A warm welcome to the School of Design and Innovation! Since its advent, Design (and its various disciplines) has become one of the most sought-after areas of study, practice, and research in India, wherein graduates find fulfilling and lasting careers as design practitioners, strategists, researchers, advisors, academics, and entrepreneurs. We imagine design education as a journey full of experiment, inquiry, risk taking, and evidence-based research and decision making, which is a collaborative act -between the student, faculty members, institution, industry, and community at large. Design requires an integrated approach to learning, which draws upon the fields of art, architecture, design, science, humanities, social science, engineering, economics, and so on, and it also requires us to be attentive to the constantly changing topography of our world.

At RV University, we see design as ethical, inclusive, and democratic; and as an act, a product, an experience, and above all, a mindset. We are invested in student-centred approaches to learning, and we look forward to our students taking a deep dive and immersing themselves in their education, to identify creative and critical approaches to difficult, urgent real-world problems. Our students are provided with the best of national and international perspectives on design, and they are encouraged to understand the value and use of emerging technology, as well as traditional knowledge systems. At RV University, School of Design and Innovation, we aim to create not just graduates but future design leaders and innovators who approach design with technological acumen, social purpose, a sense of justice, and a critical eye. As your Dean, I hope to meet with each of you, talk about my own journey as a creative, and I wish you an exciting time here, and beyond!