SVKM’s NMIMS has announced the appointment of Dr. Kaiwan Mehta as Dean of Balwant Sheth School of Architecture, Mumbai.
Dr. Kaiwan Mehta’s professional journey of over 23 years spans the roles of an educator, researcher, trainer, consultant, and institution builder. With his multidisciplinary commitment to research and development, he holds proficiencies in the fields of Architecture (B. Arch), Literature (MA), and Indian Aesthetics (PGDip). Dr. Mehta completed his doctoral studies at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bengaluru, under the aegis of Manipal University in 2017.
He started his teaching career at KRV Institute for Architecture, Mumbai University, and over the last five years he was the Professor and Programme Chair of the Doctoral Programme at the Faculty of Architecture, CEPT, Ahmedabad. Besides having taught as a visiting faculty member at many art, design, and architecture institutes in India, he was the Charles Correa Chair professor at the Goa College of Architecture under the aegis of the Department of Art and Culture, Government of Goa for the academic year 2017-2018. He authored Alice in Bhuleshwar: Navigating a Mumbai Neighbourhood (Yoda Press. New Delhi, 2009) and The Architecture of I M Kadri (Niyogi. New Delhi, 2016), besides other co-edited and co-authored publications, he has curated seminal exhibitions on architecture, housing, and city studies as well. He has delivered keynote lectures and seminars at Cornell University, Centre Pompidou, Paris, besides other Indian and international universities, institutions, museums, and organisations.
Dr. Ramesh Bhat, Vice Chancellor, NMIMS, said, “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Kaiwan Mehta as the new Dean of Balwant Sheth School of Architecture (BSSA). We are definite that under his able guidance, the school will continue to push the boundaries to achieve new levels of innovation and stay ahead of the curve.
Dr. Mehta exemplifies our mission and vision and will guide the school’s growth while improving lives and inspiring positive change via. Research and Learning. We wish him all the best in his new endeavour.”
Dr. Kaiwan Mehta, Dean, NMIMS Balwant Sheth School of Architecture, said, “I am excited to be a part of this esteemed institution, and the history of BSSA which was founded, and has grown as a school in a very dynamic period of contemporary India. From technology to culture, architecture is the embodiment of life and the wheels of time; from monuments and houses we live in, to public spaces in the city and global network societies, architecture is the crucial site for shaping future worlds; and we are witnessing today debates on how architecture itself is undergoing a change, reinventing itself, questioning the premise on which we design our environments. At such a juncture in history, places of education have a particularly vital role to play – preparing you to act and think as a professional, critically contributing to the present as well as actively envision the future. I see the school as a platform that will contribute not only to the future of architecture in India, and globally, but also build a community of professionals who act creatively and critically, and never without empathy or ethics!”