Uniting design with science and technology: How NMIMS is leading the way
In fact, technology has emerged as one of the pivotal pillars of design education. By assigning human attributes to technology, designers have been able to transform functional products into memorable and enduring experiences. This becomes even more pertinent with the Design InTech Report 2017 stating how the future of design is digital. In a country like India where design education is slowly gaining momentum, it is important to provide aspiring students with the right academic programs that teach them how to create futuristic experiences through design. These programs should build solutionists who can design communications, businesses, products, etc that have customer value and can convert into market opportunities.
Design is a core element of most sectors today and some of the top companies across the world are humanising their products and services through design. They are aware of the fact that design plays an important role in decision making and is a very crucial form of interaction for creating valuable products. This is why they are on the lookout for design talent, putting the onus on design schools to train students with robust courses that combine logical thinking with empathy and creativity. Keeping industry demands at the forefront is
NMIMS School of Design that has emerged as one of the premier design schools in the country. Its
Bachelors in Design- Humanising Technology is the first of its kind transdisciplinary design ‘degree’ program that interweaves people, technology, science and business. As one of the most sought after design courses in the country, this specialization interwines design with multiple disciplines through technology, thereby providing students with a broader choice in careers.
Prof Manisha Phadke, Director, NMIMS School of Design says,
« The toolkit of the designer has certainly changed in this day and age. Today, it is very important to widen the definition of ‘product’ to that of a solution that is form and technology agnostic. NMIMS aims at training young designers with this thought.”
Prof Manisha Phadke, Director, NMIMS School of Design
Creating designers of the future: The student first approach of NMIMS SOD
In a world where the demands of the design industry are constantly evolving, NMIMS School of Design understands the role it plays in shaping the future of its students. This is why it has been work-horsing to provide students with the skills to create life enhancing solutions in an increasingly digitized world. The design industry is largely experience-led and students with a practical edge enjoy more employability. This is why NMIMS School of Design emphasizes ‘learning by doing’ and keeps the learning process absolutely experiential.
What makes this course unique is that it encourages students to think both analytically and creatively. This helps them in developing user-centric design solutions that are in sync with the latest technological trends. Students are encouraged to divert from the unidirectional textbook approach of learning and aligning their individual interests to discover themselves through the program.
NMIMS SOD works on building solutionists of the future who can make use of their deep skill sets to enhance lives through design. To facilitate individual nurturing and a highly personalized learning environment, the programme has a small cohort of students. NMIMS’s B. Des program also encompasses an eclectic module structure for all the three years. It features modules such as Cognitive Science that aids in understanding the user behavior by deconstructing their mental model with respect to beliefs, ethnography that aids in the exploration of cultural sensitivity, anthropology that explores the relevance of understanding the social context of design, etc. Further, the course also teaches an aspiring designer the business models of marketing, finance and accounts, and creative entrepreneurship. Thus, students are taught to craft value enhancing, future scoped solutions.
On this, Preshita Deshmuch, a second year B. Des. (Humanising Technology) student says “
Life at SOD is very fast-paced and challenging. The best part about this institute, however, is that we are encouraged to work and explore the areas that we are really passionate about and the causes that we really want to devote ourselves to.”
To achieve this, NMIMS School of Design provides state-of-the-art facilities in its design labs and studios. It features a Builder’s sanctum (workshop), Augmented Reality-Virtual Reality lab ,Usability lab and a Rapid prototyping lab to facilitate user-centric prototyping. Along with this, NMIMS SOD equips students with multi-stream skill sets and expertise to visualize 2D, 3D & 5D sensorial experiences.
Visit the NMIMS-SCHOOL OF DESIGN, Mumbai Campus virtually. Here’s the video:
Collaboration with D-Lab, at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Notably, NMIMS has also partnered with Design Laboratory (D-Lab), a collaborative initiative by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH) aimed at the application of design frameworks and methods to address the behavioral issues influencing public health, for Remember Now, a research project to gather data that can help individuals and organizations prepare better for future pandemics. Fourteen students from SOD’s B. Des. (Humanising Technology) program participated in the study as field researchers, applying remote ethnography methods to gather data about how people are living, learning, working, and playing while coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify key barriers and drivers of behavioural change that could lead to meaningful insights. The research was undertaken with the guidance of Prof. Manisha Phadke, Prof. Sameer Tendulkar, and Dr. Shreya Maulik, and in compliance with Harvard’s protocols.
On this, Prof. Patrick Whitney, Core Faculty, D-Lab & Professor in Residence, Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health says, »
Collaborating with the faculty and students of the NMIMS School of Design has been productive and delightful. The quality of their education prepared them to be valuable partners with the 14 other research groups around the world. »
An acumen for innovation and research
This explains why students from NMIMS School of Design have been creating ripples in multiple fields across design. Students from the school have won several awards in prestigious events like Core77 Design Awards, Connecting Dreams Foundation Social Impact Challenge, UMO Design Social Innovation Challenge, D’source International Corona Design Challenge, Go Corona Go- Game Design, and Zyada Hero Maat Bano- Communication Design, and ADI International Students Design Competition.
In 2020, NMIMS SOD students also emerged as the finalists of the Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge 2021. The top 8 finalists were a team of third year students from B.Des (humanising technology) NMIMS School of Design. These Finalists were selected from 223 submissions received from 37 different countries.
To encourage such research acumen in students, a research cell was also set up in January 2021 to encourage students to publish work done as part of the curriculum. Interestingly, the research cell has already seen its first accomplishment. Thirteen students submitted their research papers to the 8th Maltepe University International Student Congress (MUISC-ENSAD) in Istanbul, Turkey that was held virtually in the first week of May. Out of this, 7 papers got selected for a presentation at the conference.
Students practising at VR lab
Future-ready professionals, excellent placement records
Over the years,
NMIMS SOD alumni have also been hired across a diverse set of industries in India and abroad. The
Bachelors in Design- Humanising Technology programme’s immersive curriculum, aided with the necessary practical training, has helped students find a place in some of the top-rated companies across the globe across sectors like consulting, hospitality, IT, banking, healthcare, education, and tourism. Many of these students are working as Interaction Designers, Experience Designers in Emerging Technology, Design Researcher, UX & UI Designer, Data Visualizer, etc.
In fact, NMIMS SOD enjoyed 100% placements in the Academic Year 2020-21, which was also the first batch of the programme. Many top-end companies hired students for profiles such as Associate XR Designer, Design Researcher, Solution Designer, Innovation Designer, Digital Product designer AR, and Interaction & Technology designer among others. Meanwhile, the third year B.Des.(Humanising technology) students completed their NGO internships successfully, while the fourth year students were commended for their internship work in 11 companies.
Redefining education- the online way
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the academic world online. While this shift can be challenging considering design education is very practical in nature, NMIMS SOD emerged as a winner. It introduced the virtual teaching model by working on online suited pedagogies and detailing session plans. As the second wave of the pandemic takes over, NMIMS SoD re-calibrated to the online model and is undeterred taking a brave step to conduct the selection process 2021 online.
NMIMS SOD took the online route to organize co-curricular activities and speaker sessions. Besides the curriculum, the students participated in competitions, submitted papers, attended expert talks, striding ahead in the new normal. NMIMS SOD also celebrated World Photography Day on 19 August, 2020 with a photography competition, ‘Lens story’, exclusively for its students. The competition theme centered around life in the pandemic and witnessed active participation.The outgoing batch was celebrated with an interactive online farwell event as well.
On being asked how NMIMS SOD is committed to minimizing the educational impact on the new students caused by the second wave of the pandemic, Prof. Manisha Phadke, Director, NMIMS SOD, says, “
We ensured that the 2020 admissions were closed on time and the academic session 2020-21 for the new batch of 2020 commenced online as per the schedule. The session ended on time by confirming all the learning outcomes were met with an equitably conducted continuous assessment and the term exam. The school showed empathy in considering the learning and evaluation of those few who braved the COVID infection with extensions. While retaining rigor and impartiality, the admission process has been tweaked to accommodate the changing exam schedule. The NMIMS-DAT Online Studio Test is conducted on the last Saturday of every month. In June 2021, the situation will be re-assessed to take relevant action on the process and admission of students.”
Commenting on the future actions that will be taken by the school, she adds, “
This year too the plan is to begin the session for the batch of 2021 without compromising the foundation years of the young design aspirants.”
Apply through NMIMS-DAT
This Academic Year, aspiring design students would also get to take the NMIMS School of Design admission test in a brand new format. The school has recently introduced NMIMS-DAT, through which one can apply for the B. Des. (Humanising Technology) programme. Any candidate who has passed 10+2 or equivalent examination in any stream from a recognized Board in the first attempt with a minimum of 60% aggregate marks are eligible to apply.
The first step is to register for NMIMS DAT and pay the application fees. Post this, applicants have to upload their portfolio and take the Online Studio Test. Candidates who qualify in this round will be eligible for Online Personal Interview and Portfolio review.
For detailed information on the entrance exam and registration,
click here.
Disclaimer: The article has been produced on behalf of NMIMS School of Design by Times Internet’s Spotlight team