Anant National University launched two new executive education programmes

Ahmedabad : Anant Centre for Sustainability, a part of India’s first design university, Anant National University, launched two new executive education programmes delivered via a blended learning model – A one-week certificate course in Designing Affordable Living and a one year, Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) programme. Interested candidates can enrol in both programmes until 10 February, 2022. The classes for both programmes will commence in February 2022.

Anant National University announced its first certificate course in Designing Affordable Living. The week-long course will commence on 4 March 2022.

The course provides 30 students with the ability to build a business that innovates, creates, and sells affordable living products. The course offers knowledge about various materials used for designing affordable living products, with a deep dive into the properties of laminated corrugated cardboard, a highly affordable material. By the end of the course, students shall build the prototypes of the products, enhancing learning by integrating theory and practice.

Building on Anant University’s experience in making laminated corrugated cardboard furniture for 27 COVID-19 hospitals across six states in India, the students will then learn how to position, pitch and market the product they make. Interested students can apply for this programme on the university website by 10 February 2022.

Along with the certificate programme, Anant National University also announced EIR programme, a unique and first of its kind year-long structured support programme that invites start-ups and entrepreneurs in affordable housing, building construction, research, real estate, design and prop-tech spaces. Each year three chosen entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to leverage the unique ecosystem provided by the university and its partners. The entrepreneurs shall have the support & guidance from industry mentors and subject matter experts at the university and its affiliate organizations to refine their products and services and take them to market. The programme offers the physical infrastructure such as the state of the art Makerspace, library, working spaces, extensive industry knowledge, and the pool of faculty, researchers, and students available at Anant National University. The EIR programme has partnered with the Brigade REAP accelerator to help the entrepreneurs in the program gain access to Brigade’s extensive network, ecosystem, and funding options via one-on-one mentorship sessions and workshops.

Commenting on the announcement of the two new executive education programmes, Dr Miniya Chatterji, Director Anant Centre for Sustainability and CEO Sustain Labs said, “AnantU’s offering of executive education courses in the field of sustainability fill a crucial skills gap of entrepreneurial abilities to create scalable solutions for affordable living. We don’t yet learn about inequality and skills to overcome it in high school, which makes it difficult for entrepreneurs to build products, services, and business models that are incentivized to create a more equitable society. Both the Designing Affordable Living course and the Entrepreneurs in Residence program are offered to overcome these lacunae.”

The Anant Centre for Sustainability is a Think-Teach-Do tank that focuses on affordable housing, indigenous models of circular economy, and building sustainable education campuses in India. Researchers at the Centre for Sustainability are working on innovative design, technology, and policy solutions to address the issues surrounding the lack of affordable housing. The Centre also publishes research reports, releases multimedia products, and delivers relevant courses and projects related to sustainability.