The first decade of GUNI-FADP has seen a lot of organized efforts to build a strong foundation for the institution, thus involving the laying of a lot of groundwork and reinforcements into developing an institutional culture of academic excellence, research focus, innovative thought processes, and experimental paradigms. Here, we take a retrospective look at significant accomplishments of the institution thus far, giving us a pathway to move ahead in the coming years.

5. Developing a rigorous, experimental, and ever-evolving Academic Ecosystem

We ensured putting in place clear and concise Academic and Administrative Systems, thus streamlining our teaching-learning processes alongside student and faculty support. We also generated curricula focused on new-age, experimental methodologies and opportunities for change and enhancement through regular updates via appropriate processes.

5. Developing an Institutional Culture focused on Continued Learning, Research, Innovation, and relevant Co & Extracurricular activities

Given the regular updates in curricula and syllabi, we inculcated a focus on continued learning amongst our students and teachers alike. This ensured that all stakeholders were abreast with novel ideas, contemporary practices, material and technological advancements, and were generally more open to change. This was accomplished through a focus on research and innovation in the studio, and an emphasis on field-relevant extracurricular and co-curricular activities.

5. Establishing a robust Industry presence

We were successful in establishing a solid industry presence through affiliations, memberships and associations with nationally relevant organizations, including the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA), the Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID), the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), and the National Association of Students of Architecture (NASA). We also established the GUNI-FADP Research & Consultancy Cell (GUNI-FRCC) to ensure continued practical exposure for all our teachers.

5. Academic Collaborations – Joint Vertical Studios and Knowledge Exchange

We successfully collaborated with a premium institution of Architecture to implement joint vertical studios and also ensured significant knowledge exchange through charettes, shared events, and a jointly conducted international study tour. Faculty members from both institutions also frequently conducted reviews for each other, to regularly bring a fresh perspective for students.

5. Successfully establishing Blended Learning - on-campus, online, on-site

Post-COVID, the institution ensured that the learnings from that difficult period were continued. We conducted Expert Sessions online and ensured that the students learned in the class as well as on-site through our Experiential Learning system that became a part of our Structure, Construction, and Services courses.

5. Studies of premier Global HEIs of Architecture & Design for meaningful growth

We conducted a series of studies on selected international institutions of repute in the field of Architecture and Design, to analyze the characteristics, Vision, Mission, objectives, and initiatives undertaken, to better understand how we can move forward to ensure alignment with national and global expectations of Architects and Designers. This is elaborated in the “Understanding Influences” section of this report (pages 6 to 13), and its outcome can be seen in the section entitled “Vision & Mission” (page 14).

5. Defining specific areas of Research Interest and Intervention

Based on our learnings, the need of the country for the next 20 years, and our research capabilities, we identified four promising areas of Research for FADP: Heritage Conservation; Sustainable Living and Housing; Architecture, Arts, and Artificial Intelligence; and Smart Cities. These have been further detailed in the section “Research @GUNI-FADP” (pages 16 to 18).

5. National & International Competitions and Projects

Our faculty and students participated in various national and international projects and competitions, thus ensuring that the institutional environment was always up for challenges through engaging with real-world problems.

5. Progressive Initiatives

We have taken several initiatives to further enhance the overall environment at GUNI-FADP, involving both academic motives as well as niche allied areas of the domain. These are detailed in the section “Significant Initiatives” (pages 21 & 22).

5. Creating significant Archives through Related Study Programs (RSPs)

The Related Study Program (RSP) at GUNI-FADP is an important aspect of the curriculum as it provides an opportunity for documenting the hitherto Unseen & Undocumented Indian Heritage of India, thus allowing us to create significant archives of immense cultural and architectural value for the nation. The RSP is an annual activity, and so far, the institute has documented multiple important sites in various Indian cities, including Varanasi, Haridwar, Jaisalmer, Sikkim, Goa, and Morena, to name a few. These archives have also allowed us to begin creating relevant publications, the first of which is “The Shaktivinayak Temple Precinct on Divar Island, Goa”, a book published by GUNI-FADP on the RSP conducted in 2024.

5. Rankings and Ratings

GUNI-FADP’s Institute of Architecture has been ranked at the National level multiple times as a significant institution in the domain, by such important frameworks as Outlook ICARE and India Today, as well as rated highly by the NIRF. Details of these rankings and ratings are showcased in the section “Noteworthy Accomplishments” (pages 23 to 25).

UNDERSTANDING INFLUENCES

The purpose behind the formation of any institution of higher learning is not only to disseminate quality education to its patrons for growth opportunities, but to do so strategically, wilfully, and with resilience. Large organizations today, whether educational or otherwise, are undergoing a shift in priorities for both individuals and corporations alike, valuing skills over degrees. Multinational conglomerates and corporations, such as Google, Tesla, Apple, and Microsoft, are hiring individuals with specialized skills and are rarely, if ever, concerned about their conventional educational background. Additionally, the state of architectural education in India today is miles away from industry practices. Given our contemporary conditions, we took it in our stride that our prior systems, values, visions, mission statements, objectives, and concerns had to be revisited, rethought, and renewed.

To develop a new meritorious and ever-evolving Vision for GUNI-FADP, it became imperative to define the Values that the institute embodies and/or aspires to embody over a foreseeable period. For that, it was first important to understand the core values and objectives of GUNI at large, which may be summarized thus:

• Highest Quality of Education in the region
• Social Impact through Community Engagement
• National and Global Presence
• Collaboration
• Nexus between Industry and Academia
• Civic Responsibility
• Sustainability
• Lifelong Learning
• Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset
• Cultural Rootedness
• Integrity and Honesty
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

All these core values holistically define what GUNI is today and what it aspires to be in the coming decades, and it is the aim of the President and Patron-in-Chief of the University, Padma Shri Dr. Ganpat I. Patel, to make GUNI akin to Stanford University.

While this is a noteworthy and challenging endeavour, to initiate such a progressive transformation in FADP, we began with understanding the Influences that shape our thinking as a pathbreaking institution of higher learning in the creative fields. This was achieved by studying the Values, Missions, Visions, and Objectives of other globally influential institutions, and codifying what best represented our goals and roles into a vehement Vision statement and consequential Missions. This not only allowed us to keep abreast of the core principles of other high-achieving organizations, but to truly ensure incessant improvement in ourselves to realize our primary objective – Propagation of a Supreme Quality of Education that allows for noteworthy contributions towards Social Welfare and the progress of our nation, by empowering youth to take informed decisions with a Visionary approach.

Having studied a total of forty-three (43) institutions of higher learning in Architecture, Design, and Allied fields across the globe, the key ideologies, principles, aims, objectives, missions, and visions that stood out were visualized as word clouds. A document of the same was created, containing data showcased as a series of bulleted points of reference, some paraphrased, the others directly quoted from their respective web sources. This data also contained important links for websites that can be studied and help gain a deeper understanding of what is at play, specifically in these model institutions (Annexure II – pages ).

The word clouds were created holistically for institutions in a particular continent, as well as what could be visualized as a whole in the overall global context.

• NORTH AMERICA

Universities in North America, specifically in the US and Canada, focus largely on Social and Gender Equity, Collaborations, and Social Impact through Technological advancements as their core values. This begets a clear focus on the idea of Equality, Fairness, Justice, Contemporary ideas and Outreach to establish a presence in a connected world.

Word Cloud for North American Universities – 10 US Universities and 5 Canadian Universities

Furthermore, there is a renewed focus on the notions of Diversity and Inclusion in almost all educational organizations in this region of the world – no doubt owing in part to the 2013 “Black Lives Matter” movement as well as a much apparent global stance against discrimination of any kind – to set up a dialogue for future political stands, and an institution’s position on tolerance at all levels for better creative and multicultural inputs over time.

Top 15 words depicting values considered at the core of design institutions in North American Universities

List of the Universities studied:

• • Stanford University
  • Harvard University
  • UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design
  • MIT Architecture
  • Yale School of Architecture
  • Columbia University’s GSAPP
  • The Ohio State University’s Knowlton School of Architecture
  • UCLA’s Architecture and Urban Design
  • Pratt Institute
  • Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
  • School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), The University of British Columbia
  • John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto
  • Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism, Carleton University
  • Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture, McGill University
  • School of Architecture, University of Waterloo

• EUROPE

European Universities focus largely on Social and Global Impact through Technology, Research and Collaboration. Most universities place a strong emphasis on real-time research, intending to partner with the Industry and the Community to give students opportunities for real-world experience in design production, architectural undertakings, manufacturing and physical manifestations of niche ideas.

List of European Universities studied:

• • TU Delft
  • University of Cambridge’s Department of Architecture
  • The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
  • Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich
  • School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC), EPFL Lausanne
  • Manchester School of Architecture
  • Politecnico di Milano
  • The Edinburgh School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture, (ESALA), The University of Edinburgh
  • School of Architecture and the Built Environment, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

Word Cloud for 9 European Universities

Top 15 words depicting values considered at the core of design institutions in European Universities

• ASIA

Asian Universities reflect values that are largely seen in developing nations, with a lot of emphasis on Social engagement hand-in-hand with Global Impact and Outreach, which portrays a system based on cultural rootedness, either as a core principle or something to strive toward.

Beyond this, it is also important to note that most Asian universities today have a lot of focus on being technologically inclined, with a tremendous importance given to Inter, Intra, Trans, and Multidisciplinary collaborations, as well as a remarkable penchant for ground-breaking Research and Innovation.

Word Cloud for 8 Asian Universities – including 4 Indian Institutions

Top 15 words depicting values considered at the core of design institutions in Asian Universities

List of Asian Universities studied (including four Indian institutions):

• • National University of Singapore
  • University of Tokyo
  • School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi
  • IDPT, Sarvajanik University
  • CEPT University
  • Department of Architecture and Planning, IIT Roorkee
  • College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai
  • School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing

• AUSTRALIA & OCEANIA

Universities in Australia and New Zealand have a vehement focus on creating Impact, both at the Community as well as Global levels, through the use of pathbreaking technological research, innovations, and Collaborations.

Furthermore, these institutions also emphasize a robust Industry-Academia nexus, dealing with real-time problems and issues of varying scales, to widen the overall impact that educational institutions have in real life. This especially adds to the learning of the students who are involved in these projects as studios, competitions, research projects, or Design Build initiatives.

Word Cloud for 9 Australian Universities and 2 Universities in New Zealand

List of European Universities studied:

• • RMIT University
  • Queensland University of Technology
  • The University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning
  • Curtin University’s School of Design and the Built Environment
  • School of Built Environment, University of New South Wales
  • School of Architecture, The University of Queensland
  • School of Design, The University of Western Australia
  • The University of Melbourne School of Design
  • Monash University Art, Design and Architecture
  • School of Architecture and Planning, The University of Auckland
  • Wellington Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation, Victoria University of Wellington

Top 15 words depicting values considered at the core of design institutions in Australia & Oceania

Based on these detailed studies, holistic word clouds were created to showcase what important world institutions put emphasis on in Architecture & Design

Key characteristics identified as indicators of Institutions imparting exemplary Architectural & Design Education

This word cloud gave a rather strong insight into the characteristics that define the long-term visions and goals of premier institutions, enabling them to not only sustain and thrive in the long run, but also be open to the necessary change required by contemporary situations. Furthermore, looking at the Top 15 words identified in this study gave us a deeper understanding of the common core values that drive educational institutions globally.

Top 15 words delineating core values that drive global Architecture & Design HEIs

This detailed exercise led us to the formation of our Vision that not only aligned with the overall goals of the University, but which has the potential to lead the institution and its stakeholders into an exemplary future rife with accountability, good design practices, integrity in professional environments, and a tendency to generate meaningful, cognizant Architecture that serves people at its core.