It was Nov 1st 2018, when I signed up for a role of a Dean who will put together a new Design Institute that would offer design programmes for school-leavers under the JK Lakshmipat University. The University had two institutes: Institute of Engineering & Technology and an Institute of Management already functional since 2011.
An informal meeting with Pramath Raj Sinha in Ahmedabad at NID’s VIP guest house and Asheesh Gupta, Pro VC of JKLU was the beginning of this exciting journey.
We recruited young change makers as faculty. Reimagined the disciplines. Created curriculums that are contemporary and were co-created with Industry and academic stalwarts. Three distinct disciplines were launched: Product Design, Interaction Design and Inter-disciplinary Design. The new menu of options caught the attention of aspiring students of Design.
From zero in 2018, we have a hundred and twenty students on campus, chosen for admissions by a thorough process. Besides getting students from top cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, we also have students from Dehradun, Nagpur, Pune, Bhopal, Guwahati and even smaller towns like Rajnandgoan, Kayankulam and Kalyani. We have three batches of satisfied students having come from some of the best schools across the country.
Our interdisciplinary approach has yielded very interesting and engaging results. Every student gets inputs in Communication and Critical Thinking. Design students get an opportunity to take elective courses in Technology and Business. Students are encouraged to participate in international competitions. Their work gets publicised.
We expanded our portfolio, this year to include another unique programme: Integrated Communication Design that has been reimagined and co-created with industry stalwarts. The programme has been put together ground-up for the digital era. We also launched our unique M Des programmes in Product Design and Interaction Design with three optional exits. The modular approach has given our students the confidence in the programmes.
Helping them achieve their goals is a set of committed faculty members, who have been hand-picked for academia. All of them are from premium institutions like NID Ahmedabad and IDC, IIT Bombay and bring with them years of professional practice and academic rigour.
And the students get the benefit of senior professionals, star academics and international visiting faculty for specialised courses.
All this has helped in creating a unique institute offering unique programmes. Remember that we have had only 9 months of face-to-face classes and the rest during the pandemic as online classes! The faculty and the students rose to the challenge and in the process, we have mastered some noteworthy pedagogy. We had signature sessions with professionals online, coming from various parts of the world from Berlin to Baroda, Singapore to Seattle. This helped in bringing an international flavour to our programme.
Prof MP Ranjan, NID’s Design Guru holds a special place in my heart. We are proud to host the personal collection of Prof MP Ranjan’s books. Housed in our campus as a Design Resource Centre, it is open to all scholars and students for use.
We have also celebrated his birth anniversary as DESIGN GURU DAY and in the three years have honoured Prof Vikas Satwalekar, Prof Don Norman and Ms Judy Frater as Design Gurus. THis event that had humble beginnings is now an international event that celebrates design educators, starting with Prof MP Ranjan.
Now, we are headed for a gearing up for the next level. Raise the bar. Showcase our potential and attract more of people like us.
We are ready to change gears.
Design thoughts 