December at Anant was a month of milestones and memorable moments. The University celebrated its 7th Convocation, which saw 299 students graduating across programmes. Dr Sridhar Vembu was the chief guest. The campus also came alive with the much-awaited MOOO Fest, bringing together students, faculty and film enthusiasts for thoughtful screenings and conversations. Anant’s first-ever chess competition added to the excitement.
Anant hosted the 7th Convocation, conferring degrees on 299 students from the Bachelor of Design, Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Design, Anant Fellowship in Sustainability and Built Environment, MSc in Sustainability and Built Environment and Anant Fellowship for Climate Action. Padma Shri awardee and Chief Scientist and Co-founder of Zoho Corporation, Dr Sridhar Vembu, was the Chief Guest. Mr Ajay Piramal, President, Anant National University, Dr Sanjeev Vidyarthi, Provost, Anant National University, and the members of the board were present.
Addressing Anant graduands, Dr Vembu said, “Coming to Anant National University has truly been a joy. The creativity and purpose-driven designs by Anant students blew my mind. I saw remarkable work, the kind of innovation our nation urgently needs. We often celebrate the achievements of our past, yet rarely do we pause to honour what we are building in the present. We must think beyond our own lifetimes and create for the future, and Anant is clearly teaching its students to do exactly that.”
The first batch of Moving Image convocated during this convocation, marking a new milestone for the School of Design. Coming from diverse backgrounds, the students showcased impressive graduation projects that explored storytelling through live action, animation, sound, text, light and scenography.
A thoughtfully curated Graduate Show was organised to showcase select final projects by the graduating students, offering a glimpse into their innovative thinking, creative exploration and academic rigour.
Among the 299 graduates, Aarambh Incubation Centre has offered grants in terms of IPR and process facilitation to over 30 students and grants for POC and Prototype to over 10 students and 94 students have secured placements through Anant’s Career Services Office. Amid proud smiles, teary eyes and heartfelt hugs, the campus brimmed with memories and hopes for the future.
Anant launched Mooo-1.0, an international moving image festival for students. Through live-action filmmaking, animation, sound design, text-based storytelling and emerging media technologies, the fest offered an immersive and transformative learning experience for students, encouraging them to view cinema as an evolving language that blends creative expression with technology. Reputed names from the world of cinema, including Gailė Cijūnaitytė, an interdisciplinary artist from VilAA, Lithuania; Prof Gintarė Valevičiūtė Brazauskienė, artist and Associate Professor at Vilnius Academy of the Arts, Lithuania; Prof Isabel Herguera, animation director and educator, KHM, Germany, attended the fest.
Anant hosted its first-ever Anant Chess Tournament, with over 45 players battling it out in Blitz and Rapid categories. The tournament saw intense games, unexpected upsets and many first-timers stepping confidently into the world of chess. Students from across programmes participated in the tournament, making it an instant hit with the chess enthusiasts.
A team of academicians from Jerusalem Multidisciplinary College, Israel, including Yael Catalan, Director of International Office, Jerusalem Multidisciplinary College; Doron Altaratz, Director of Photographic Communications Department, Jerusalem Multidisciplinary College, visited Anant to explore the academic environment and possibilities of future collaborations in design and research. The visit was part of the ongoing collaboration under the MoU between Anant and Jerusalem Multidisciplinary College (JMC), formerly known as Hadassah Academic College (HAC).
Dinie van den Heuvel, a PhD scholar at Anant and Creative Director at Infantium Victoria, Brussels, received the ‘Best Paper Award’ at the International Conference on Fashion as a Tool for Social Change (FTSC) 2025. Interaction Design student Mohak Rajesh Indulkar, with minor in Product Design, secured an internship at STEMpedia as a Motion Graphics and Video Editing intern. Communication Design student Devyankshi Parchani, with Health and Wellbeing as minor, completed her capstone internship with TENXYOU, the sportswear start-up founded by Sachin Tendulkar.
