XLRI Is Establishing a School for Automotive Design and Management in Delhi

India is poised to welcome its inaugural dedicated automobile design institute, the Indian School for Design of Automobiles (INDEA). Scheduled to commence operations by late 2025, the institute will be established through a collaboration between Xavier School of Management (XLRI) and automotive expert Avik Chattopadhyay. The campus will be situated at the XLRI Delhi-NCR campus.

Overview of the Indian School for Design of Automobiles:

A key feature of the institute is the one-year Master’s degree program in Automobile Design & Management. The program aims to accommodate a class size of 20-25 students selected from various graduate schools through a rigorous screening process. Alongside delving into the intricacies of automotive design, students will receive training in managing design teams. The curriculum specifics are currently under finalization.

In addition to the Master’s degree program, INDEA will offer refresher courses for automotive designers seeking to refine their skills and inductions for chief experience officers (CXOs). The management is also contemplating the introduction of a course on automotive restoration.

About the Management:

XLRI, renowned as one of the country’s oldest business schools, has joined forces with its former student, Chattopadhyay, to address the dearth of skilled designers proficient in management and customer preferences, thereby nurturing well-rounded professionals for the Indian automotive industry.

While certain Indian universities like the National Institute of Design, the Indian Institute of Technology, and the Indian Institute of Management offer automotive-related programs, there exists no dedicated institute for automobile design in the nation.

Regarding recruitment challenges encountered in the Indian automotive design sector, Avik Chattopadhyay highlighted, “The gap lies in the fact that schools are not specialized. Automotive designing ends up being one of the 17 or 21 courses that they offer. So, the industry ends up spending a lot of time making them unlearn and learn once again.”

Chattopadhyay emphasized that students will find INDEA appealing due to the hands-on experience it offers, serving as a gateway into the industry.

Dr. Fr K S Casimir, director of the XLRI Delhi-NCR campus, underscored the significance of creativity not only in education but also in the advancement of the country. He remarked, “Creativity, innovation, and originality will ensure that a country leapfrogs to that superpower status. We want to imbue the entire management education with a kind of spirit where we are able to even blunder into creativity.”