An Exploratory Study to Discover the Academia-Practice Gap in the Field of Architectural Design in India

Education plays a crucial role in shaping what and how people practice in the professional world. However, Architecture graduates of today find an evident gap between what they are expected to deliver in Professional practice and what skills they acquire in academics. This gap is also apparent from the perspective of professionals who find that Architecture graduates often lack the necessary knowledge and skills they expect. This highlights a significant gap existing between academics and practice concerning Architectural Design Education (ADE). ADE in India hasn’t changed for ages despite the ongoing debate in the fraternity over whether the conventional educational model should change to better equip students for the challenges of practice. The study aims to gather the opinions of practitioners and faculty in the field of design, to identify any gaps that exist between the two, and to investigate the underlying causes of those gaps. To identify the areas and degrees of agreement and disagreement between practitioners and instructors regarding the Architecture Curriculum and Graduate Competencies, a questionnaire survey was designed. The study findings will initiate a review of the design curriculum and graduate competencies, emphasizing multi-disciplinarity, flexibility, and adaptability to our ever-changing socio-cultural and economic conditions, fulfilling the needs of both academics and practice equipping students with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate practice scenarios of present and future.