Design prospects ripe in state

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 3, 2007
Starting from this new academic session, the state will have its own design school. The International School of Design (ISD) will come up in Santiniketan and will be spread over a 10-acre campus.
The institute already has a tie-up with Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland and both institutions will jointly award the degree. Initially, a 4-year degree course — Bachelor of Design in Future Design — will be offered to interested students.
“Apart from National Institute of Design (NID), India does not have any good design schools. This school is aimed at not only producing world-class designers, but also providing them with necessary international exposure to make them globally competitive,” said S Bose, promoter of ISD.
In the first year, students will be introduced to concepts of design, designing forms and various aspects of fine arts. They will also be introduced to digital media. In the second and third year, various aspects of designing including, topics such as manufacturing design, design modelling, design & business, design research methods, contemporary architecture and legal issues will be taught.
In their final year, students will have to specialise on some aspect of designing. This may include, product design, furniture & interior design, automobile design, ceramic & glass design, textile design, apparel design & merchandising, lifestyle accessory design, animation film design, graphic design, animation, film design and designing in media.
“The students will have to do a lot of work on computers, as this is a very tech-driven course. They will be sent to Napier University for their specialisation, however if they want they can stay in India and do their specialisation,” said Bose.
While faculty is mainly being hired from NID and Visva Bharati, there will be many practitioners of the industry in the list of visiting faculty. And placements promise to be lucrative. “Everyone from textile companies, mobile phone companies and the automobile industry are looking for new designs. They can also become an interior designer or work freelance. A beginner can hope to earn about Rs. 25,000 per month,” he said.
Class XII pass-outs are eligible and will have to sit for an admission test. They will also have to submit a portfolio. There are 40 seats and course fee will be Rs 80,000 per year, which is Rs 20,000 more than NID. If a student chooses to go to Edinburgh for specialisation, it will cost them an additional ₤6,000.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com