NID set to give Heritage Railway Sites a Facelift

The National Institute of Design (NID) and the Ministry of Railways is set to enter into a collaboration to give a facelift to heritage railway sites across the country.

The National Rail Museum (NRM) and its heritage wing in Delhi will soon partner with NID to sign an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) wherein design students will promote railway’s heritage sites in the country.

As part of the project, students of the design institute will disseminate information at rail museums through digital technology and light, sound and interactive media, designing souvenirs and outdoor signages. “The idea is to give railway museums a facelift and make them more tourist-friendly through effective design intervention, booklets and digital communication,” said Pradyumna Vyas, director of the NID.

The project will cover railway lines built in the nineteenth and early twentieth century by the British in India, like in Darejeeling, Kalka-Shimla, Kangra valley, Kashmir, Nilgiri mountains in southern India and Matheran in Maharashtra.

The railway lines in Darjeeling, Nilgiri mountains and Kalka-Shimla have already been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The project will be part of the course for NID students. “Souvenirs form a big part of tourism promotion in any country. So it is a great work experience for design students to create relevant designs that showcase the same,” Vyas said.

Officials from heritage wing of the Indian Railways had visited NID last month to explore the possibility of partnering with the institute.

Source: indianexpress

NID gets Cabinet Nod to Award Degrees

The Union Cabinet announced Thursday that it has “approved the declaration of the National Institute of Design (NID) by Parliament by law as an ‘Institution of National Importance’.”

“The status of ‘Institution of National Importance’ would authorise NID, Ahmedabad, to award degrees to its students. This, in turn, may prove to be beneficial for students who wish to pursue post-graduation,” the Cabinet said in a statement. Currently, NID offers diplomas and PG diplomas.

NID director Pradyumna Vyas said in Ahmedabad that he was “extremely happy and thankful” to the Cabinet for approving NID’s new status and expressed the hope that the development would not only benefit design education, but also the aims and objectives of the India Design Council and national design policy.

Meanwhile, Gujarat’s Higher Education Commissioner Jayanti Ravi has said that her department is translating and will print and circulate a Gujarati version of a book on design by veteran designer and ex-NID faculty Kumar Vyas as the textbook for an introductory course on design that universities in the state can offer.

Source: expressindia

NID holds its 33rd convocation

Around 250 post-graduate and under-graduate students of National Institute of Design (NID) received their diplomas at the institute’s 33rd convocation ceremony on Thursday.

Addressing the gathering, CMD of Mahindra& Mahindra, Anand Mahindra, who is also the chairman of NID’s governing council, said degrees in designing were like the new MBAs.

“I can smell a revolution in the air as I stand here at the campus.The future belongs to artists, designers, inventors, innovators and explorers. There are battlefields like workplaces and public landscapes where you will have to bring in change.We will do our best to multiply your tribe (designers),” he said while talking about the four new NIDs that are being mentored by the NID, Ahmedabad.

In his welcome address, NID director Pradyumna Vyas highlighted four new collaborative agreements that the institute has signed with similar entities across the world.

NID is awaiting Central nod for a “Centre of Excellence” status for itself. If it comes, the institute will get Rs 25 crore for infrastructure development from the Centre.

Noted filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who was the chief guest for the event, also spoke, urging young designers to develop a “new paradigm of culture through design”.

Source: Express India