GUWAHATI:
MIT University Shillong is introducing a four-year degree course on smart design from this academic session, vice chancellor Dr. Malhar Pangrikar told The Meghalayan here on Sunday.
Set up in MIT University, Shillong is a state-private university and a part of the MIT Group of Institutions.
The university has been offering specialized programmes in travel, tourism, finance, retail, engineering, and technology sectors. It also offers BBA in Digital Marketing, Hospitality Travel and Tourism, Finance, Marketing, and Retail, and BTech in cloud computing and Oil and Gas Informatics.
“We have announced admission for this course from this session. There will be 30-40 limited seats. It will be a four-year degree course. Any student who passed higher secondary (10+2) with 45 per cent aggregate marks can apply for this course,” Pangrikar said.
“We are building a new department for it. In the first phase, we will have a School of Design. Under that we will be having Smart Product Design, Communication Design, UX Design, and Graphics Design courses,” Pangrikar also said.
Pangrikar stressed the need to design education to be inculcated in regular education as with design and sustainability perspective towards life. In design, there is no fragmentation like in any other discipline.
“We need to understand consumer psychology. Shillong is an academic hub, we want to take the sustainability of Meghalaya to the rest of the country, design courses will attract PAN-India students whereas, the core sustainability is within Meghalaya which is our main objective,” he said.
“MIT is foreseeing every activity. Building from a sustainability point of teaches modern age skills such as empathy, creativity, teamwork, problem-solving, accommodating different perspectives that everyone needs to succeed,” he also said.
“The MIT University envisages to become India’s first sustainability-centered university to foster holistic education, oriented learning from industry experts, accentuate the latent potential of the NE students, to ensure diversified academic with a plethora of activities and opportunities,” he further said.
“The MIT University –Shillong offers B Des in smart product design, user experience, and in graphic design for four years campus residential courses programme. World-class amenities and infrastructure are in line with the finest academicians to curate a well–rounded learning experience in the Northeast,” he added.
The MIT University Shillong organized an event entitled “Design Connect” under the theme “Career Opportunity in Designs” at Novotel Hotel here on Sunday.
The “Design Connect” is to comprehend the advantages of the design courses, and accessibility and to oversee the current market opportunities.
Dr. Malhar Pangrikar, MITD- Shillong, Dr. Debayan Dhar, IIT Guwahati, and Dr Udaya Kumar, IIT Guwahati attended as speakers of the event.
The interactive session was stirred by an exchange of ideas and knowledge between the speakers and the attendees.
MIT University’s primary aim to conduct such programmes is to upthrust the youths of the Northeast and edify them with knowledge, wisdom, and attention.
According to Dr. Debayan Dhar, the school of design is related to industrial design, it started in the initial days of wars to make a product that can be sold in the market.
In design, there is no standard teaching, it is a kind of studio set-up wherein, peer learning is extensively used. Teaching is more of a problem-solving attitude. It is a hand-holding exercise.
Dr D Udaya Kumar said that some students are gifted there is a certain way that can be honed in design which is by using their skill and transformation. Education in the traditional system is more theoretical but in design, it is completely industry based and starts from day one of the course.
He added that students need to be aware of and know the potential of the field. Now in the recent decade, so many schools are centrally funded institutes, several IITs are offering design and it is gaining momentum, many will be taking design admissions shortly.