IIM Calcutta, SoDT, Mission Samriddhi join hands to set up CoE for Design Thinking

IIMC, SoDT, and Mission Samriddhi decided to collaborate to establish India's first-of-its-kind ‘Centre of Excellence for Design Thinking’ in the business school. This centre will serve as the focus for all Design Thinking initiatives undertaken by IIMC and affiliated entities. The centre aims to strengthen design thinking focus in the academic curriculum, research and projects.

A tripartite agreement is signed between Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, School of Design Thinking, and Mission Samriddhi, a social impact platform dedicated to holistic development of Rural India, to promote Design Thinking for institutional leadership. The agreement will be valid for 3 years.

IIMC, SoDT, and Mission Samriddhi decided to collaborate to establish India's first-of-its-kind ‘Centre of Excellence for Design Thinking’ in the business school. This centre will serve as the focus for all Design Thinking initiatives undertaken by IIMC and affiliated entities. The centre aims to strengthen design thinking focus in the academic curriculum, research and projects.

Initiatives

The following initiatives will be taken under the IIMC, SoDT, and Mission Samriddhi collaboration:

• In partnership with SoDT, IIMC will provide Design Thinking courses and interventions across many fields.
• Design Thinking modules and tasks will be created for academic and training programmes.
• Workshops, forums, and seminars will be held to promote Design Thinking as an approach for innovation.
• In collaboration with MS, collaborative research projects, community-impacting social initiatives, and impact studies will be commenced and there will be a joint ownership of publications and other materials of interest.
• The cooperative will include best practices in Design Thinking to reach a larger audience.
• SoDT will establish a Centre of Excellence at IIMC to promote Design Thinking as a mindset.

Speaking on the occasion, Bhaskar Chakrabarti, dean, IIM Calcutta, said, “One of the biggest challenges in the implementation of policies is in effectively reaching the intended recipient. While there are a number of studies and research initiatives to understand this lacuna, one area that has not been considered is the 'human' element. This is where Design Thinking plays a vital role, especially in our social outreach initiatives. I am very happy that IIM Calcutta, School of Design Thinking and Mission Samriddhi are coming together to study and drive initiatives towards effective outcomes keeping the stakeholders in the center.”

Mission Samriddhi's Community Development Framework focuses on the creation and development of initiatives that are sustainable and scalable, with the goal of positively impacting the greater community. It will assist this initiative by working with IIMC to reach out to rural clusters in the area.

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