The area of design education within the state of Maharashtra is witnessing a very silent but significant transformation that can be credited to none other than Oasis College of Design & Technology. After being honoured with the designation of ‘Premier Institute for Fashion & Design Education’ from the Maharashtra Excellence Awards 2026, Oasis College of Design & Technology owes this recognition not by chance but because of years of hard work driven by its mission. The person standing behind all the developments here is Dr. Ashwini Daulat Bafana, the Principal of Oasis College of Design and Technology.
With her visionary approach, she transformed the design school into a vibrant system linking students from different backgrounds in Maharashtra to the world of design education through their participation in the industry and getting access to the relevant education. By creating a unique learning environment where everything revolves around practical application, encouraging innovative thinking in the staff and boasting a large network of graduates, the institute does not follow the trends of Indian design education; it sets them.
Building From the Ground Up
At a time when India’s creative economy is expanding faster than institutions can keep pace, Oasis College stands out not merely as a design school, but as a movement. The institution did not arrive at its current standing by accident. It was built, deliberately, on three foundational pillars: student-centricity, industry integration, and community. Every policy decision, every curriculum refresh, every investment runs through a single filter: Does it serve the student’s best outcome? “Design, to me, has always been the language of possibility,” says the principal, Ashwini.
This clarity of purpose has allowed Oasis to grow with consistency while remaining true to its core mission: making world-class design education accessible, relevant, and transformative.
A Curriculum That Keeps Pace With Industry
What sets Oasis apart is its refusal to teach design in a vacuum. The college maintains active, ongoing relationships with design practitioners, creative enterprises, and industry leaders, ensuring that classroom learning mirrors the demands of the professional world in real time. Students engage with live briefs from real clients. Faculty bring their own creative practice into the curriculum. Emerging tools from UI/UX platforms to AI-assisted design and sustainable materials are woven into the coursework, not treated as add-ons.
The institute is firm on the statement made that: “Staying relevant is not optional, it is existential. The industry moves fast, and our curriculum must move with it.”
The result is a graduating cohort that arrives in the workforce design-literate, industry-ready, and analytically sharp.
Breaking the Perception Barrier
The college has taken deliberate aim at one of the most persistent barriers in regional design education: perception. For years, families across Maharashtra viewed design as an impractical career path. Oasis tackled this head-on through sustained community engagement, parent counselling sessions, and open days, but its most powerful argument has always been its alumni. Former students now work with reputed national and international design firms, operate their own studios, and launch innovation-led startups.
“Change in perception is possible, but it demands patience, evidence, and storytelling,” she says
Their success is the institution’s most compelling case, and one that grows stronger with every graduating batch.
Access as a Core Value
This commitment to inclusion runs deep in the college’s philosophy. Oasis has consistently maintained an inclusive admissions approach, opening its doors to students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds across the state. The institution does not treat equity as a buzzword; it treats it as a design challenge to be solved. Internally, the same culture of creative courage that the college demands of its students is modelled by its leadership and faculty. Development workshops, cross-departmental collaborations, and internal idea sprints keep the institution’s thinking agile. Failure is acknowledged as part of the process not a setback, but a signal.
“In design, the willingness to experiment is what separates good work from great work.”
Leading With Purpose
At the heart of Oasis College of Design and Technology’s growth is a leadership philosophy that is as considered as the education it delivers. Dr. Ashwini describes her approach with characteristic clarity, empathetic yet purposeful. For her, an institution’s strength is not measured by its infrastructure or its rankings, but by the people within it: faculty, staff, and most importantly, students.
“I lead by listening first. Whether it is a faculty member proposing a new curriculum module or a student struggling with a creative block, I make it a point to engage with genuine attention before offering direction.”
Before any significant move is made, three questions are asked: Does this serve the student’s best interest? Does it uphold the institution’s reputation? Does it open new doors? If the answer is yes, the institution moves forward with conviction.
She explains, “Leadership, for me, is less about authority and more about accountability to my students, my team, and to the communities we serve.”
Recognition and the Road Ahead
The recent recognition at the Maharashtra Excellence Awards 2026 affirms what the design community has already observed: Oasis College of Design and Technology is not simply keeping pace with industry it is setting the standard for what design education in a rapidly evolving market must look like. The award reflects not one individual’s achievement but the collective momentum of an institution that has spent years earning its place at the forefront of Maharashtra’s creative sector. Looking ahead, the college is focused on expanding its academic programmes, deepening industry partnerships, and building toward a nationally recognised centre for design excellence.
“Our journey is ongoing, and the best chapters are yet to be written,” she affirms