Mumbai, 9th August 2024: Arena Animation, one of the flagship brands of Aptech Limited and a leading animation institute in India in collaboration with Bharti Airtel Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises, with a long-standing commitment towards enhancing education and empowering youth, organized the inaugural edition of TheTeacherApp Design-a-thon Challenge 2024. The platform, created to tap into the potential of budding creative students was held between July 4 -7th, 2024. The Designathon attracted over 2000+ talented students from across 180+ centers of Arena Animation, pan India, who were engaged in a series of intense challenges to craft thousands of impactful and educational illustrations, showcasing their ingenuity and innovative spirit.
Arena Animation is a pioneer in animation and multimedia education, offering a comprehensive range of courses that prepare students for successful careers in the dynamic animation, VFX, Gaming & Comics (AVGC) industry. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel Foundation continues to support innovative educational solutions that inspire and cultivate young talent by investing in initiatives such as Design-a-Thon Challenge. The Design-a-Thon Challenge has been created as a platform for budding designers to contribute towards the nation’s development by participating through TheTeacherApp and contributing their designs to the various teaching modules.
Speaking about the event, Dr. Anuj Kacker, Chief Executive Officer (I), Aptech Limited, said, “We were thrilled to collaborate with Bharti Airtel Foundation for this incredible initiative as it underscores our common vision and commitment to empowering youth through education. The Design-a-thon Challenge represented a unique opportunity for students of Arena Animation to unleash their creativity and contribute meaningfully to educational content creation. As the demand for high-quality digital content grows exponentially, events like these will empower young talents to explore and excel in the fields of animation, VFX, gaming & comics.”
He added, “At Aptech and through our training brand – Arena Animation, we prepare our students to be industry-ready professionals. I am particularly delighted that our students and winners of Design-a-thon have been rewarded with job training & learning opportunities through internships and apprenticeships at Bharti Airtel Foundation.”
Ms. Mamta Saikia, CEO of Bharti Airtel Foundation, said “We are delighted to mark the success of the Design-a-thon challenge, where students displayed remarkable creativity by submitting over 1,500 illustrations for our teacher learning modules on TheTeacherApp. A special thanks to Aptech for their invaluable support in encouraging their students to join the challenge, contributing to its success. This initiative will benefit educators through engaging content on TheTeacherApp while having access to the range of illustrations on different themes that they can use for developing engaging teaching materials for everyday classroom facilitation. Congratulations to the winners whose creative designs will enrich our educational content and inspire future learners. We hope to bring more such initiatives for students across India that can empower them to make meaningful contributions to the field of education.”
TheTeacherApp Designathon Challenge 2024 not only recognized and rewarded talent but also provided tangible career opportunities, reinforcing the importance of nurturing young talents through skill building and development. The winner of the Design-a-thon, (Tithi Bain, from Kolkata UltaDanga, an Arena Animation student earned an exclusive 1-year paid apprenticeship with Bharti Airtel Foundation, paving the way for job training & learning opportunities. The runner-ups – Arnab Maitra (from Kolkata Barasat) and Panish Sen (Nikol, Ahmedabad) from Arena Animation, won a paid internship with Bharti Airtel Foundation. In addition, more than 20 participants were felicitated with certificates and cash prizes.