The Techno India Group has forayed into design education by tying up with Ecole Intuit Lab, a French educational institute of design, strategy and digital creation.
The new design school will be housed on the premises of the Techno India University campus in DN Block, Sector V.
“Bengal has had great exponents of the fine arts, from Jamini Roy to Jogen Chowdhury. But at this juncture fine arts does not create enough opportunities to sell whereas, in contrast, commercial art has created so many well-paying jobs around us. Our group has been in education for 35 years, catering to engineering, management, law, nursing and architecture. But we never ventured into the arts and design as a potential business vertical. We are trying to bring in entrepreneurial energy and innovation in education. So we want to provide students career opportunities to become successful designers with their own advertising and design agencies,” said Meghdut Roy Chowdhury, the group’s global operations director.
Intuit Lab, founded in 2001, is based in Paris and Aix en Provence, in southern France. The third campus in Mumbai opened in 2010. “It is one of the top three graphic design schools in France,” said Yan Garin, associate vice-president, operations, Ecole Intuit Lab.
The Telegraph
The partnership germinated in an email that Pauline Laravoire, the group’s sustainability director who is from France herself, sent while exploring possibilities of partnership with different institutions.
“Each programme will start with a foundation year where students will be taught to coordinate their eye, hand and brain. No matter how digital the world might be, it is very important that they have training in sketching, understanding colour etc,” Garin stated.
All students will get professional experience in the form of internships. “If a student’s grades and attendance are good, at the end of the third year we offer a chance to study a semester in any of our three other campuses. We teach them French so they can interact with teachers if they travel to France. We also hold two exhibitions a year to showcase works of students where creative agencies are invited,” said Dhruti Patel, director, marketing and admissions, Intuit Lab, Mumbai.
The design school has been holding free workshops for students. “When students are in high school they are not sure if design is their calling. At these workshops we introduce them to typography and design thinking,” Patel added.
The course starts in July 2020. Thirty students will be accepted in each batch and admission starts on Monday.
