The conference on “Design Education in India and Abroad” organized by Strate School of Design, Bangalore on 27^th March, 2024 highlighted how the system of design education needs to shaped in India in order to create industry ready professionals. Thomas Dal, Dean, Strate School of Design was the speaker at this conference and he stressed on a few subjects that need to be considered in order to bring about a transformation in the design education of the country.

There has been an influx of several technology innovations into the design sector in terms of User Experience and User Interface that have changed the point of view towards design thinking not only in India but across the world. Having its roots in France, the Strate School of Design’s idea towards design education is different from that of the other institutions present in the country.

“Design is something that needs to be under practice every day. It is like running and having a coach around to make one run faster. It is the same in case of design. Teachers and professors need to invest significant amount of time in order to create high quality designers”, mentioned Thomas Dal during the conference.

There are a few aspects that came up at the conference about how design education in India can be revised that will help the nation create design leaders who are equipped with the right skills and knowledge.

Close Associations with Industries

During the last decade, institutions have been closely associated with organizations in order to know about the changing requirements of the industry. The design education sector has also applied this concept and associated with various kinds of organization in order to know about their design requirements and accordingly impart knowledge and skills among students. In this regard, the design institutions in India must also collaborate with organizations and provide internships to students that will be part of the course.

These internships provided to students are crucial in making them understand the changing dynamics in design thinking and strategies. Students must be provided at least 3-4 internship opportunities at designated timelines across the course for different kinds of industries.

These internships will become an integral part of a candidate’s education and when they finally enter the professional world of design, they will already be equipped with not only the kind of work that is required to be done, but also how to behave in a workplace or how to work under a manager.

International Internships driving Career Opportunities

Here, it is important to note that Indian design professionals can opt for much more lucrative career opportunities if they can take up international internships. There are few colleges in India including the Strate School of Design which provide this opportunity to their students. Because the design market is very different from the other sector and highly depends on how strong a portfolio a candidate has. It depends more on the knowledge and skills that is acquired during education.

In this regard, it is worth mentioning that salary packages for designers in India is much lower than what is currently offered in developed nations like Germany or France. If students are given international internship opportunities by Indian institutions, it can bring about a cataclysmic change in career opportunities for the design industry of the country.    

Providing Personalized Education

Design department is part and parcel of an organization with is product oriented. With the dynamically changing trends and technologies in the market, it has become very important for institutions to delve deeper into the changes and plan courses accordingly. They cannot provide education to a wide number of students at the same time and need to develop boutique institutions that specialize in design education. They need to have small batches of students in order to provide a personalized education experience and impart knowledge in them.

Design education need to be thought in a different way and all institutions must build their own philosophy for it.

 “Institutions must implement a 360 degree approach towards design thinking and not only create designers but design leaders who can take ownership and accountability of their work”, mentioned Mr. Dal.

The changing dynamics of design and design education stand testimony to the evolution of the industry. Designers must be well aware of the latest trends and should be ready to embrace the new technologies and methodologies. In this regard, design education must continue to evolve to make students equipped with the skills and mindset that is necessary to build a successful career in this field.