Almost everything, other than what is naturally available, is designed intentionally. Being who we are influences the way in which we design, be they the numerous products that we use, our communication, the interactions/experiences that we choose to go through etc. It is understood that the designed environment influences the type of people we are to become and can hence influence how we interact and what we may design in future. Consequently, design offers a high leverage to intervene into and effect change across the interconnected systems of economy, technology, society, culture, and the environment. Recognizing such a responsible and pivotal role that ‘design’ has in creating a future that needs to be beneficial to humanity, PES University is starting the Faculty of Design with a broad vision to realize a design-spine to pedagogy that nurtures a vibrant culture of sustainable design leadership.
PESU Faculty of Design offers undergraduate and post-graduate programs in Design. The UG program offers a four-year Bachelor of Design (B..Des) degree in three streams, Product Design, Interaction Design and Communication Design. The PG program currently offers a two-year professional Masters of Design (M. Des) degree in Product Design. The Faculty of Design curriculum is developed to stay relevant to the times and seeks to synthesize knowledge relevant to design from several disciplines as varied as the humanities, arts, engineering, and science. In the first year, the B. Des curriculum runs as a design foundation and is common to the three design streams. In the first semester, the M. Des curriculum introduces design thinking to the students coming from mixed UG backgrounds. An essential component of both the programs is the industry internship that the students are strongly encouraged to seek-out and undertake in any design stream at the end of fourth semester (for B. Des students) and second semester (for M. Des students). Both the programs culminate in Design Thesis Project involving extensive work spanning several semesters and producing functional and tested prototypes. While working individually is encouraged, the students are expected to work collaboratively in teams with students from other design streams and engineering disciplines at PESU, thereby leveraging the strengths of a diverse and entrepreneurial PESU culture.
As integrators it is also expected that design students lead such collaborative initiatives culminating in design-led start-ups that generate employment. However, students could also choose to be employed in the companies/organizations that PESU consistently attracts for its student placements. The Faculty of Design has a growing team of distinguished faculty members who bring in a wealth of professional design experience in addition to having graduated from premier institutes. Several visiting faculty with extensive academic /industrial experience and with backgrounds as varied as design, management, engineering, arts, humanities are invited.