IIT Jodhpur introduces XR Design: A Master’s in Design (MDes) Program that Prepares Students to Contribute to a Five Trillion Dollar Opportunity
JODHPUR : Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur is proud to announce the starting of a new Masters’s in Design (MDes) program called XR Design from the academic year 2023-24. This is in accordance with the Government of India’s mandate to create manpower in the areas related to AR/VR technologies. This innovative program is designed to prepare students for the rapidly evolving field of extended reality (XR) design. XR Design is a unique program that blends traditional design principles with cutting-edge technology to prepare graduates for the future of design.
Applications for the XR Design program are now open. For more information about the program and how to apply, please visit https://sola.iitj.ac.in/xr-design/. For institute-sponsored seats, admission to the first semester of the academic year 2023-2024 commencing in July 2023, the online link will remain active till 21st May 2023. For self-sponsored seats, admission to the first semester commencing in July 2023, the online link will remain active till 14th May 2023.
The program focuses on teaching students how to design immersive experiences that incorporate virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality elements, for a variety of applications such as training in healthcare and retail, automotive simulations, digital twins in manufacturing, remote collaboration in workplaces as well as gaming and entertainment.
“XR Design is a response to the growing demand for designers who can create immersive experiences that go beyond the limitations of traditional modes,” said Prof. Santanu Chaudhury, Director, IIT Jodhpur. He further added, “The program will equip graduates with the skills they need to create meaningful and engaging experiences that will change how we interact online.”
The XR Design program is open to students from various backgrounds, including graphic design, architecture, and engineering. Students will work with industry-standard software and hardware, such as Unity, Unreal Engine, Maya, and various headsets, to create immersive experiences.
IIT Jodhpur is unique in offering this program across all centrally funded technical and design institutions in India. “I think this course is good and timely. Students need to go beyond traditional mobile and web UX as the future is beyond it,” says Keyur Sorathia, Associate Professor at IIT Guwahati.
The program will be steered by a select group of knowledgeable faculties–many of them from other IITs–and industry experts who have come together expressly to make this program a success.
“We are thrilled to offer this exciting new program to students who are passionate about design and technology,” said Dr. Farhat Naz, Head, School of Liberal Arts, IIT Jodhpur. She further added, “XR Design is an excellent example of our commitment to providing students with the education they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world.”
The program builds on other pioneering initiatives of IIT Jodhpur such as the AR/VR MTech program, iHub Drishti–Technology Innovation Hub (https://ihub-drishti.ai/) focussed around Computer Vision, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, and JCKIC’s projects to make crafts of Rajasthan virtually accessible to the world (https://kalaanubhav.com/)