DOT School of Design’s Chairman, Mr. AR R Raammnath, started his career as a practicing architect having an affinity towards conservation and preservation of geographically ethnic buildings. He has also been trained under Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Pondicherry, on several renovation and revitalization projects. Leadership has always been his strong forte as a Manager, Leader and an Executive in renowned architectural firms. He also found his passion for journalism and writing which led him to explore his line of work as sub-editor for ‘Buildersline’. He has always been interested in sharing one’s acquired knowledge and believed strongly in pedagogy.

“I Never Teach My Pupils. I Only Attempt To Provide The Conditions In Which They Can Learn.” – Albert Einstein.

In line with the above, Mr. Raammnath always believed that ‘when provided a right learning environment, any child or a person is eligible to learn and do wonders beforehand’. This drove him to craft a creative environment for the students to learn design. He started an educational platform for all the creative and design enthusiasts to meet, explore and learn mutually, irrespective of their educational background and age. When he met designers with a similar vision, the platform grew out to be “dSchool” in Chennai. dSchool was started to fill the gap of awareness on design and creative education in Tamilnadu. Mr. Raamnnath is currently pursuing his research on Conservation and Enhancement of Athangudi tiles.

Recognizing that a university approved certificate programme with career driven courses would greatly enhance the prospects of the students, Mr. AR R Raammnath also launched Vista Institute of Design – a branch of dSchool that laid the foundation to bridge the gap between design education and industrial experience. The courses were designed around real-life projects that provided students with hands-on experience within the design industry.

In 2020, fuelled by the success of dSchool and Vista Institute of Design, Mr. AR R Raammnath wished to build a bridge that comprehensively connected the voice of the design industry to an academic environment. He accomplished this by designing a syllabus that followed the structured characteristic akin to an academic institution, and at the same time, providing a creative environment with the right infrastructure to help students develop skill-based learning. The result of this vision is DOT School of Design – an academic institution that plays off the strengths of dSchool and Vista Institute of Design.