Often the theory is demonstrated over their own designs to help them see the significance of theory with its application.