Mauritius: The Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Soomilduth Bholah, remitted, yesterday, certificates to successful graduates of the Academy of Design and Innovation (ADI) during an official ceremony organised at the Côte d’Or National Sports Complex.
The Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation, Jean Christophe Stephan Toussaint, the Chairperson of ADI, Sunael Purgass, the Director of ADI, Dr Sabrina Ramsamy Iranah, and other personalities were also present at the graduation ceremony.
In his address, Minister Bholah highlighted that, since its creation in 2009, the Academy of Design and Innovation, previously known as the Fashion and Design Institute, had trained some 2,000 students at Diploma and Higher National Diploma levels.
He observed that ADI taught students how to be creative, imaginative and not to be afraid to push boundaries. These values, according to him, can transform individuals into real ‘citizens of the world’ who are able to adapt and provide solutions to humanity’s biggest challenges.
The Minister remarked that, since joining ADI, students had acquired the necessary knowledge and skills so as to either align themselves with the industry’s expectations and secure a job or further progress with their education.
“As young adults,” he underlined, “graduates not only have the power to develop their entrepreneurial skills and run a business but are also able to change the way we live.”
He thus appealed to them to be creative in their own ideas and redefine their approaches to problem management and solution.
Furthermore, Minister Bholah indicated that ADI wished to establish itself as the only Design Institution in the region that would cater for high-level education, consultancy, and research in the field of design.
“The creative industry,” he stated, “is an emerging sector which will gradually become a strong pillar of the economy through the development of smart cities and the advancement of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality.”
“As such, Government has allocated a sufficient budget to the Academy, which is all set to be the only key active player for preparing our workforce in the field of creativity and design,” he added.
The Industrial Development Minister, moreover, reminded that Government was focused on promoting the local savoir-faire. As such, he called upon the young designers, particularly those who intended to become entrepreneurs, to make good use of all the facilities at their disposal so as to be active contributors to sustainable economic growth.
