History
Don Bosco Vyawasaik Prashikshan Kendra, Chinchwad was set up in a small way and has blossomed into a leading ITI (Industrial Training Institute), full-fledged and recognized Institute, at the service of the Church and society.
Our humble beginning :
The Bishop of Pune, Rt. Rev. Valerian D’Souza invited the Salesians to establish a Technical Institute at Chinchwad. A formal Lease Agreement was signed on 1st January 1995, between the Bishop and the then Provincial, Fr. Joaquim D’Souza.
In 1999 Bro. Damodar Wankhade sdb was appointed to supervise the construction of a simple structure for a few trades. The Foundation stone was laid by Fr. Tony D’Souza sdb, Provincial of the Mumbai Province on 31st January 1999.
Assisted by the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, Bro. Damodar went to the nearby slums to gather youth, offering them skills training. With the cooperation of the parishioners of the nearby parishes, a sizeable number of students were gathered to study at Don Bosco Chinchwad.
Many benefactors and institutes helped in sponsoring the essentials required for the initial start of the Institute. Don Bosco Yerwada contributed desks and benches, while some others provided furniture and other requirements for the Institute. Many people came forward to help out in building up contacts with Corporates around, like Telco, Phillips, Atlas Copco.
The process of securing admissions began with notices – together with Application forms stating the various courses, Rules and regulations and admission procedure – being sent to the different parishes and religious houses. Handbills were also prepared for distribution. The neighboring parishes did respond.
With things set in place Br. Damodar set up residence at Chinchwad and organized the Inauguration of the Institute on 5th August 1999. Rt. Rev. Valerian D’Souza, Bishop of Pune, the Provincial Fr. Tony D’Souza sdb together with his Council members, the Salesian communities of Koregaon Park and Yerwada and collaborators and well-wishers were present for the solemn mass and the small inauguration ceremony. Snacks were then served.
The initial meeting with 12 boys and their parents took place on the 16th August 1999, with talks given by Br. Damodar and Mr. Leo on the scope of the Institute and the welding trade that would begin soon. The first day of class was conducted by the new Instructor, Mr. James Francis on the 23rd August 1999. To the Welder trade was also added the Fitters trade, Auto-Electrical and Motor winding. A notable feature during the initial days of the Institute was a healthy interaction with the parents of the students, who were satisfied with the training and came up with a lot of suggestions.
Through the three years that followed, computer classes were initiated for the students of the neighborhood along with evening guided study classes.
On December 6th 2002, Mr. Dorrich and Gibbels from Jugend Dutte Wett, an NGO based in Bonn, paid a visit, along with Br. Alex Gonsalves and Fr. Stanny Ferreira. They were on a study tour for future collaboration with the Institute.
7th July 2003 saw the beginnings of the NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling) course for school drop-outs, that would afford them an opportunity to complete their SSC studies with limited optional subjects. Fr. Lester, who arrived the following year, applied for Registration of the Trust which was sanctioned on October 18 2003.
In 2005 Fr. Corlis, appointed as In-Charge of the Project, set about organizing the Institute; He secured the Registration under the Income-Tax 12A. Later he got the 80G and the FCRA a/c No. for the Institute. In February-March he visited Tata Motors, Tyseen Krupp Boiler’s plant, Mercedes Benz and met the HRD Directors for future collaboration; He attended the 4th Community College Consultation meeting in Madras and paid a visit to New Delhi for a visit to some Technical Schools.
On the 21st March 2005, Fr. Corlis had the opportunity to present the overall plan for developing the four acres plot at Chinchwad, to the Priest’s Senate at Bishop’s House, Pune. He visited Bajaj Auto and later Tata Motors, with a request to begin a service station at our Institute; He then met with the MD’s of Cruize Liners & Royal Carribian to seek employment opportunities for our forthcoming Hospitality section.
Ms Sunayana Sebastian was appointed as Project Coordinator, responsible for community outreach programs, liaison with the big establishments around, mobilizing students of the PCMC region for the courses as well as teaching English and Computer science. In April 2006 Fr. Corlis and Br. Damodar visited the PCMC and the night schools to share information about work at DBVPK and solicit students for the Technical courses.
Fr. Jeffrey Fernandes took up his assignment as Principal, at DBVPK in May 2006. Three years later, the Institute began conducting the MES (Modular Employment Skills) short term (3 – 6 months) courses in Welding, Fitters, Electrician, RAC, Motor Mechanics and Tailoring & Fashion designing.
Don Bosco Chinchwad also featured at the Industrial exhibition EXPO 2015 organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry at Pimpri. Don Bosco was specially invited to exhibit their international standard training systems in welding (Lorch collaboration).
Fr. Lester Fernandes sdb, took over the reigns as Director of the Institute from Fr. Corlis and brought in a new spirit to the Institute and the Hostel. It was a time of consolidation and great efforts to find the finance to run the Institute and the Hostel with several concessions and free-ships given to students coming in from different parts of the State and other States as well. The Province of Mumbai financially supported the Institution in a small way.
The Covid 19 raised its ugly head in the country and in Maharashtra, and the Pandemic was palpable, with deaths and serious cases being reported every day. The Centre called for a national lockdown on 22nd March and we were forced to close the Institution and the Hostel. Sometime at the end of June we were given permission by the Department to begin classes for the ITI section, and the Institute limped back to near normalcy. But on 19th July 2020 the cases in the PCMC region increased and so there was a total lockdown. The Staff members were asked to conduct classes on-line.
Fr. Sanjay Lopes began his innings as Rector and Director of DBPVK, under strenuous situations.
Past Principals
Fr. Jeffrey Fernandes (2006-2011)
Fr. Monty Rodrigues (2011- 2014)
Mr. Raoul Malan (2015-2016)
Mr. Avinash Gaikwad (2016)
Mr. Vinay Khandangle (2016-2017)
Mr. Siram from (2017)
Mr. Mayur Deshmukh (2018-2022)
Mr. Nilesh Chandgude (2022-present)