Srinija Comandur

About

Growing up in India’s education system, I experienced firsthand how learning environments can either nurture or break the human spirit. Those early struggles with emotional neglect in academic settings sparked what would become the core of my work: reimagining education as a space of healing and authentic growth.

I’m Srinija, a creative educator, researcher and visual artsit who believes education should heal, not harm. My journey has spanned across architecture studios in Bangalore (where burnout culture nearly broke me), visual arts, and now the transformative environment of creative education at RCA. Each experience deepened my understanding that emotional well-being isn’t auxiliary to learning; it’s fundamental.

During my time at RCA, a personal interest became the foundation of my research: AI wasn’t replacing my creative voice, it was helping me navigate organisation, overwhelm, and creative blocks in ways I hadn’t expected. This shifted how I engage with emerging technology debates in education. While discussions often focus on authenticity and academic integrity, I found myself drawn to a more human question: how does AI integration affect our emotional relationship with creative work?

This shift from judgment to curiosity drives my research into the emotional dimensions of human-AI collaboration in creative education. My work sits at the intersection of technology and tenderness, drawing from bell hooks’ love-centred pedagogy and my own cross-cultural educational journey to challenge systems that normalise suffering in the name of academic rigour.

Through projects researching emotions in education like the “Garden of Emotion” workshop, I aim to create learning spaces where vulnerability becomes strength. Whether facilitating self-care workshops that reframe rest as resistance or researching how different creative modes affect our sense of authorship, my practice centres on one belief: all learners deserve to thrive authentically in safe environments.

My Independent Research Project explores how we can co-exist with AI while centring emotional well-being, cultural responsiveness, and human agency in education. As I graduate from RCA, I carry forward questions that have shaped me as both a researcher and person: What do we really mean by an “educated person”? How do we ensure AI in education supports rather than undermines human dignity, equity, and inclusion? How do we bridge the gap between technological innovation and the lived realities of diverse learners?

These questions, alongside the core values of care, critical reflection, and ethical responsibility, will continue to guide my work moving forward whether I’m facilitating workshops, developing research for inclusive AI integration, or creating spaces where learners feel genuinely seen and supported.