Design is a creative problem-solving process used to create new products and services that improve daily lives. Design is strongly focused on identifying user and market demands, in contrast to the expressionist approach of art, and is, therefore, a process-centric exercise to generate fresh and original solutions.

Profitability is driven by design, and today, talented designers are in high demand throughout the world’s top businesses.

India has had a sharp increase in manufacturing and services over the past 20 years, with design acting as an integral part of the development of new goods and services.

Today, a wide variety of options are available in automobiles, housing, furniture, fashion and apparel, consumer gadgets, movies, and the media to satisfy a variety of consumer expectations. The demand for designers is growing; thus, design education needs to be flexible, current, and technologically savvy.

Design institutes in the country have turned out to be the backbone of the industry to ensure steady growth and match the rising demands. While mentioning these prestigious institutes, the name of NICC International College of Design cannot be overlooked.

NICC’s dedicated 10,000 sq. ft. building was planned in 2002 and completed in 2004. NICC International College of Design is a member-affiliate of the European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA), and the granting of this affiliation in March 2005 was simultaneous with the formal launch of NICC’s International teaching programs.

Successful high-level placements and international appreciation of NICC graduates (including winning a prestigious full scholarship in Packaging Design to IED Milan) led to NICC being considered an aspirational destination for Design students.

Redefining Personalised Education

‘Career-oriented Interdisciplinary Education’ is the guiding principle of NICC’s pedagogic system.

The core values of NICC can be summarised as focused individual attention, encouragement of creativity, and one-on-one nurturing of directional ambition and talent.

An essential foundation that empowers this approach is the limitation of class sizes to not more than 18 students per class.

A Leader to Admire

Dr Akash K. Rose is an alumnus of the eminent College of Medicine, AIIMS New Delhi. He has always been passionate about Engineering and General Sciences. Thus, when a Fellowship in Physiology – Biophysics was offered, he won one of the two seats available for the program. With this foundation in Biomedical Engineering, he was appointed to be a member of the Development Team, Committee on Science and Technology in Developing Countries, and subsequently successfully developed technologies for the Government of India Ministry of Defence as a Consultant Scientist.

He has also been a consultant at the Vizag Steel Plant Laser Digitizing Annexe and in automation for several corporates. Dr Akash has also developed unique products ranging from electrical to electronic to electromechanical for numerous clients and has patents/patents pending on his inventions.

In the late 1980s, he became an authorised Guide to BE Electronics Final Year students studying at colleges affiliated with Chennai University and has never stopped teaching since then.

In addition, he is a well-known and respected photographer. This achievement led to NICC being selected as Knowledge Partner to Canon Imaging Academy.

As an author-photographer, he has illustrated and published a series of nine detailed Photo-Technique articles in Better Photography, a Tata Donelly publication at the time. The interdisciplinary knowledge of Technology that he absorbed in Design and related subjects led to being an External Examiner to Govt. of India’s National Institute of Design (NID) PG Campus, Gandhi Nagar, Ahmedabad, for seven years – 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 (M.Des.) for the Department of New Media Design (NMD).

He currently teaches Product Design, EV Design, Alternative Energy, Automation, AI, and Advanced Digital Imaging at NICC.

Competing on a Global Platform

The Course Objectives at NICC align with the objectives of the government of India’s New Education Policy – especially regarding Multidisciplinary Learning.

NICC is one of the few Institutions in India offering programs guided by UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG). Learning outcomes are specifically:

• Interdisciplinary Cross-platform awareness leads to unmatched creative team member competence in conceptual and skillset application.
• Instant career readiness to enable immediate integration into the industry without the need for extensive training and orientation by the industry.
• International-standard Design knowledge and skillsets in keeping with the Bologna Convention’s goal of establishing uniformity of Design curricula globally.

NICC is the first Indian institution to adopt the internationally increasingly important STEAM concept of integrating the arts (A) into the STEM educational root. This leads to Design-driven Innovation in multiple diverse fields.

E-Learning was of great importance during the various pandemic-induced restrictions. NICC continued without a break! It delivered quality teaching online throughout the period. However, online teaching of a multidisciplinary field such as Design can only be a supportive exercise and does not replace the need for hands-on laboratory and field work as well as the team-building and cooperative skills necessary to be a successful design professional.

Individualised Attention

The teaching approach used by NICC includes several learning methods, including theory, practical application, real-world projects, and evaluation. Observation, experience, perception, comprehension, summarisation, ideation, projection, and application are just a few of the ways these processes involve the learner.

All of these necessitate a variety of instructional strategies, including general theory lectures, group discussions, presentations, hands-on activities, individual assignments, and projects. As a result, sessions at NICC are held in small groups with individualised attention and suitable facilities.

In the First Year, a strong foundation is built in Art Theory and Visual Design. Students create graphics with a sound understanding of Art Movements, Current Trends, Colour Theory, Colour Science and Applied Graphic Design. They also have entire projects devoted to creating Dioramas and other art installations to polish their artistic perception and develop their creative perception and skills of expression across multiple media.

Brushing the Curriculum on a Regular Basis

All NICC’s UG and PG Twinning Programs incorporate standard degree education via direct enrolment in Government universities combined with parallel International-syllabus Professional Diplomas (approved by the State Government). These programs use a curriculum closely in synchronisation with over 400 elite design colleges worldwide, which are NICC’s sister institutions via the ELIA network. Thus, the curriculum is truly up-to-date and genuinely international.

The globally interconnected European network ELIA offers a vibrant forum for professional growth and exchange in higher arts education.

The best design schools in Europe are among ELIA’s member institutions.

In 2005, the External Affairs Director of IED Milan, Italy, gave NICC membership approval. With almost 400 of the best design colleges in the world, this affiliation membership grants NICC’s ‘Sister-College’ status, giving NICC graduates the ideal opportunity to gain priority admission to these schools.

In keeping with the standards of these prestigious international universities that adhere to the same system, NICC’s international UG/PG diplomas, which are a component of its twinning programs, follow international curricula as defined by The Bologna Convention.

Racing with Time

NICC takes a unique direction in crafting its curriculum for all courses. Conventional education syllabuses are based on academic classifications intended to lead to certain professions.

In contrast, NICC’s approach is first to understand what the global academic fraternity’s extensive research indicates and to acknowledge the requirements of today’s industries. Its curriculum is constantly tailored to create graduates who are a precise fit for mid-to-high-level industry careers and who are career-ready from the very first day, thus eliminating the endemic problem of producing graduates who are not employable.

Testimonies of Excellence

“NICC’s most notable achievement is the record of Placement of its Graduates in coveted positions in top industries, including Byju’s, Tata Elxsi, Xiaomi, Google, Nikon, and many others. NICC is also very glad to note that many of its students have applied for and been accepted instantly for Higher education at elite institutions in the UK, Italy, Canada, and other premium academic destinations.”

“NICC students’ work has been widely recognised, and appreciative articles on their work have been published in the mainstream Press – TOI, The Indian Express, Bangalore Mirror, and Deccan Chronicle. Internationally, NICC is the first Indian institution to be accepted as a member-affiliate of The European League of Institutes of The Arts (Netherlands/Holland). Further, NICC is the first and only institution to be chosen as a ‘Knowledge Partner’ by Canon. NICC was chosen ‘Institute of The Year 2020.’ – Design & Visual Arts by Academic Insights Magazine.”

“NICC is deepening its es across the globe in terms of Design education and has been offered collaboration with eminent Universities in the UK. This initiative is ongoing. It intends to keep pace with evolving technologies such as EV development, Alternative Energy, Socially Conscious Design, and Green and Sustainable Design and to broaden the scope of its graduates even further across the globe.”