Rons Bantwal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai (EP)
Mumbai, Oct 26: Simoul Alva, aged 21 years, daughter of Mundkur Doddamane Dr Premraj Alva and Padubidre Sipaimane Sadhana Alva, residents of Chembur, here and a seventh semester student of Graphic Design at NID, is now the winner of Medallion of Excellence at World Skills, Abu Dhabi 2017 in the Graphic Design and Technology category, competing against five countries, Germany, Brazil, Netherlands, Japan and Hong Kong.
Her mentor was NID alumni Anthony Lopez, founder of Lopez Design. Simoul is studying graphic design at the National Institute of Design (NID). Simoul Alva has won the first prize in the mini skills competition, organized by the World Skills Russia at an exhibition center in Moscow. The mini skills competition was a simulation of the World Skills International Competition scheduled from October 14 to 19 at Abu Dhabi.
During her education at NID, Alva dabbled with typography, illustration, motion design and used her creativity to lend her voice to some of the most complex issues of the modern world. From creating an illustration-led campaign on substance abuse to experimenting an animation on the wage gap, Alva’s skills range from subtle to nuance to unorthodox. Alva was accompanied by lead trainer Anthony Lopez in Russia, who has been the guiding force behind all her efforts and progress. During the month of August, Media & Entertainment Skills Council (MESC) had also invited international trainer Wolfgang Toechterle from Italy to train her on specific areas linked to packaging and conceptualization.
An awardee of the Ratan Tata Scholarship in 2015, she has also been recognized as one of the top 25-under-25 visual artists and designers of the country by GenX Tata Nano.
Simoul Alva is one among the 28 members of the strong Indian team who would be competing in the Graphic design category from Ahmedabad at Skill Olympics 2017. 1200 competitors from 77+ member countries and regions will be participating in 51 skill competitions to prove their mettle in their field.
It is a global hub for skills excellence and development. Through international cooperation and development between industry, government, organizations and institutions, it promotes the benefits of and need for skilled professionals through grass-roots community projects, skill competitions and knowledge exchange. The National Skill and Development Corporation (NSDC) had identified all the competitors through a series of competitions organized at regional and national levels over the past two years post which all the candidates have undergone extensive training with the industry partners.
She has been declared winner after an all India selection process and thereafter she competed at the World Skills Competition, Abu Dhabi 2017. She received medal and awards at events both in Abu Dhabi and Russia. Simoul is also the recipient of the prestigious HLR Scholarship J Walter Thompson for 2017, which is awarded to only five female students across the world.
The selection process under World Skills India is a tedious process and comprises of the following competition levels- district skill, state skill, regional skill, national/India skill and finally world skill competition.
A student has to compete and qualify in each level of competition to qualify for top skill competition namely World Skills Competition. Each skill competition has many categories under which students from various educational disciplines apply for this world level recognition under skill guide/s.