Ahmedabad: Ashok Mondal, the newly appointed director of the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, who formally took charge on Friday, held the first staff meeting on Monday. The interaction, however, turned stormy as students demanded answers from Mondal regarding the sweeping changes in faculty members’ roles.
The NID, Ahmedabad, oversees the functioning of the Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Bengaluru campuses of the premier design institute.
According to NID sources, soon after taking charge, Mondal reshuffled the heads and leads of almost all the departments. The mid-academic year shuffle did not go well with the faculty members and students, who were already engaged in academic activities. Thus, before the formal meeting with the staff members scheduled at 5 pm on Monday, the students held a discussion with the director.
“The discussion ranged from his ideas for the institute and approach to design to the reasons for the sweeping changes. Almost all the women in lead roles were reassigned. Mondal, in his response, assured the students that he is following the procedure and would be open to suggestions from the students and members of NID in the future for improvement,” said sources. “He also assured the students that there will be freedom to express ideas as the institute aims to open new centres and focus on developing areas.”
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