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The Indian design industry is in a process of dynamic transformation, now extending well beyond areas related to fashion or interior design to such aspects as digital, industrial, and experiential domains. As the Vice Chancellor of the World University of Design, Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains, the current wave of design education is all about translating creativity into problem-solving, user-centricity, and innovation.

The design industry in the present times is an all-encompassing industry, from graphic and web design to UX/UI design, animation, industrial product design, and digital media. This diversity is fueled by new-age demands in which visual identity and user experience have become intrinsic to how businesses communicate with consumers. As Dr. Gupta also points out, design today is embedded in fields like technology, healthcare, education, retail, and brand strategy-things that were hitherto thought to be outside the realm of a designer's work.

Dr. Gupta asks students to begin the design journey on a very introspective note by deeply understanding their personal interests and natural aptitudes. According to him, the laying of the foundation rooted in understanding one's own inclinations-be it a love for drawing, digital art, or visual composition; or maybe fascination with emerging technology or an instinct at solving complex problems-is what will steer one to a satisfying career in design. As far as young professionals are concerned, it helps them to identify their right specialization early on, provides them with long-term vision, and aids in gaining a competitive edge.

He further emphasizes that design as a career in India is at an exponential growth stage. With companies increasingly realizing how design tells the story of brands, makes products more usable, and creates customer engagement, skilled designers are increasingly sought after. Be it as a freelancer, startup, or global corporation, designers today are not mere creators; they're strategists influencing the way people interact with the world through thoughtfully designed interventions. According to Dr. Gupta, it is the embracing of both creativity and technology that will define the next generation of designers. The future belongs to those who blend artistic sensitivity with analytic reasoning by merging aesthetic appeal with functionality and purpose.

The Manipal Academy of Higher Education, MAHE, is one of the country's leading professional education institutions and offers full-spectrum design programs in three major disciplines of Interior & Furniture Design, Product & Industrial Design, and UI/UX Design. The courses have been designed keeping in view the fast-changing global market demand for creative and industry-ready professionals with hands-on skills and fresh thinking in design. Thus, the transition from academia into professional life will be very smooth because of the practical learning, studio-based pedagogy, and active engagement with the industry offered by these design programs. 

Students will be introduced to the latest infrastructure with well-equipped workshops featuring the latest industry-relevant software used across the world by professionals in design. As part of the training process, regular exposure to studio sessions, live industry projects, and internships brings real design challenges to the students. Further refinement in creative and technical skills shall be ensured through evaluation by industry experts including the possibility of participation in national and international competitions. These programs shall strengthen conceptualization, innovation and delivery in design ideas. 

The graduate would be guided by highly qualified faculty and industry professionals in conceiving and delivering creative design solutions to solve human needs, aesthetics and functionality. Programs Offered: B.Sc. Interior and Furniture Design B.Design (Interior and Furniture Design) B.Design (Product and Industrial Design) B.Design (User Interface/User Experience – UI/UX Design) Each course covers creativity, technology, and practicality, making the students confident designers who will be able to adapt to the standards of the global industry. Thus, sustainability, digital innovation, and entrepreneurship are just three areas of concentration within the curriculum that go on to lead today's design industry. 

With inter-disciplinary learning emphasized, all the students in the varied programmes would get an opportunity to work together on the design challenges, development of prototypes, interaction with industry leaders through workshops and seminars. Applications are invited from interested candidates. Budding designers can log on to and explore the diverse career options these programs offer in the fast-growing design sector in India. Keywords: design programs in India, Manipal Academy of design courses, B.Design UI/UX, Product Design, Interior and Furniture Design course, Industrial Design, Creative careers, design education in India.

With the age of unending disruption for companies, design-driven thinking has emerged as an unstoppable force for success, and NID's program is leading the charge.

The curriculum of the course is designed to develop creativity, future orientation, and innovation. The students are taught to rethink traditional models of management and leadership through strategic design interventions. The emphasis is on applying human-centered, systemic, and synergetic approaches to real business and organizational challenges — from creating sustainable models to designing effective leadership approaches.

Unlike standard management studies, this course encourages experiential learning and real-time problem-solving. Through industry and social organization partnerships, live projects, and workshops, students are provided with hands-on exposure to how design can be used to impact strategic outcomes. The course is structured in such a way that students graduate not only as designers but as strategic thinkers — people who understand how to combine creativity with business wisdom to drive innovation and transformation.

With 19 seats only, M.Des. in Strategic Design Management is an intimate, highly competitive learning environment that fosters collaboration and mentorship. Located at NID's Gandhinagar Campus, the programme is appropriate for those who want to lead at the nexus of design, management, and innovation.

As the world's industries look more and more towards design-driven leadership, NID's graduates in Strategic Design Management are set to be future-ready professionals — individuals capable of advancing beyond near-term problems and designing solutions that last.

OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030/2040  facilitates countries' sharing and development of new knowledge on the future of curriculum design, implementation and evaluation.

The purpose of the project is to assist countries in making their education system more responsive by examining the kinds of 21st century competences (knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values) that students and teachers require to be competitive in the future. Towards this end, the Project identifies two strands of work:

Strand 1: Learning and Teaching for 2030

With this concept and vision-making stream of activity, the work involves a broad range of stakeholders (governments, school principals, teachers, students, researchers, social partners, etc.) in an international discussion with a view to building a mutual language/vision articulating shared aspirations for a better education future. In turn, the OECD Learning Compass has thus been co-designed to articulate the kinds of competencies that are regarded as being key for learners to thrive in the future. Likewise, the OECD Teaching Compass has also been co-designed to provide the kinds of competencies teacher will require in order to empower their learners towards creating a more prosperous future.

Strand 2: International Curriculum Analysis

In this strand of work, the project encourages an integrated strategy of planning, implementation, and assessment of future curricula. It makes comparative studies on curriculum matters that are highly relevant and ought to be prioritized in translating the vision of education (OECD Learning Compass). Its studies include trends in reconstructing curriculum, innovations in curriculum implementation and assessment, and learning from other countries in terms of curriculum reformation.

OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030 seeks to establish a common vision of key underlying concepts that are worthwhile to enable students to thrive and have a better future. Key concepts are, for example, student agency, student well-being and competences (knowledge, skills, attitudes, values). Policy frameworks for teaching and learning are developed in common by policymakers, researchers, school leaders, teachers and students worldwide.

The future, by its very nature, is uncertain; but by remaining sensitive to some of the trends that are presently sweeping across the globe we can learn – and teach our children to learn – how to adapt to, flourish in and even shape whatever the future holds. The students must be led to develop not just skill and knowledge, but also attitude and values that can lead them towards ethical and responsible behavior. They must simultaneously be provided with the scope to develop their creative ingenuity to assist in leading mankind to a brighter tomorrow.

Sai University in Chennai provides a progressive liberal education programme including arts, science, technology, law, and interdisciplinary studies, although as of 2025 it does not have a specialised undergraduate or postgraduate degree in design, e.g. B.Des or M.Des. However, design-centric courses are sometimes embedded within their arts, computing, and interdisciplinary majors, providing foundational knowledge in areas like Design Thinking, Creativity, Innovation, and Human-Centered Problem Solving.

Design Learning in Sai University: Realities.

• No Degree in Design Itself: The course lists of Sai University 2025 make no mention of a Bachelor of Design (B.Des), Master of Design (M.Des), or any similar degree in their listings.​
• Integrated Design Courses: The university has introductory and elective modules of design thinking, creativity, and product innovation as part of other degrees, notably the B.A. and B.Sc. interdisciplinary programmes.​
• Relevant Majors: Students who are interested in design can choose the following programmes, which might include design-related courses: B.A. (Hons.) in Interdisciplinary Studies or B.Sc. (Hons.) in Cognitive science, Computer Science, or Psychology.​

Career Prospects After Sai University’s Design-Adjacent Programs

While graduates do not obtain a "Design" degree, they are qualified for careers or further studies in:

• User Experience (UX) Research, Graphic Design (entry-level)
• Product Development Teams in technology companies
• Content Creation, Brand Strategy, and Communications
• Higher education (M.Des, MA Design, UX courses at national and international institutes)
• Creative and consulting roles in digital marketing, startups, NGOs, and policy think tanks

Why Sai University?

1. Inter discipline Exposure: Sai University promotes cross field learning to ensure students acquire creative and analytical skills of a firm-based approach that is applicable in design and technological sectors.​
2. Skill Development: Courses such as Introduction to Design, Design Thinking, and Creativity and Innovation are core instruction that teaches ideation, user research, empathy mapping and prototyping.​
3. Liberal Arts Setting: The flexible curriculum allows students to mix arts, science, policy, and technology, as the industry wants multi-skilled graduates.​

Sai University does not grant a formal degree in design, but it provides meaningful exposure to design principles and creative skills through its liberal and interdisciplinary programs. The interested students ought to extensively go through the curriculum, pick up the electives in design thinking and innovation, and look at adding to the studies with on-job-training or internship in design related careers

Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) and Design Thinking are transforming education by putting the student at the center of learning and ready him to deal with an increasingly globalized world. Both these related methodologies compel the young people to learn, think creatively, and work innovatively as well as collaborate. Students tackle real-world issues, rank issues, and construct relevant solutions—most of them defined through collaboration—so learning is contextual and experiential, not abstract and passive.

Design Thinking embeds its active position through a cyclical, empathetic process. Students start with gaining insight into other people's needs, proceed to ideation, test the solutions, and iterate based on testing and feedback. Students become change-resilient, innovative problem solvers who are proficient at change management.

These pedagogies blended together close the gap between traditional content transmission and the requirement of society—creativity, collaboration, flexibility. Best practices that result from their interaction include interdisciplinary course design, universal learning, external partner co-design, and tech-enabled experience. Evaluation also changes, to competency and actual impact assessment and from rote memorization.

Teachers and scholars across the globe are applying working models, research, and implementation of CBL and Design Thinking at all education levels with the vision of turning learning and teaching on its head in the direction of triggering motivation, interest, and future-readiness. The revolution is positioning schooling systems as adaptive, inclusive, and heterogeneous as the students will encounter.