‘Knowledge has a beginning but no end’ and when it comes to sharing knowledge- Imparting education and creating a platform for learning is the ideal way. Sathish Narayanan who has been in the creative industry for over 22 years has taken a step to encourage this initiative by starting his own Design Media & Edutainment School (DMES) at Pune.
With a vision to create the next generation of design thinkers, Design Media & Edutainment School was officially unveiled by Mumbai University, Vice Chancellor, Sanjay Deshmukh today at Pune. Venu Vemula (Serial Entrepreneur also working at Google), Professor Arularasan (Kumbakonam College of Arts & Crafts), and Ashish Kulkarni (Chairman, FICCI AVGC) were the chief guests at the launch of the school while, filmmaker Ramesh Sippy sent his wishes to the new school as he could not be present.
DMES will provide a wholesome system of education with their current offering of six courses namely Diploma in Digital Filmmaking & TV Production, Visual Effects Design, Communication Design, Industrial Design, Animation Film Design and Textile and Fashion Design. All these courses are Advanced Diploma Programmes and constitute of a term of two years generally with few short term and long term courses too. “The courses are more practical than theory as the students have to constantly perform in various projects and assignments both individually and in groups,” explained Sathish Narayanan.
As Sathish Narayanan has been an industry stalwart working with Reliance Animation (ADA Group), Reliance Animation – BIG AIMS (ADA Group), BIG Animation (I) and Penta Media Graphics in the past, the teaching faculty consists of professionals from the industry. Moreover, the visiting faculty will also consist of animation and VFX supervisors. He added, “The teaching faculty are mainly professionals from JJ school of Arts and other renowned art and design institutes. It is a professional environment entirely for we want to enhance the education system in this field.”
In terms of the facilities and services, the design school has an area of around 5000 sq. ft. with iMac, Cintiq and Dell machines available for the students. Softwares like Photoshop, Maya, Toon Boom, Fusion, Nuke and other latest softwares will be taught to the students.
Speaking on the new school, Ramesh Sippy said, “The ability to bring a design idea to life and the thought process behind it makes all the difference between an ordinary and extraordinary idea. Sathish’s expertise and passion for mentoring and nurturing young design talent will surely bring out some of the next design stars.”
Mumbai University, Vice Chancellor, Sanjay Deshmukh added, “Coming from a background of education, we are always aiming to build industry-ready professionals. Design has found importance in every aspect of business, and there is, indeed, a dearth of talent in this domain. I applaud Sathish and DMES on the endeavor to create the next generation of design thinkers as DMES hopes to change this, and I wish them all the best!”
Design Media & Edutainment School, founder and director, Sathish Narayanan highlighted, “Today, storytelling has grown to such an extent that we use it in every aspect from business presentations, filmmaking, and animation VFX – design being the essence of all. This school will enable solutions for an array of courses that emphasise design in every facet. We want every student to take advantage of the courses in a creative environment. We want to create a world of design enthusiasts to design thinkers and doers.”
Various workshops and seminars will help students gain knowledge and interact with the industry on a personal front. “We do not aim to create a franchise model but I want to impart and share knowledge. In the future, I want to build more centres at different places and cater to more students,” concluded Narayanan.