Student experience
"My design journey and professional education began at AOD. It was from here that I truly found myself, along with the amazing lecturers and people I met along throughout three and a half years! This has paved the foundation and stepping-stones to what I have achieved and what I will be. I have had many memorable experiences at AOD from winning the ‘Student Graduate Industry Collaboration’ award at the ‘Mercedes Benz Fashion and Apparel Awards Sri Lanka’, winning the International catwalk competition at Graduate Fashion Week and going on showcase at Fashion Scout during London Fashion Week." - Amesh Wijesekera / Award-winning International Fashion Designer.
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"Joining AOD changed my whole life. The culture and the educational background offered at AOD were so different from what I was used to and the students had so much talent and dedication. The Fashion Design Degree at AOD was very hands on and the International exposure I got while studying such as showcasing my collections twice in UK – once at London Fashion week AW 2014 International Fashion Showcase Future Sustainable Fashion Exhibition has made a major impact on inspiring me and improving my work." - Isuru Liyanage / Senior Designer, MAS Linea Aqua
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"While I studied for my Northumbria University UK degree at AOD, our faculty always encouraged us to go out and explore traditional arts and crafts. Through many study tours to villages, special workshops with artisans and guest lectures with international designers who work with crafts, I started identifying the huge potential held by the local hand-loom industry. This was the beginning of my brand ‘Nithya’. AOD has been a major part of my design journey from the very beginning." - Nithya Lamahewa / Founder, Nithya
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"The beginning of my career as a design entrepreneur was because of AOD- From handling finances, advertising/promotion, production quality maintenance, store merchandising to even etiquette in maintaining client-relationships was taught to me. It was an amazing infrastructure that covered every aspect of business start-ups and I’m truly thankful for it. My most prominent achievement was to be part of the first-ever Sri Lankan delegation for the prestigious London Fashion Week in 2013 –It’s a milestone in my life. I never thought my brand will reach such lengths in such a short time, and I’m thankful to AOD for making it happen." - Lonali Rodrigo / Founder, House of Lonali
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"AOD is where I found my way to become an all-rounder designer. AOD has not only helped me with international opportunities but also the education at AOD is what prepped me for this career in design. The fantastic international faculty at AOD has always given me their fullest support and I think it’s a place that can do wonders for designers like me." - Rukshika Fernando / Founder, RUMPUNCH
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"I can’t thank AOD enough for being part of my growth as a designer and an entrepreneur even years after I graduated. The 2016 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Runways presented by AOD where Pras and Danties was part of the SS17 travel collections launched worldwide was such a huge opportunity for me and it really pushed me forward in terms of professional and personal growth. I’m glad I made the right choice in education because it has certainly come a long way for me." - Dinushi Pamunuwa / Founder, Pras & Danties
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"AOD laid the foundation for my degree with the unconditional help and support from my lecturers. They were able to help me love designing even more than I already did. They helped me grow and understand the fashion industry in a whole other level. There’s so much that goes in to my brand X.TINA that I have learnt at AOD and I’m forever thankful that my father was able to support me pursue my dreams." - Christina Peiris / Founder, X.TINA
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"What I value the most about the higher education I received from AOD is my ability to conceptualise. Also while at AOD I studied the complexities of different interior design genres such as; commercial, retail, exhibition, hospitality and residential design. This increases the scope of work I can take on. My then lecturers still continue on as lifelong mentors and AOD also provides a lot of support to its entrepreneurial alumni." - Marianne Gooneratna /
Director and Principal Designer at LADYNEON Pvt. Ltd
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"I started with Design Foundation and then moved on to my Degree in Interior Design. I had great lecturers at AOD who worked tirelessly to bring out my true potential. What I like about AOD the most was that we were not restricted to classroom lectures. We had a lot of practical exposure where we visited creations by legendary Architects of Sri Lanka, Art Exhibitions and local and foreign Study Tours. Once completing my education at AOD I was quite confident to start working in the industry; thanks to my lecturers who sharpened my skills and built my confidence by sharing their knowledge and real life experiences." - Shenali De Fonseka / Founder, Shenali de Fonseka Interior Design
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"The kind of education I received at AOD was not always textbook-based and our classes included many opportunities that exposed us to the world out there. We were trained in presentation skills and project managing skills as students. Whilst the local architects and designers who taught us brought us an expert education in the local industry, the foreign lecturers broke our thinking patterns and opened our minds to the bigger picture. Creativity comes from being best informed, and today, my own practice, ‘Interiors by Radhia Hassen’ benefits from my insistence of challenging local methods and pushing towards the more globally-appreciated ones." - Radhia Hassen / Founder, Interiors by Radhia Hassen
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"AOD has been really supportive throughout my degree and has always given me room to explore my ideas and the freedom to use techniques and my own style on projects. I’m really proud to have graduated with such a high class degree which has made me ready for the industry." - Sugapratha Somaskantha Iyer / Motion Graphics & Animation Design Graduate
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"My education at AOD helped me understand from the very traditional basics to the open-ended future possibilities of the profession; it’s a really great balance of both worlds. I think this education plus the international exposure I got at AOD by going to Cannes Lions in France and DesignYatra in Goa all helped me to bring up work to be more contemporary and in-sync with the rest of the world. The introduction of guest lecturers helped in understanding the fundamentals of local and international design and an insight to their cultural aspects in design. The visual communication design programme at AOD definitely laid down a great foundation for me." - Dihan de Silva / Creative Director, Exotic Melon
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"The exposure to International artists/designers and lecturers opened up my mind to newer possibilities. AOD’s culture is quite unique and it’s where I was nurtured to be a Creative Entrepreneur. It was more than just design education; it was an experience which changed my life." - Hash Bandara / Co-Founder, KINGS Co.
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"Joining AOD changed my whole life. The culture and the educational background offered at AOD were so different from what I was used to and the students had so much talent and dedication. The Fashion Design Degree at AOD was very hands on and the International exposure I got while studying such as showcasing my collections twice in UK – once at London Fashion week AW 2014 International Fashion Showcase Future Sustainable Fashion Exhibition has made a major impact on inspiring me and improving my work." - Isuru Liyanage / Senior Designer, MAS Linea Aqua
---
"While I studied for my Northumbria University UK degree at AOD, our faculty always encouraged us to go out and explore traditional arts and crafts. Through many study tours to villages, special workshops with artisans and guest lectures with international designers who work with crafts, I started identifying the huge potential held by the local hand-loom industry. This was the beginning of my brand ‘Nithya’. AOD has been a major part of my design journey from the very beginning." - Nithya Lamahewa / Founder, Nithya
---
"The beginning of my career as a design entrepreneur was because of AOD- From handling finances, advertising/promotion, production quality maintenance, store merchandising to even etiquette in maintaining client-relationships was taught to me. It was an amazing infrastructure that covered every aspect of business start-ups and I’m truly thankful for it. My most prominent achievement was to be part of the first-ever Sri Lankan delegation for the prestigious London Fashion Week in 2013 –It’s a milestone in my life. I never thought my brand will reach such lengths in such a short time, and I’m thankful to AOD for making it happen." - Lonali Rodrigo / Founder, House of Lonali
---
"AOD is where I found my way to become an all-rounder designer. AOD has not only helped me with international opportunities but also the education at AOD is what prepped me for this career in design. The fantastic international faculty at AOD has always given me their fullest support and I think it’s a place that can do wonders for designers like me." - Rukshika Fernando / Founder, RUMPUNCH
---
"I can’t thank AOD enough for being part of my growth as a designer and an entrepreneur even years after I graduated. The 2016 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Runways presented by AOD where Pras and Danties was part of the SS17 travel collections launched worldwide was such a huge opportunity for me and it really pushed me forward in terms of professional and personal growth. I’m glad I made the right choice in education because it has certainly come a long way for me." - Dinushi Pamunuwa / Founder, Pras & Danties
---
"AOD laid the foundation for my degree with the unconditional help and support from my lecturers. They were able to help me love designing even more than I already did. They helped me grow and understand the fashion industry in a whole other level. There’s so much that goes in to my brand X.TINA that I have learnt at AOD and I’m forever thankful that my father was able to support me pursue my dreams." - Christina Peiris / Founder, X.TINA
---
"What I value the most about the higher education I received from AOD is my ability to conceptualise. Also while at AOD I studied the complexities of different interior design genres such as; commercial, retail, exhibition, hospitality and residential design. This increases the scope of work I can take on. My then lecturers still continue on as lifelong mentors and AOD also provides a lot of support to its entrepreneurial alumni." - Marianne Gooneratna /
Director and Principal Designer at LADYNEON Pvt. Ltd
---
"I started with Design Foundation and then moved on to my Degree in Interior Design. I had great lecturers at AOD who worked tirelessly to bring out my true potential. What I like about AOD the most was that we were not restricted to classroom lectures. We had a lot of practical exposure where we visited creations by legendary Architects of Sri Lanka, Art Exhibitions and local and foreign Study Tours. Once completing my education at AOD I was quite confident to start working in the industry; thanks to my lecturers who sharpened my skills and built my confidence by sharing their knowledge and real life experiences." - Shenali De Fonseka / Founder, Shenali de Fonseka Interior Design
---
"The kind of education I received at AOD was not always textbook-based and our classes included many opportunities that exposed us to the world out there. We were trained in presentation skills and project managing skills as students. Whilst the local architects and designers who taught us brought us an expert education in the local industry, the foreign lecturers broke our thinking patterns and opened our minds to the bigger picture. Creativity comes from being best informed, and today, my own practice, ‘Interiors by Radhia Hassen’ benefits from my insistence of challenging local methods and pushing towards the more globally-appreciated ones." - Radhia Hassen / Founder, Interiors by Radhia Hassen
---
"AOD has been really supportive throughout my degree and has always given me room to explore my ideas and the freedom to use techniques and my own style on projects. I’m really proud to have graduated with such a high class degree which has made me ready for the industry." - Sugapratha Somaskantha Iyer / Motion Graphics & Animation Design Graduate
---
"My education at AOD helped me understand from the very traditional basics to the open-ended future possibilities of the profession; it’s a really great balance of both worlds. I think this education plus the international exposure I got at AOD by going to Cannes Lions in France and DesignYatra in Goa all helped me to bring up work to be more contemporary and in-sync with the rest of the world. The introduction of guest lecturers helped in understanding the fundamentals of local and international design and an insight to their cultural aspects in design. The visual communication design programme at AOD definitely laid down a great foundation for me." - Dihan de Silva / Creative Director, Exotic Melon
---
"The exposure to International artists/designers and lecturers opened up my mind to newer possibilities. AOD’s culture is quite unique and it’s where I was nurtured to be a Creative Entrepreneur. It was more than just design education; it was an experience which changed my life." - Hash Bandara / Co-Founder, KINGS Co.