Dr. Vibhuti Pandya has been working as the Head of Animation and Multimedia Department at Birla Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan. He has done Masters in Drawing and Painting from MLS University of Udaipur in 1998, PhD too in. Drawing and Painting in 2003 and Diploma in Classical Animation from Heart Animation of Hyderabad. He has worked on various international and national projects as a Cartoon Animator with various animation studios including Software Frontiers Ltd. of Gandhi Nagar, Dataquest Entertainment Ltd. and Danlaw Technologies Ltd. of Hyderabad and Escotoonz India Ltd. of New Delhi. His area of research is Creative Aspects of Animation Art and Impact. He has received several awards and honors from various institutions for his tremendous contribution in the field of cartooning and animation and he is also the recipient of UGC Grant for best innovative programme for the period 2006-2011. In addition to this, he is one of the Jury Members of Jaipur International Film Festival and New Delhi International Film Festival and has directed and designed an Animated Cartoon Series of 26 Episodes “Titlee in Jugmugland” for a cartoon channel and 3 spot animated films for the Ministry of Health, Government of Rajasthan. And so far he has produced around 60 short films in the Animation and Multimedia Department and has participated in various national and internal conferences. And during his student life, he has worked as a regular cartoonist in the Newspaper and he has a collection of around 1200 published cartoons.

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Being the Head of the Animation and Multimedia Department, what are your responsibilities towards the students?

"It is to ensure best quality education for students and provide them best facilities in college"

As a Head of the Animation and Multimedia Department of my college, I am primarily responsible for the complete development of our department students. And offering them best quality education, amenities and research facilities also comes under the scope of my responsibilities. And since I believe only theoretical knowledge and practical classes are not enough, so I try to arrange workshops, seminars and lectures for them with renowned persons in the Animation and Multimedia field. Lastly, I need to monitor their project works and show reels and whenever my students get stuck in any work, I make sure my support and guidance remain available for them.

How do you establish healthy relations with the students and fellow faculty?

"By regularly interacting with them and supporting them in need"

In order to maintain a good relationship with my students, I regularly interact with them during and after classes and in college events and activities as well and because alone I can’t handle all the activities of students, so I take support from fellow faculties.

In addition to this, we conduct visits for students to animation studios, art and science exhibitions, film festivals and art galleries. Last but not the least, we all work together as a team during exhibitions and annual events of our college such as cultural fest, techfest and sports events and it gives us ample amount of time to address and resolve students issues be it their academic or non-academic difficulties. And when it comes to faculty members, so apart from communicating them on a regular basis, I encourage them to participate in faculty development programmes, present papers in national & international conferences, workshops, symposiums & lectures etc.

How do you bring in a practical and industry oriented approach towards subjects?

"For this, different kinds of projects are assigned to them and we use latest technologies and ICT tools in our teaching pedagogies"

The students of our Animation and Multimedia Department work on degree showcase project in their last semester and they also need to submit their portfolio/ showreel in any one of the medium in the form of Animation Short Film, Graphic Novel, Comic, Digital Game, Visual Effects, Graphic Design and Visual Narratives etc. And syllabus of various courses is designed keeping in mind latest happenings of the outside industrial world and we use those hardware and software in our teaching methodlogies which are used extensively in the corporate world. Last but not the least, we encourage them to participate in collaborative works such as design & decoration works in groups, film making, exhibitions and project presentations etc. and internships are arranged by us from time to time.

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

"By rigourously analyzing industrial trends and requirements and taking inputs from experts"

We design and update the curriculum of our college every year after rigourous analysis and research about latest industrial developments, trends, requirements and standards so that obsoltete courses could be removed from it on time and new programs can be included to provide best quality and employment oriented education to students. And if required, we take suggestions and inputs from corporate experts and Academicians as well. 

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How did you train yourself and faculty members to deliver programs to students in the best way possible?

"Faculty members upgrade their skills by participating in events like workshops, seminars and software launchings"

Although all our faculty members are highly qualified and extensively experienced, but with changing technologies and educational and industrial standards they need to upgrade their skills on a regular basis. Therefore to train and uoskills myself and my fellow faculty, we regularly participate in seminars, workshops, online and offline guest lectures and software launchings etc.

How do you prepare your students to deal with the outside competitive world?

"By involving them in industrial projects and encouraging them to regularly upgrade their skills"

For the purpose of preparing our students for this cut-throat competitive world, I regularly encourage my students to work on their portfolios and to do this they need in-depth knowledge of all subjects, therefore me along with my other fellow faculties rigorously teach and train them. In addition to this, students are involved in Animation projects we take from the industry and government. And it makes me immensely proud to tell you that many of our Graduates and Postgraduate students are working in reputed organizations and one of our alumni has successfully scripted more than 100 episodes of a popular cartoon show “Chota Bheem". And she has recently received a very prestigious Emmy Award in the USA for writing in animation. Apart from this, our 2 students have worked for the Oscar awarded film “Life of Pie” and few students are even running their own companies. So all this is enough to tell people about our efforts we put into making our students ready for the outside world.

Which extracurricular activities are organized by your college to enhance the skills of students?

"Cultural fests, sports events, mock interviews and table talks are regularly conducted by us"

Our college understands the fact that along with delivering theoretical knowledge, inculcating unique skills in students and giving them a platform to showcase those skills is also important. Therefore our college organizes an annual cultural event called Vibrations, an annual techno-management fest known as Techvibes, and an annual sports program called Cavorts. Apart from this, we conduct table talks, mock interviews and Alumni interaction sessions on a regular basis to improve the communication skills of students and make them ready for the internships and placement. 

What challenges are you facing in uplifting the education quality of your college?

"Students inattentive behaviour towards their studies is a real struggle for us"

We have a diverse range of students from all over India and each of them have varied passion and interests. Hence, channelizing their focus towards their studies so that they can gain better theoretical and practical knowledge is a real challenge for us. And for the same reason, we initially work hard to teach basics of Animation and Multimedia so that they can develop interest in those subjects. In addition to this, the unstable minds of teenagers is another problem to tackle. 

What approaches do you bring in apart from curriculum to teach the students?

"They are taken to a wide variety of educational tours and visits every year"

For the purpose of educating students beyond books and hard-coded curriculum, we regularly organize educational tours for them to impart knowledge of aesthetics, nature and rich heritage of Indian Art, culture and Architecture.

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What precious advice would you like to give to the students for a prosperous career ahead?

"Believe in your skills and stay disciplined and focused towards your goals"

I would like to advise my dear students and youths of our society to stay aware about the latest happenings of their surroundings and keep upgrading their drawing skills and general knowledge. And work hard, stay disciplined and focused towards your goals and believe in yourself.