How Teaching in India Changed My Career (and My Life)
/The Leap That Changed Everything
In 2009, during one of the most uncertain times of my life, I packed my suitcase, boarded a plane to Bangalore, and flew off to the unknown.
The recession had hit hard. I’d lost my architectural job, my security, and, for a while, my direction. Then came an unexpected opportunity, a teaching role at a new international design school in India. I had never taught before, but they needed someone to help set up the Interior Architecture department. It sounded terrifying and exhilarating all at once.
I told myself it would be two years, a short-term adventure, something to get me back on my feet. It became three of the most transformative years of my career.
Building a Design School from the Ground Up
The school was called Raffles Millennium International, a collaboration between Singapore and India. I arrived as Senior Lecturer and soon after became Academic Director, leading the launch of the Interior Architecture department from a single student to hundreds.
Those early days were chaos and magic in equal measure. There were no real templates, no systems, just ambition and the shared goal of building something meaningful. I wrote course outlines, hired staff, designed timetables, and taught every subject across both the Diploma and Degree programmes, and even Product Design for a while.
The corridors buzzed with energy: students sketching, creating, debating ideas over chai. It wasn’t always easy. We worked long hours, often into the night and on weekends too. The academic calendar was relentless - four intakes per year, no summer breaks, every second Saturday spent on campus. But the energy was infectious and it was a time in my life where I could do it, I could give it my all and I sure did.
Teaching there wasn’t about hierarchy; it was about community. We built a family out of faculty and students from all over the world, united by a love of design. That, I realise now, was my first lesson in leadership - you don’t need to know everything; you just need to care enough to build something together.
Discovering My Calling as an Educator
I can still remember the first time I stood in front of a class. I was nervous, uncertain, clutching my whiteboard pen as I went through my slides. But as I spoke, something clicked. I wasn’t just teaching interior architecture; I was teaching confidence, creativity, and curiosity.
The students were endlessly inventive. They questioned everything, worked with what they had, and created brilliance out of limited resources. Their resilience changed how I taught. I moved from instructor-led teaching to student-centred learning, focusing less on telling them what to do and more on helping them discover their own ideas.
I used to say, “I’m not here to give you answers; I’m here to help you ask better questions,” and somewhere between lectures, workshops, and reviews, I fell in love with education.
The Lessons That Shaped Me
India taught me that teaching isn’t about perfection, it’s about connection.
In one term, I might lead a concept development class in the morning and spend the evening marking drawings by candlelight during a power cut. I ran open days, workshops, and one unforgettable project where students built a futuristic city model from recycled materials.
Their creativity, resourcefulness, and humour kept me grounded. Every day was full-on, unpredictable, and alive with purpose.
Teaching abroad taught me more about architecture than software ever could - cultural sensitivity, patience, and creativity under constraint. I learned to adapt, to listen deeply, and to design lessons around real people, not rigid plans.
Life Beyond the Studio
Outside the classroom, India was an explosion of noise, colour and contrast. I loved my morning coffee with Koshelia, our cleaner, driving my scooter and weaving through traffic, the excitement of mango season, dressing up in a sari for almost any occasion, and monsoon storms that could flood a street in seconds, whilst I sat out on my balcony.
It was the sound of honking horns, the smell of chai stalls, and the warmth of friendships built across language barriers. I still think about Koshelia, our cook/cleaner and caretaker, who spoke no English yet managed to communicate with kindness and humour every single morning.
India got under my skin. It taught me courage, gratitude, and how to slow down even in the middle of everyday chaos.
Leaving India
When it was time to leave, it didn’t feel like an ending; it felt like being pulled from one version of myself into another.
Telling my students I was leaving was one of the hardest moments of my career. I could feel the truth land before I even said it: this chapter was closing. I had been offered a new position in the UK, closer to family, but part of my heart was staying behind.
Leaving India was hard, but it wasn’t a failure; it was a transformation. It taught me that courage isn’t just about going somewhere new - it’s about knowing when to let go.
Returning as a Different Kind of Educator
Back in the UK, I joined a leading Arts University as Head of First Year Interior Architecture. I carried India with me into every classroom, studio, tutorial, portfolio review, and lecture. I encouraged students to take ownership of their ideas, think globally, and stay flexible, lessons I learned in India.
But India hadn’t left me. Soon I was travelling again, this time as the university’s Academic Representative for the British Council, speaking in India, Thailand, and Nepal. I visited India many times with the recruitment team, giving talks, interviewing students for the university's different courses, running design workshops at high schools and colleges and giving talks to students and parents on the importance of design as a choice for further education. I felt so lucky to get to return each time.
Standing in front of rooms full of young designers, I realised that my real work wasn’t just designing spaces, it was helping others design their own creative paths.
The Real Lesson: You Can Survive the Unknown
India changed me as a teacher, but more than that, it changed me as a person.
It taught me that you can walk into the unknown, build something from nothing, and still find your purpose. It taught me that leadership isn’t about control, it’s about trust. And it showed me that education, at its heart, is an act of hope.
You can survive what feels impossible and still create something beautiful on the other side.
Lessons I Still Teach My Students Today
Creativity is a skill, not a gift, and practice builds confidence
Constraints are opportunities, resourcefulness is a designer’s secret strength
Your story matters - it’s what sets your work apart
Stay curious, stay kind, stay teachable
You can build again, always
Why This Chapter Still Matters
That chapter in India is the reason I now mentor creatives, students, and architects who are building their own next chapter. It shaped my belief that creativity can be taught, confidence can be built, and courage can be learned.
If you’re an architecture or design student navigating change or preparing your portfolio, explore my Student & Portfolio Resources, or visit my Start Here page to discover how I can help you design your creative career with confidence.
