VK VidyaSetu- Bridging And Strengthening The Gap Between Academia And Practice
Over the past five decades, VK Group has introduced several initiatives in practice, steadily moving towards the essential inclusion of academia. In celebration of our 51st year since establishment of our multi-disciplinary built environment consultancy, we conceived the idea of VK VidyaSetu– bridging and strengthening the gap between academia and practice.
Having been a part of shaping Pune’s built environment for decades, we recognize that education cannot exist in isolation from the city itself. Too often, we become too focused on covering curriculum topics, oblivious to the profound impact of place, context and real-world interactions. Hence, in our 1st Summit, we took a step forward in our belief in the power of design discourse, inviting top colleges in the built environment field to engage with the works within their campuses with relevance to Pune’s urban Fabric. Under the theme “City within the Campus”—a call to integrate urban realities into education, to nurture a deeper understanding of the environments we design, build, and sustain— this platform opened the door to exchange knowledge, break down silos, and collectively shape the future of built environment education.
Much to our delight, over 60 academicians from 14 colleges in Pune responded with awe-inspiring presentations, showcasing the breadth of work done by the students under the guidance of Faculty. A collaborative discussion followed every four 10-minute presentations.
Ar. Sujata Karve from MKSSS BNCA presented the survey of Fergusson Road, Jangli Maharaj Road, and Swargate areas in Pune, while Ar. Shekhar Garud from PVP VIT highlighted projects working directly with the government, passionately advocating community building through ‘Pathnatya’. Ar. Shilpa Dhavale from Allana College of Architecture showcased their research on the ‘Intermodal Transit Hub, Shivajinagar.’, and Ar. Priyamvada Chitale from Sinhagad College of Architecture presented insightful research on ‘Biophilia in Working Places’.
All these intricate research and survey stemmed into the discussion- Could we have an open-access repository? And if so, could it be structured in a way that it can benefit both the academicians as well as industry practitioners? Ar. Hrishikesh Kulkarni demonstrated the idea and importance of such a knowledgebase (which can be accessed by employees on the common server at the office), emphasizing its potential to serve as an initial step in connecting and organizing the precise research and efforts undertaken by students.
Moving forward with the campus work, Mr. Hemant Sathye from Aayojan School of Architecture and Design demonstrated on Mhalunge Township- it’s urban emphasis. Ar. Manali Deshmukh from BRICK School of Architecture, presented on waste management, sustainability and public participatory projects that their students have been actively involved in. Other notable presentations included ‘Decoding Urban Realities- Exploring Moshi Unique Challenges’ by S.B. Patil College of Architecture.
The discussion not only enriched an understanding of how we could establish a robust way of working on a unified project but also raised important questions: Can VK Group serve as a mediator between academic research and the building sector?
By assigning the right task force, we can ensure proper recognition, making this collaboration valuable—for students who can contribute to real-time projects, and for the industry, with background work ready for implementation. A Design and Research Cell in each institute could serve as the core of this effort, driving advocacy and policymaking.
Often, there is a disconnect between the work that goes on beyond the education domain and industry-mentored efforts open a whole new world of opportunities for curious explorations and innovations. The originators of VK Group demonstrated how ‘CuMiLab’ conducts courses and electives for college students to build an entrepreneurial mindset among budding architects. This highlighted that design can be product-based, beyond being seen as a service.
We were also honoured by the presence of Dr. Rupali Gaikwad representing Fergusson College Environmental Science Department, Dr. Deepali Nimbalkar of Vasantdada Sugar Institute, and Prof. Chetana Rathee from NICMAR Construction Management, and representatives from Balaji University, discussing the environmental sector and its relevance to the city building, TOD, sustainability, government-advocacy and construction project management.
Fergusson College also expressed interest in signing an MOU with VK Group for collective work in Green Sustainability internship and groundwork on projects.
The session was filled with ideas and enthusiasm, driven by a basic urge – an eagerness to nurture more conversations and continue participating in such an industry-transparent platform. While colleges shared their work, the practitioners guided how those could be utilised for real time projects – a necessity that emerged from the core idea of building a bridge between education and practice.
Convened by Anagha Paranjape Purohit and led by Athulya Aby, VK VidyaSETU was a grand success for its first summit, eagerly looking forward to many more. The objective remains same- enhancing a transparency toward the dialogue that forms the core of VK Group- collaborating, influencing, and building upon each other’s expertise.