IDC to Start Bachelor of Design Programme

The Industrial Design Centre (IDC) of Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) has launched a new comprehensive, four-year, Bachelor of Design (B.Des) programme and a five-year integrated, Dual Degree B.Des + M.Des programme from this academic year.
However, the option of doing dual degree B.Des + M.Des will be available to the students only at the end of third year. The online registration to apply for the said course started on April 10, 2015.
Speaking on the need for initiating such a programme, Prof. B.K Chakravarthy, Head of IDC, IIT Bombay said, “As we progress from the Knowledge Economy towards Creative Economy, there is an increasing need in India for skilled professionals in the area of design. Design can play a crucial role in the development of the nation and work towards improvement of quality of life for all. At IDC, IIT Bombay we already have M.Des and Ph.D programmes and adding B.Des would make the design academics and practice at IDC more rigorous, responsive and pervasive in design implementation for the society.”
Prof. Ravi Poovaiah, Coordinator for B.Des programme at IDC, elaborated the structure of the four-year programme,
“In the first year of programme, the focus will be on Discovery and Explorations.
Second year will teach students about Creativity and Problem Solving.
Third year will be about Collaborations and Systems and will focus mainly on Skill Development and Media Options.
Fourth year will be an amalgamation of Seminar and Projects, which will focus on applications and implementations. In the B.Des + M.Des Dual Degree Programme,
The fifth and final year will be all about Projects and Specializations; and students will focus on Mastery and Refinement. Students will also get an opportunity to do research oriented projects and have inputs in both qualitative and quantitative Design Research methods in the 4th and 5th year of their studies.”