Mahindra University launches School of Design Innovation; eligibility, scholarship details

NEW DELHI: Mahindra University announced the launch of the School of Design Innovation in Hyderabad today. This new school is partnered with the Pininfarina Design Academy in Torino, Italy, and the Shenoy Innovation Studio at IDC IITB. It will offer students mentorship from leading design experts from both India and around the world. The first academic session, featuring a Bachelor's Program in Design, will begin on August 15, 2024.

The curriculum at the Mahindra University School of Design Innovation will be guided by Prof. Chakravarthy’s, who conceptualised the Chakku’s 7Cs, the Seven Concerns of Design Thinking for Innovation across all student projects. This includes The Cause, The Context, The Comprehension, The Check, The Conception, The Craft, and The Connection.

Eligibility

All students who have completed their 12 in any stream and have a passion for design and sketching are eligible to apply, provided they submit a portfolio of their work. Selected candidates will be invited for an interview. The School will offer a 25% Chancellor's Scholarship, worth Rs 1 lakh annually, to the first batch of students.

Yajulu Medury, vice-chancellor of Mahindra University stated, "As India moves in the next phase of technological growth towards achieving its goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat we are seeing an exponential growth in adoption of new technologies requiring new skillsets and competencies. The launch of the School of Design marks a significant milestone in Mahindra University's journey towards excellence and innovation in education. We believe that design is not just about aesthetics but about creating solutions that address real-world challenges. Through our rigorous curriculum and state-of-the-art facilities, we want to make our students ready for the future of jobs."

Specialization and curriculum details

According to the official press release, the curriculum is uniquely designed to offer students a blend of design fundamentals, such as sketching, engineering labs, prototyping, and digital tools, followed by specialization in one of three disciplines: Industrial Design, Communication Design, or experience Design. This integrated curriculum emphasizes cutting-edge technologies like AR, VR, and AI. The program will culminate in a Capstone Project, which focuses on solving real-world industry challenges and serves as the basis for the student's specialization.

B K Chakravarthy, founding dean, School of Design Innovation, Mahindra University, said, "The core objective of design innovation is an effective problem-solving method that blends creativity with strategic acumen and it guides students to ideate and develop their concepts into innovative products and services. A friendly user interface, for any software is as important as the technology behind it and the convenience to use makes it more market friendly. Through hands-on experiences, field visits, and cross-cultural design boot camps, we aim to instil in our students the skills and mindset needed to tackle complex challenges. Our aim is to not stop at the design concept or prototype stage but to leverage our deep industry synergies to take it to the market in line with our idea of Turning your Passion into your Profession.”