‘The faculty at this university is brilliant’

Hailing from Palwal in Haryana, for Aastha Batra, the priority was to look for a university that only offered a degree programme in animation and design but also that it was near her home. After searching the Internet, she found. Fortunately, for her, Apeejay Stya University (ASU) had a BDes programme in Animation and Multimedia.

“I was always interested in graphic designing right from my school days. When it came to choosing the programme graphic design I searched the Internet for hours and found that ASU offered a degree course. Also, I wanted to stay close to home. And while I had heard about Apeejay, I thought they offered only engineering courses. But on closer inspection, I found what I was looking for and enrolled back in 2017,” Batra said.

In an impromptu interview, the graphic designer talks about why she chose this profession and how she loved every minute spent at ASU

Where are you working at present?

I am, at present, working at Khel Group (providing an omnichannel gaming experience) as a graphic designer. The company has gaming apps like cricket, and football to name a few. My job is to create graphics for these games. The best part is that the work doesn’t throw too many curve balls. We all know what has to be done and the workflow is smooth. The nature of work is such that we manage to deliver whatever is asked of us.

What is the best part of working in this field?

As I said, I always wanted to be a graphic designer. When you get the job where your passion lies, it is no longer a chore, it becomes a playground and each day is good.

How was the faculty?

I learnt everything that I know under Dibyendu Tripathi. During my foundation course, Suganda ma’am and Rajeshwar sir were the best. I got to learn so much from both of them – from how to hold the stencil to rendering – each part was explained and taught in detail. The foundation programme helps you to know about this field and where your interest lies. Then there was Manoj sir and Taruna ma’am. I think she was brilliant. We all loved the way she explained everything. It is because of her that I am having no issues working on Photoshop.

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When you get the job where your passion lies, it is no longer a chore, it becomes a playground and each day is good

–Aastha Batra, Graphic Designer, Khel Group

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Can you share some anecdotes from ASU days?

I loved every minute of studying at ASU. Yes, 2020-21 were COVID-19 years but the first two years – 2017-19 – were amazing. The lockdown period was okay since we got time to finish our thesis. I loved going to my classes. My attendance was always above 95 per cent. All my friends at ASU were from Delhi and Faridabad. They had to wait until 5:30 pm to take the bus back. It was not as if the class was over and students went home. This time was spent having a blast.

What was the teaching methodology?

The best part was that equal weightage was given to practical learning as well. Another high point was that while studying your core subjects, we also took up subjects like Math and Computer Science; these helped us get extra credits. We could study these along with our main course. Since I took up three extra programmes, my last year was practically free and I spent this time preparing for the jury and working on my thesis. I was guided by my mentor Abdul sir to do this and I will be ever grateful to him for this small tip he gave.

What advice would you like to give to present ASU students?

You must develop a good relationship with the faculty. I am still in touch with some of my professors. This will help you further your career. Even today, if I get stuck somewhere while working in my present job, I call them and ask for help. Even my sister has recently taken admission at the Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication.