Amit Kundal

I am a TEDx Speaker currently associated with Indian School of Design and Innovation as Associate Dean  (Research and Innovation) and as the Programme Director of PG Design and Innovation course. I am trying to explore the influence of the concept of democracy on Design Education as in how can we create a design curriculum which is for the students and by the students as well. I am a firm believer in the power of design as a process. I am a fun loving person who loves to travel and explore places, people, and cultures. I am curious about people, their motivations and how they make decisions. I am a firm believer that there is no substitute for hard work, and this reflects in the way I approach any situation. I am an agile thinker and I am almost always excited about sharing my thoughts and involving myself in stimulating conversations/discussions with people from different walks of life about practically anything under the sun. I completed my bachelors in Lifestyle Accessory Design from National Institute of Fashion Technology, India. I then contributed to the Indian Craft Industry for 4 years, after which I joined the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur for my Masters in Design. During my tenure as a Master’s student at IIT Kanpur, I attended the Product Development Project (PDP) course at Aalto Design Factory in Helsinki, Finland which helped me shape and curate my thought process for design and foster my inclination towards social innovation. After graduating with a Master’s degree in design, I decided to pursue my Ph.D. In Design from the same institute. My PhD at IIT Kanpur is to look into how design thinking can help solve socio-technical issues that are prevalent in a country like India. I have engaged as a design mentor and educator for design courses and I have also been an orchestrator and facilitator for various design and innovation workshops and lectures. I enjoy working as a problem solver bridging the gap between a user and the solution.