Better by Design

The institute has a strong presence of Student Council and grooms students in leadership skills through various organising opportunities

 

Dr Ujwala Chakradeo

 

Architecture reflects culture. It has more to it than merely the process of construction and designing. Architecture is inherently interested in the future. On the career front, there is a huge demand for talented architects

 

Architecture not only creates physical spaces for mankind, but also shapes it. It is the foundation on which a civilisation is built and is an integral part of the fabric of the society. Learning architecture involves knowledge of not only space-making but also place-making. Understanding of a wide spectrum of subjects like arts, science, technology, mathematics, philosophy, economics, geography and history are vital to sensitising the students of architecture towards the real-time and grass-root issues of architecture.

 

Architecture cannot be taught only within the confines of the four walls of a classroom. Much of the learning happens outside of the classroom. The world of architecture education is a world of Hands-on and Experiential learning, in an environment that nurtures experimentation and creative thinking.

 

Smt Manoramabai Mundle College of Architecture (SMMCA), Nagpur is among the Top 3 architecture colleges in Central India and has been ranked among the Top 32 architecture colleges in India for 2021 by India Today Ranking. The college is governed by the Women's Education Society, a trust which was established in 1932 with the mission to empower women through higher, technical and vocational skills education. Having recently celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 2018, SMMCA is one of the oldest architecture colleges in the region.

 

SMMCA offers a five year bachelor’s degree course in Architecture (B.Arch.) in the faculty of Science and Technology. It also offers a two year masters course (M Arch) in Architecture Education, the only such course in India, and a Masters course (M Arch) in Urban Design. The institute is a Centre of Research approved by RTM Nagpur University and is one of the selected few institutes in Central India offering Ph D in Architecture.

 

The institute has a very strong research base with one of the highest number of Ph D holding faculty in the country. The institute continues to create award winning students and faculty. The college has won several awards for documentation and is also the Nodal Cell for Documentation & Heritage Conservation for Nagpur Municipal Corporation. SMMCA has offered Design Consultancy for several prestigious projects through the SMMCA Design Cell. SMMCA has a global Alumni Network and several alumni have recently garnered recognition at national level for their exceptional work.

 

The institute has a very efficient placement cell and SMMCA students have been offered placement by top corporate recruiters like Godrej & Boyce, Base4 International, etc. through campus interviews. SMMCA students find placement in leading architectural firms throughout India for their training as well as post-B.Arch. placement.

 

SMMCA believes in holistic development of students and encourages extracurricular activities in addition to academic activities. The Institute has 8 active student clubs – Photography, Music, Dance, Movie, Book, Sketching, Cycling and Birding Clubs, and has Rotract and IGBC Student Chapters. The institute has a strong presence of Student Council and grooms students in leadership skills through various organising opportunities.

 

With the onset of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, the institute took this challenge as an opportunity to gain expertise in online teaching-learning. In a span of a year SMMCA faculty conducted more than 60 International & National webinars and guest lectures. A Virtual Exhibition of the best student work of the past 2 years ‘Pragya Darpan’ has benefited students of not only SMMCA but also other institutes and aspiring students.

 

To apply for admission to Bachelor of Architecture at SMMCA, valid scores in NATA test or JEE Paper II are required. For admission to Masters at SMMCA the student has to have appeared for MAH-M Arch-CET exam. Admissions for all the colleges/universities in Maharashtra for both B Arch. and M Arch. are conducted through a centralized admission process by Directorate of Technical Education, Maharashtra State. Detailed information about the admission process is available on their website. For admission to Ph D at SMMCA the candidate should have cleared the Pre Entrance Test (PET) conducted by RTM Nagpur University, and appeared and cleared the RRC. Further details are available under the Ph D Cell section of RTM Nagpur University website.

 

(The writer is Principal of SMM College of Architecture, Nagpur and specialises in Bharatiya Architectural Heritage)