IDC School of Design invites candidates to apply for PhD in the following core domains: Industrial Design, Communication Design, Interaction Design, Animation and Film, Mobility and Vehicle Design, Human Factors and Ergonomics. Besides these core domains, the PhD programme fosters an open interdisciplinary approach involving the disciplines such as engineering, social sciences, media and education.
Before applying, the candidates are strongly suggested to refer to the list below, to know about the research areas of the faculty members and the research topics that are suggested for this intake.
Candidates are strongly encouraged to contact and discuss their research interests with individual faculty members of IDC School of Design before applying, to gain a better understanding of the current research focus. Candidates are also encouraged to work with the faculty member, for a few months, and develop their research areas before the application.
Faculty members available to take PhD students for Spring 2026-27:
Anirudha Joshi, Arman Ovla, Girish Dalvi, Kanika Jolly, Nishant Sharma,
Swati Pal, Venkatesh R, Wricha Mishra, Arun Mascarenhas .
Below are a few specific PhD topics suggested for the 2026-27 Spring Semester applications :
|
Faculty
|
Topic
|
|
Anirudha Joshi
|
- Text input in Indian languages / Other tools for Indian Languages
- Localisation for Indian Needs / Localisation of user interfaces for Indian languages
- Design Education for India of 2047
- Design research for emergent users
A writeup for these topics here. The link is not publicly available yet, but please write to me for an access request. |
| Arman Ovla |
- Craft, Cultural Heritage and Visual Communication
- Indigenous Knowledge and Native Design Practices
- Craft Innovation and Artisan-Centred Design
- Material Culture and Sustainable Design
|
| Girish Dalvi |
- Critical Design Theory and Technological Imaginaries in Indian Contexts
- Interpretive and Context-Sensitive approaches to Interaction Design
- Socio-material Design Studies: Technological Practices in the Indian Context
|
| Kanika Jolly |
- Colour Material & Finish (CMF) Design
- Design for Inclusivity
- Designing for Sensory Experience
|
|
Nishant Sharma
|
- Designing hospital and home care for ICU patients
- Evoloving methodologies in teaching Design Thinking
- PdX: Participatory Design for X (Mobility, Agriculture, Healthcare)
- Developing assistive mobility aids and devices for para-athletes
- Developing Vehicle Forms using biomimicry
|
|
Swati Pal
|
- Design for elderly
- Designing healthcare of the future
- Perception and Trust in HCI
|
|
Venkatesh R
|
|
| Wricha Mishra |
- Digital Health Adoption
- Conversational Interfaces
- Sustainable Human Computer Interaction
- Embodied Design : A focus on cognition shaped by bodily interaction and multiple sensory modalities
|
| Arun Mascarenhas |
- Children's Picture Books & Visual Narratives
- Critical analysis and creation of picture books addressing challenging, complex, or taboo social themes (e.g., diversity, grief, gender, and environmental shifts).
- Visual storytelling, illustration strategies, and narrative structures for early childhood and young adult literature.
- Cultural representation and indigenous visual languages in contemporary Indian children's literature.
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