Dubai: Creative students in the UAE can now aspire to get the first-of-its-kind undergraduate degree in design and innovation from the newly launched Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI) at Dubai Design District.
The four-year Bachelor of Design (BDes) programme will be open for fall next September.
Sass Brown, DIDI’s founding dean, said, “The curriculum of the course has been drawn up in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Parson’s School of Design. The course offer students an opportunity to participate in cross-disciplinary course work with a focus on visual literacy and technological fluency. Students can design their own degree by choosing the disciplines and combining two concentrations from a total of four - product design, strategic design management, multimedia design and fashion design.”
The four-year course will cost Dh98,000, Brown told XPRESS on the sidelines of an event at The Dubai Mall last week.
She said DIDI will provide internal partial scholarships to some students. This will be in addition to a special scholarship that will be granted to one student by The Dubai Mall.
Dee Sarai, general manager of the Dubai Mall, said, “The Dubai Mall Scholarship will give one talented female student the opportunity to receive an empowering scholarship at DIDI and help change the face of design in the region. The recipient will be declared in June.”
During the first year of the course, students learn the foundations of visualisation, problem-solving, design thinking, fabrication and sustainable design.
“Students will be introduced to skill building from traditional and crafted to high-tech and cutting edge. They will be encouraged to experiment and explore their creativity.” The second and third years focus on studio, workshop and lecture-based coursework. Students will be given a chance to gain industry experience in a design internship during the summer of Year 3. The final year entails thesis preparation and submission. For details, go to www.didi.ac.ae
More details about the course can be obtained at www.didi.ac.ae.
