BOARD OF FACULTY
Chandrashekhar Bheda
Textile and Handicrafts Designer
Chandrashekhar Bheda is a renowned textile and handicrafts designer with over three decades of experience. He’s an alumnus of India’s top design and art schools, including the National Institute of Design (AEP 1988), Ahmedabad, and the Sir J.J. School of Arts, Bombay (1982), with a stint at NIFT Delhi (1989). Chandrashekhar leads various design projects for both domestic and international markets, combining traditional and high-tech techniques for innovative textile and handicraft products.
He’s also an avid traveler, photographer, musician, singer, and academic with a deep passion for people, cultures, and the ever-evolving natural world. Chandrashekhar has worked with organizations like Oxfam Fair Trade Company UK, Care India, GTZ Nepal, ILO, Suzlon Corporation, Axis Bank Ltd, and more. He’s involved with academic institutions like NID, NIFT, CDI, IICT, IICD, and others, serving on panels and juries.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chandrashekhar played a crucial role as a thought leader, organizing webinars through the Shilp Setu Program of Hand for Handmade to support traditional artisans affected by lockdowns.
His textile art has been featured in exhibitions like Santati, Then Now and Next, Akshar Mahotsav23, and Woven Narratives.
Noopur Tiwari
Masters in Psychology, SLPEP National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad ( Visual Communication Design )
Noopur Tiwar, a designer and TV production expert with over 22 years of experience, holds a diverse skill set encompassing visual communication design, filmmaking, and television production. She graduated from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and has worked with prestigious channels like National Geographic and CNN IBN, producing Health and Lifestyle shows.
As a passionate educator, Noopur excels in nurturing her students’ imaginative energies and intellectual growth by blending Systems Thinking, Design Thinking, Psychology, Emotional Intelligence, and Communication Design tools. She currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at various universities across India, teaching visual communication-related subjects and conducting workshops for both faculty and students.
Beyond her professional life, Noopur’s interests span International Cinema, Psychology, and Content Creation. She dedicates her time to volunteering as a graphic designer for the UK-based charity Neurodiversity in Business, advocating for neuro inclusion in the corporate world. Additionally, she’s a retro music enthusiast, a dog lover, an enthusiastic doodler, and a solo traveler who embraces the opportunity to explore the world whenever possible.
Suranjana Satwalekar
Senior Design Faculty at NID,
Suranjana Satwalekar, with a Philosophy Honours degree from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, pursued Exhibition Design at India’s National Institute of Design (NID). As Senior Design Faculty at NID, she played a vital role in establishing the Audio Visual Studio and relaunching the Exhibition Design Programme until 2001. In 2003, she founded Satwalekar Design Studio with Vikas Satwalekar in Mumbai, specializing in themed environments, including museums, visitor centers, and brand spaces, offering end-to-end services. Notable projects include ‘Across Oceans & Flowing Silks’ at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, ‘Parikrama’ for the National Dairy Development Board, and an ongoing Sardar Patel exhibit in Gujarat.
Suranjana’s career spans teaching, exhibition design, photography, and television design. She was principal designer for the Reserve Bank Monetary Museum and led the Khalsa Heritage Museum project. She advised on museum design for the Dandi Kutir Multimedia Museum and her photography featured in publications like ‘Rashtrapati Bhawan,’ ‘Handmade in India,’ and ‘Great Monuments of India.’
Currently, Suranjana is a Professor of Practice at the Institute of Design, J K Lakshmipat University, Jaipur, and has affiliations with CEPT University, Ahmedabad.
Vijay Bhaskar
Behavioral Designer & Scientist
Vijay Bhaskar, an experienced Behavioral Designer and Scientist with a rich background in digital transformation and design leadership, brings valuable expertise to education. With a career spanning two decades, he’s excelled in Design, Research, Process, Product, and People Management, consistently contributing to organizational success.
Currently a Customer Experience Evangelist at Relevantz, he leads research and data-driven experiences. His previous roles, including Head of Experience & Research at Relevantz and Freelance Product & Service Design Consultant, involved shaping design systems for diverse businesses, from startups to digital transformation initiatives.
As a former Senior UX Specialist at EdgeVerve, he pioneered innovative design paradigms and executed digital transformation projects. Serving as COO at Divami Design Labs, he established profitable systems and processes.
With a B.Sc. in Microbiology, Botany, and Chemistry from Osmania University, he bridges science and design. His expertise includes Leadership, Operations Management, Customer Engagement, Critical Thinking, User Experience Design, Information Architecture, Design Strategy, and Usability.
Understanding educational dynamics, Mr. Bhaskar is dedicated to imparting knowledge and inspiring future designers and innovators. His insights benefit faculty, investors, and students navigating the evolving design and customer experience landscape.
He eagerly anticipates the opportunity to contribute his expertise to your esteemed institution.
Monica Bhandula
Interior Designer
Ms. Monica Bhandula began her career in Delhi after graduating in interior design from the same city in 1992. She subsequently founded Xception in Hyderabad in 1995. Over the past 30 years, Monica has worked on a diverse range of interiors, including residential, commercial retail, hospitality, and wellness. She has managed close to 500 sites across the country, catering to various spatial requirements and budgets.
Monica’s design philosophy is an amalgamation of expression, exploration, experimentation, and evolution of ideas. She skillfully blends functionality and aesthetics to enhance the comfort of the occupants. Her approach to design emphasizes simple and unique ideas, infused with empathy and a deep understanding of human behavior. This unique combination often results in outcomes that offer pleasure, personal significance, and virtue to her clients.
Sustainability, especially through local solutions, holds a special interest for Monica. She aspires to incorporate localized design solutions and vernacular design options in all her projects.
Throughout her illustrious career, Monica has staunchly believed in values like curiosity, humbleness, helpfulness, hard work, and patience, which she considers the primary attributes leading to her success.
Her drive to explore, create, recreate, and unearth beauty in everything encapsulates Monica Bhandula’s essence as a designer.
Anand M. Kulkarni
Founder of Sankul Design Studio
Anand is a distinguished post-graduate in Design from Coventry University/MSRSAS. In 2018, he founded Sankul Design Studio, underpinned by his vast experience spanning over two and a half decades in design, engineering, development, materials, tooling, and manufacturing.
He has a rich history of association with global automotive giants, having been employed at notable companies such as Tata Motors, Visteon, Toyota, and TVS Sundaram. His portfolio prominently features design and development work for passenger cars, buses, trucks, two-wheelers, medical equipment, and consumer electronics.
Anand has been instrumental in the design, engineering, and development of iconic vehicles such as the Tata Altroz, Tata Nano, Tata Hexa, Renault Duster, Mahindra Scorpio, and Peugeot 3008. Additionally, he has played a key role in crafting commercial vehicles like the JCBL Destiny Bus, various electric buses and trucks, forklifts, and an innovative range of electric bikes and scooters for emerging startups.
With extensive travels and collaborations, Anand’s expertise isn’t just regional but global, having worked with renowned companies across Asia, Europe, and North America. His leadership prowess shines through as he has successfully steered teams from initial market research all the way to triumphant product launches.
Arvind Chenji
Photographer & Filmmaker
Arvind Chenji is a seasoned photographer and filmmaker with a distinguished career spanning nearly four decades. With extensive experience in the advertising industry, Chenji has executed numerous high-profile campaigns, delivered over 40 magazine covers, produced 108 television episodes, and conducted myriad professional shoots.
He recently concluded his term as the President of the Telangana Photographic Society, a venerable institution established in 1957. Mr.Chenji has contributed to most major Indian publications and has had the honor of collaborating with the esteemed National Geographic Society in the US. He possesses specialized training in 3D holographic video production.
Notably, he holds the distinction of being the inaugural brand ambassador for Sony cameras in India. Presently, while continuing his commercial endeavors, he is dedicatedly curating a visual portfolio centered on India.
Ákos Gerold
Founding Member of the Cialdini Institute
Ákos is a founding member of the Cialdini Institute, a global organisation that teaches the research-based principles of practical, ethical persuasion. He is also a Certified Ethical Influence Practitioner.
For the better part of 15 years, Ákos has been delivering presentation, communication and ethical persuasion skills training for top-level decision makers and managers of global and local companies in Europe and Brazil. He also spent three years as one of the leaders of a global organisation of communication skills trainers.
His keynotes, training and coaching is entirely focused on how to communicate and persuade more effectively and ethically based on how the brain works and decides.
