Pearl Academy's 'What's Next' concept catches people's imagination

The future in design and design education was in focus during a series and workshops and conferences organized by Pearl Academy recently.

Based on the theme of 'What's Next' in design, the workshops and conferences saw the participation of design and fashion experts, including Professor M.P. Ranjan, a design thinker, Madhav Raman, an architect and urbanist, Suresh Sethi, Vice President (Design) at Whirlpool and David Hayer- Country Head of fashion retail giant GAP.

Speaking on the occasion about the new initiative, Pearl Academy CEO Sharad Mehra, said, "What's Next' is our attempt to look into the future of the design industries and collaborate with like-minded individuals, design thinkers, philosophers and organizations to contemplate the key macro and micro trends affecting the world of design."

"This is a series of workshops and confluences that will discuss the future of design and design education. We are thankful to all the thought leaders who have joined us today and in future events, contributing towards enhancing the design landscape and strengthening design competencies," he added.

Professor Ranjan said, "There is a genuine need to bring about a shift in the use of design thinking to explore the possibilities of design intervention in various sectors in India. It's encouraging to see that a platform is being provided here to design thinkers to discuss the future of design. I am really looking forward to the upcoming workshops and confluences of 'What's Next'."

Architect Madhav Raman focused his talk on the impact that design will and can have on the cities of the future, be it in India, or anywhere else in the world. He talked of the as yet unseen and hidden entrepreneurial spirit of the lesser privileged in Indian society, and maintained that it was worthwhile tapping into to ensure the possibility of a better tomorrow.

Suresh Sethi recalled his recent visits to South Korea, and talked about explorative, open-minded and simplistic yet impactful design as the way forward for the future, while David Hayer talked about focusing more on what is not next, and making it happen. He said that at GAP, this has been a constant endeavour.

During the event, Chairman, Pearl Academy and Group Chairman, Pearl Global industries and PDS Multinational Deepak Seth, Neel Broker, CEO India - Laureate International Universities, CEO Sharad Mehra, and the four speakers also unveiled a book titled 'What's Next', which detailed 12 key projects undertaken by students of Pearl Academy, who are exploring design ideas, thoughts and processes for a changing tomorrow.

The launch, which was organized at The Leela, was attended by the who's who of design, fashion and creative businesses fraternity.

The event also witnessed the launch of Pearl Academy's four new schools - School of Fashion, Styling and Textile; School of Creative Business; School of Communication, Media and Film; School of Design (Product, Interior architecture and Jewellery).

The organizers said that they were strategically geared towards promoting a vision for a futuristic learner-centric global education to its students in the arena of design, fashion and creative businesses.

The next workshops under 'What's Next' will be on Media Convergence by Transmedia Journalist Julia Goldberg by the end of this month which will be followed by 'World Cafe Style Confluence of Global Design Educators, thought leaders and budding professionals on 'Future of Design Education' in December in the national capital.

The confluence will witness the participation of nearly hundred design thinkers and academicians from across the globe working together to define the curriculum, pedagogy and learning outcomes of design education in future.

Among the students sharing their design insights were Pallavi Kalra with her Wonder World on Wheels, Shinny Jain with Last Errors of Plastic and Tanvi Gupta with a Design Centre for Autistic Children.

Founded in 1993, Pearl Academy is India's largest private institution for design, fashion and creative businesses. It is manned by a high-caliber and experienced faculty. Pearl Academy delivers over 30 uniquely designed undergraduate, post-graduate and professional programs through its 4 campuses in Delhi, NOIDA, Jaipur and Mumbai.