Common entrance test for design?

In a move that could benefit scores of creative aspirants, the National Institute of Design, Ahemadabad, inks a MoU with six design institutes across India to hold a common entrance exam, reports Garima Sharma.

In a move that could benefit scores of creative aspirants, the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahemadabad, has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with six design institutes across India to hold a common entrance exam. The examination the National Entrance Examination in Design (NEED) will be designed on the lines of competitive exams like CAT and MAT.

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Says Darlie Koshie, Director, NID: “The six institutes that have joined us now will be known as founder members and those who join us later will be accepted as associate members.” The current MoU includes institutes like the Pearl Academy of Fashion (Delhi), IILM School of Design (Gurgaon), Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology (Bangalore), Indian Institute of Craft and Design (Jaipur), Wigan and Leigh College (Delhi) and DJ Academy of Design (Coimbatore).

Under the initiative, participating schools will accept NEED scores and then have their individual procedures for interview/situation test/group discussions. Says A.K.G. Nair, Group Director, Pearl Academy of Fashion, "The initiative will facilitate talent mobilisation for the design sector and standardise admission procedures. This is certainly in the interest of the student community which otherwise has to prepare for various examination patterns for all design schools in the country. There is also a clash of entrance examination dates."

The alliance is also expected to bring together the experience of both government and private players in design education and generate a platform to share experiential learning in fashion and design pedagogy.