Abstract
Researchers studying design education for vocational practice in India clearly point to centre-periphery relations of colonial legacy that have led to grave challenges in bringing a change or a significant shift in the practice of vocational and design education in India (Agrawal 2017, Singh: 2010). With streams like plumbing, fashion, carpentry, welding, food technology, turner, fitter and many more, we see that the labour market perspectives govern majority of the design pedagogy, leading to systematic deskilling and a rising uncreative rendering of the instructional practice. This keeps the average salary for first employment opportunity for students anywhere between USD 70 to 100 per month, barely making it to the figure of minimum wage parameters. This paper explores reflections and learnings from the design of a radical design pedagogy experiment at scale in a populous developing country like India. The student-led entrepreneurial action programme, conceived to invert some of these conditions, uses entrepreneurial mindsets, agency and self-directed learning as its core principles to enable thriving career action for students in Industrial Training Institutes. Based on 14 months of rigorous engagement in the field since the inception of the project, this paper explores unique insights on participatory approaches and cultures of co-creation with the users and communities for a transformative design executed at scale in 100 institutes impacting 30,000 vocational and design education students. It brings to light critical dilemmas and reflections on designing for democratised entrepreneurship at scale in context that lacks basic infrastructure and affordability.
Presenters
Syeda AsiaCurriculum Specialist, Research & Development, Udhyam Learning Foundation, Karnataka, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2024 Special Focus—Cultures of Transformative Design
KEYWORDS
PARTICIPATORY, DESIGN THINKING, DESIGN PEDAGOGY, AGENCY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, INDIA
