Shubhada Chapekar
Professor in Architecture and Principal, D Y Patil School
India
An alumni of Sir J J College of Architecture (1991), now in the field of Architectural education. I have worked with some renowned architects in Mumbai in my formative years and as free-lancer worked mainly on interior design projects in Mumbai. I had the distinct pleasure and rare opportunities to have lived in places like Lonavala, Jalna, Gandhidham (before the earthquake), a tiny hamlet called Jaleshwar in Orisa and also big cities like Mumbai, Muscat in Oman and Pune, over the past thirty years.This gave me a rich and valuable experience in dealing with people from various strata of society in India as well as abroad. The exposure to people from various countries and experiences gained by interacting with them helped to formulate my thoughts and reflect on my career, priorities and goals for the future. This led to a decision to pursue higher education with the aim to carving out a career in education. I successfully acquired a post graduate degree in Environmental Architecture (2009) from Dr B N College of Architecture in Pune and started out as Associate Professor at Padmashree Dr D Y Patil College of Architecture, Pune before joining D Y Patil School of
Architecture as Associate Director. I have been the Principal since then and is currently also the Director in charge at D Y Patil School of Architecture, Charholi, Pune.
A brief outline of this role- Articulating the vision and mission for the School, setting and achieving goals for growth of the institute. Successfully started the Masters program in Environmental Architecture in 2013, towards upward academic growth of the institute. Ensured successful transition of the school from state university to private university in 2019. Developed a new curriculum for School of Architecture, Ajeenkya D Y Patil University as per CoA MSAE Regulations 2020. Managing human and material resources efficiently. Allotment of subjects and studios to faculty is done in a manner which allows them to work within their core capability as well as leaves sufficient time to acquire new capabilities to grow and have a fulfilling career in academics.
Successfully organised and hosted- National level Seminar on “Architectural Entrepreneurship Development Program” in 2014 National Level Conference- “Design with the Environment with focus on Smart Cities and Environmental Considerations in Architecture and Planning” in 2017. “National Students Conference on Research in Architecture,” a unique platform for presenting students research papers, first organised in March 2019, has successfully completed its fourth year.