The quest to choose the National Winner from among 11 regional winners to represent India at the World Skills Competition at Sao Paulo in 2015 in the Graphic Design category got rolling in Pune at Reliance AIMS, F.C. Road Center on 6 October.
The event was inaugurated by eminent computer scientist Dr. Vijay Bhatkar in the presence of the top management of Reliance AIMS – Atul Vohra, COO, Sathish Narayanan, Dean Academics and Tejonidhi Bhandare, CFO and Reliance AIMS, FC Road Center – Business Partner Anuj Bhandari of B.U. Bhandari, Ashish Malhotra – Project Manager World Skills, NSDC; Dr. Ashish S.K. Executive Member, Media & Entertainment Skills Council and Co-Chairman, FICCI AVGC Forum.
While delivering the keynote address Dr. Bhatkar reminisced of being questioned by few ‘Is software a skill’, with reality that it is and he delivered in six months at CDAC high class software developers and in a short span India was teeming with software talents and the rest is history.
He further went on to mention that as software development became a boon and boom for India, so also skills development will see the same wave in the days to come.
Dr. Bhatkar lauded the effort made by NSDC, partnering with Reliance AIMS towards promotion of the world skills development. He expressed that to achieve the critical mass of employable skill in a very short time this model of Government-Public-Private Sector partnership as a very workable model. He concluded by wishing the contestants a success and also reminding them that ‘Life is about scripting the story of your life.
Speaking on the occasion, Atul Vohra (COO, Reliance AIMS), said: “Reliance AIMS takes pride in partnering with NSDC for the 2nd consecutive time and along with NSDC showcase Indian talent on the world map. The national winner is taken under our tutelage and mentored for a period of six months preparing him for the momentous World Skills Competition. He further added “The whole idea of the competitions gels with Reliance AIMS philosophy of nurturing creative minds to develop industry ready talents.”
Dr. Ashish S.K. (Executive Member, Media & Entertainment Skills Council and Co-Chairman, FICCI AVGC Forum) mentioned the importance of “Art of story-telling” which is an important ingredient of any communication skills. He further shared his experience in the Animation, VFX and Gaming industry and the government focus on skills development.
Sathish Narayanan, Dean Academics at Reliance AIMS and Subject Expert who mentored the 2012 World Skills India National winner Arun Raj Balasubramani who made India proud by bagging the “Medallion of Excellence” and “Best of the Nation” awards informed: “This year we had an overwhelming 89 contestants from premier design schools across India who applied online. 67 candidates were shortlisted based on the qualifying age criteria and screening of their portfolio. Considering their immense talent these youngsters possess, it was not an easy task to select the best 10 for Nationals from among the 67 who appeared for the Regional level contest. The competition was so intense and close that we had to select 11 candidates for the final line up for today’s National Competition. I will once again be mentoring the national winner for the 43rd World Skills Competition at Sao Paulo to be held from 11-16 August 2015 and hope we win the Gold.”
