Developing future designers

Updated on: Monday, November 01, 2010

The National Institute of Design (NID) is internationally acclaimed as one of the foremost education and research institutions for industrial communication, textile and IT integrated (experiential) design. NID has been entrusted with the responsibility of acting as a catalyst institution promoting design education and research excellence in India.

Getting in
Admission to the institute is on the basis of selection, which extends beyond a student’s previous academic qualifications. The admission process systematically seeks evidence of the perception, attitude, aptitude, achievement and motivation essential for a challenging and satisfying design career.

Candidates have to sit for design aptitude tests, the objective of which is to measure their aptitude for the field of design. These involve general mental ability, a world view, sensitivity to the environment, creativity, drawing and communication skills, imagination, visualisation and representation. Competence in technical and related subjects are normally considered an advantage. Candidates are short-listed for the second phase of the selection process based on the scores obtained from these tests.

In the interview round, the ability to express with relevance, openness to learning and portfolios are given weight. Candidates will be contesting 100 seats in the Graduate Diploma Programme in Design (GDPD) and 240 in the Post-Graduate Diploma Programme (PGDPD). The former test will be held on January 9, 2011 while the latter will take place one day earlier. Separate waiting lists with approximately 10 per cent of the total number of seats available will be put up for both tests.

About 10 per cent of the seats in the PGDPD are reserved for foreign countries/SAARC region/NRI candidates on a supernumerary basis while there are a prescribed percentage of seats reserved for candidates belonging to various reserved categories. Overseas candidates applying for admission must attend the admission test in India at one of the test centres and if short-listed attend the interviews in Ahmedabad.

Growing exponentially

Although the disciplines of Design are not as ‘hot’ as those in the disciplines of Engineering and Technology, Management and Medicine, the seats that are available are well contested each year. However, demand is growing exponentially and this is fast becoming a popular area of study. The open economy has created healthy competition within the industry which is aware that design matters in industry and also in areas of government investments in the social and development sectors of our economy.

Developing future designers

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