First edition:
Session 2022 -2023
Pedagogy Award for full-time Faculty
The Pedagogy Award to an outstanding young full-time faculty for session 2022 to 2023 is presented to
Ar. Saumya Sharma
Ar. Saumya needs no introduction – she is a valuable asset of CCA and a strong pillar of this institution. All
of you here must have interacted with her in various capacities – as a mentor, a teacher, a coworker or just a
friend and you will agree with me that her humble, quiet yet determined attitude has won many hearts.
Finding answers to questions in architecture is always a challenging task and to address this issue, Saumya’s
mantra in a classroom is an ‘enquiry-based approach’ that connects her to students and makes difficult concepts easy.
In architecture, it is important to observe and have the ability to acknowledge, analyze, understand and recall
the surroundings and draw meaning from it. Saumya believes in honing this ability of ‘Observation’ by laying great emphasis on site visits that benefit the students highly.
She has a tight grip on her core subject of urban design and conservation, she has published books and led undergrad and master students in out-of-class very prestigious projects.
Despite her young age, Ar. Saumya’s accomplishments are huge.
Pedagogy Award for Visiting Faculty
The Pedagogy Award to an outstanding young visiting faculty for session 2022 to 2023 is presented to
Ar. Priya Gupta
Ar. Priya, who learnt the nuances of pedagogy in her mother’s lap, a known professor, had a calling for
teaching early on and says that ‘connection with students’ is most important to her when she walks in a
classroom. According to her, a dialogue generates an exchange of energy between her and her students that builds a responsive classroom and is student centered.
Having spent her formative years in Chandigarh, Priya was influenced by Chandigarh architecture that led
her to have a keen interest in Sustainability and Space Design. She puts these two very important skills at
the core of her lectures and believes that her students should enter the modern world with a conviction of protecting our built and natural environment.
She has taught as full time and as visiting faculty in premier institutions, worked with renowned architects
of India and is currently in the process of completing her PhD. She plans to bring all these valuable
experiences together in classrooms of CCA by strategizing and making students think with a hands-on- approach to all studies in architecture.
An impressive accomplishment at such a young age for Ar. Priya.