Appointment Overview
On Thursday, 24 September 2026, Anant National University, based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, announced the appointment of Jabeen Zacharias as a Professor of Practice. Zacharias is a celebrated architect, interior designer, design educator and institutional leader with more than four decades of professional experience.
Professional Background
Zacharias serves as the Chief Architect of Jabeen Zacharias Architects, a firm that has delivered over 300 successful projects spanning hospitality, institutional, corporate, museum, cultural and residential sectors. Her contributions to design education in India include teaching and advocacy roles at the College of Engineering Trivandrum, the IIID Education Council and the Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID). She has been associated with the Asia Pacific Space Designers Association (APSDA), the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) and the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA), where she became the first woman to chair the Kerala Chapter. Currently, she holds the position of Director, Vision & Strategy at the Global Village Foundation, extending her engagement to education, human settlements, ecology, culture and civic initiatives.
Role at Anant National University
At Anant, Zacharias will integrate her extensive practice and industry perspective into the academic environment, aiming to strengthen the link between design education and professional practice. Her responsibilities will cover experiential and interdisciplinary learning, design advocacy, mentorship and the cultivation of professional networks, thereby providing students with real‑world practice exposure and engagement with broader social, cultural and environmental design contexts. The university highlighted that her multidimensional involvement will be pivotal as design education shifts toward contextual, ethical and purpose‑driven problem‑solving.
About Anant National University
Anant National University positions itself as India’s premier design university, guided by the philosophy “Come, Create the New”. It offers multidisciplinary undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes across design, architecture, climate action and visual arts. The institution’s academic approach blends rigorous learning, studio‑based practice, emerging technologies, sustainability, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, research, entrepreneurship and community‑based experiences. Anant has been recognised as a Centre of Excellence by the Government of Gujarat and received a 5‑Star Rating in Architecture and a 4‑Star Rating in the University category under the Gujarat State Institutional Rating Framework (GSIRF) for 2023‑24.
Disclaimer
The press release is provided under an arrangement with Newsvoir; PTI assumes no editorial responsibility for its content.