International plans design school at Shantiniketan

Despite the long-standing association of Bengal with creativity and design, the eastern region as a whole does not have a design school that caters to more than a specific type of designing.

However, the gap will soon be filled by a composite design school that is being developed in Shantiniketan by Kolkata-based International Group.

The school will have courses along the lines of those taught at the National Institute of Design, Anand.

Students will be conferred a Bachelor of Design (B.Des) by Napier University of the United Kingdom after completing the three year undergraduate course.

Students will have the option of spending two years in Shantiniketan and the third year at Edinburgh School of Art, or completing the entire course at Shantiniketan itself.

The institute will be residential and have an initial intake of 60 students.

Each year will be divided into three semesters, with industry internship for a term in the second year.

Specialisation will be offered in the final year.

The fee for the first two years would be Rs 100,000 each, excluding accommodation cost which has been estimated to be Rs 2,000 per month.

In the final year, students going to UK will have to pay £ 5,000, and those remaining behind will pay £ 600, informed Suborno Bose, chairman, International Group.

The campus will be built in two phases, with 20,000 squarefeet of built-up area being developed in each phase.

This would entail a phased investment of Rs 15 crore.

The campus will be spread over 15 acres.

The first session is expected to begin in July or August of 2007.

The admission procedure, which will include a written test, will be held sometime in March of the same year. Screening process for faculty will begin in January, Bose informed.

"Although there are plenty of schools in the east teaching specialised design techniques, there is none that has a holistic approach to design. For the first time in eastern India, there will be a design school where students can learn everything from textile designing to automobile designing. We will be working in close conjunction with the Centre for Advanced Craft Design of Shantiniketan to provide assistance to local craftsmen as well," Bose said.

The International Group runs institutes of hotel management, information technology and management in Kolkata.