We are looking for PhD candidates in the following broad areas:
1. Design for sustainability
2. Disaster management
2. Frugal design and social innovation
3. Designing for children
For more details on faculty profile and potential research areas, visit:
1. Sharmistha Banerjee - http://www.banerjeesharmistha.com/
2. Pankaj Upadhyay - https://pankajupadhyaydod.weebly.com/
For Indian applicants, visit: https://www.iitg.ac.in/
For International applicants, visit: https://www.iitg.ac.in/aer/admissions.php
1. Design for sustainability
2. Disaster management
2. Frugal design and social innovation
3. Designing for children
For more details on faculty profile and potential research areas, visit:
1. Sharmistha Banerjee - http://www.banerjeesharmistha.com/
2. Pankaj Upadhyay - https://pankajupadhyaydod.weebly.com/
For Indian applicants, visit: https://www.iitg.ac.in/
For International applicants, visit: https://www.iitg.ac.in/aer/admissions.php
On Going
Prarthana Majumdar
majumdarprarthana.majumdar [at] iitg.ac.in |
Design for Motivation to Facilitate the Adoption of Assisted Self-Production in Emerging Economies (Rural and Semi-Urban Context)
Supervisor: Dr. Sharmistha Banerjee Abstract: ‘Making’ traces its origins to early societies where material needs for survival were produced using simple tools and local materials. In the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution introduced the factory system, alienating most societies from Making practices. Today's emerging economies, once colonized by the West, followed a different consumerism trajectory. India, the most populous among them, presents an exemplary case. Before independence, India was deliberately deindustrialized to provide a market for finished goods from England. Societies across India, especially in rural and semi-urban contexts, did not witness a devolution of Making practices. In fact, "Making" was a cornerstone of Mahatma Gandhi’s freedom movement, appealing to all Indians to retain their Making practices for self-sufficiency and to boycott British goods. However, in the 1990s, the Indian economy was liberalized, soon becoming a hub of offshore production for Western companies. Cheap factory-made goods flooded markets, leading to a slow dissension from Making. It was no longer essential for collective survival. Simultaneously, along with the economic growth, India witnessed an unprecedented rate of labor migration from farms to factories, environmental pollution, loss of culture, and unsustainable urbanization. A large body of scholarship believes that reviving Making practices in such communities can help mitigate these problems. Making offers an opportunity to stimulate local-to-local production (in the lines of Distributed Economies), employ environmentally friendly materials and production techniques, and harness creativity and entrepreneurship from the margins. This reasoning parallels the ongoing Maker Movement in the West, originating as an antithetic response to the passivity imposed on consumers by mass-produced industrial goods. Yet there are basal differences between the Maker Movement and the Making practices in emerging economies, as we observe during this research. The former is stimulated by self-actualization, but the latter is motivated by resource-constraints, traditions, lack of market products and solutions and gutsy inventiveness. In emerging economies, such practices are usually conducted in the informal sector and can also be destined for purposes other than self-consumption. Making itself changed character with the modern-day technology changing the way knowledge is made opensource and skills are shared in networks. Owing to these differences, we bring forward a new definition of such practices in our context and propose a new terminology: “Assisted Self-Production (ASP)” that encompasses the assistance enabled by technology and connotes only self-Making to such practices but frees it from self-consumption. Accordingly, Assisted Self-Production: “Activities in which individuals or communities engage tools and materials from their surroundings to produce or physically transform material goods destined either for self-consumption or for the market, conducted outside the formal economy.” In my PhD thesis, we investigate how ASP practices can be revived in rural and semi-urban communities in emerging economies. We examine the infusion of ASP practices (either traditional or new) as a two-stage process: adoption by a few community members and then diffusion throughout the community. In the current research project, we focus only on the adoption stage, investigating how lost meaning can be restored for Making practices in such communities. Our literature review revealed that while the Maker Movement has been studied extensively in the context of the West, there is little research that has been conducted to understand the Making in the context of emerging economies, except for the forms that is relevant in Business and Innovation studies, such as Grassroots Innovations and Jugaad. Hence, when we distilled the societal problem to a research problem, our first research question centered around gaining a foundational understanding of such practices. The other two research questions pertained to how we can aid designers in designing products around ASP for such communities with an aim for adoption, and how effective is such design. Research Questions: 1. What are the characteristics of the Making culture in emerging economies? 2. How can Design facilitate the adoption of Making culture amongst the youth of emerging economies? 3. Research Question 3: How usable and effective is the framework? |
Shivram Kumar
shivram [at] iitg.ac.in |
Pedagogic Pathways to Sustainable Development of Crafts and Craftspersons
Supervisor: Dr. Sharmistha Banerjee Abstract: Craft has been part of livelihood that emerged out of the need and geography of a particular place; also, it is an identity for the people. Handicrafts were made or developed as utilitarian products and marketed locally. Thus, traditional handicraft is an integral part of the living cultural heritage and the economic asset of a region. In today’s India, craft sector comes second in terms of employment opportunity generator for rural India. However, the teaching-learning methods of the past are no longer in tune with today’s needs. This is leading to younger generations not being equipped well enough to see this as a potential means of earning their livelihood. The main purpose of this report is to comprehend craft and craftspeople from the perspective of their training needs. In order to do the same, we delve first into an investigation into the nature of craft and its relationship with its training needs. We coined a comprehensive definition of craft using existing definitions from various sources. Next, we formulated a classification system for classifying the nature of craft using a five-pronged primary nomenclature system with its corresponding secondary nomenclature. Through field study in three craft training institutions in eastern India, we conclude that craft typology for the purpose of identification of its training needs can be delineated through these five primary nomenclatures: product, process, proficiency, purpose, and portrayal, the underlying secondary nomenclature, the contextual priority and the interlinkages between them. The craftspeople, similarly, can be classified on the basis of how they look at craft in terms of its portrayal (traditionalists and potential modernists) and the end goal of their activity (artisan associates and artisan entrepreneurs). In light of the research conducted, we also identified that the Pedagogy-Andragogy-Heutagogy (PAH) continuum offers an appropriate conceptual framework for development of teaching-learning strategies for craftspeople. The PAH continuum delineates the progression from teacher-centered (Pedagogy) to learner-centered (Andragogy) to self-determined learning (Heutagogy) strategies. This continuum is relevant in the context of training craftspeople, as it can be adapted to address the diverse learning needs and outlooks towards craft among Traditionalists, Potential Modernists, Artisan Associates (AAs), and Artisan Entrepreneurs (AEs). Research Questions: 1. How can we classify crafts and craftspeople on the basis of their training needs? 2. How is crafts training being imparted in various governmental and non-governmental organisations in Eastern India? 3. How to improve the efficacy of the training program for the “artisan-entrepreneurs”? This thesis aims to address these questions by exploring effective pedagogic strategies to bridge the gap between traditional craft training and market demands, ensuring the sustainable development of the craft sector and the retention of its workforce. |
Player traits and haptic modalities in entertainment digital games
Supervisor: Dr Pankaj Upadhyay Abstract Entertainment digital games also known as video games is a popular form of interactive media entertainment and caters to the enjoyment and entertainment of a wide range of people. The dynamic and multifaceted world of entertainment digital games presents a rich field for research in various domains. The effects of the visual, aural, and more recently the haptic modality on player experience is one such domain of research. Haptic Experience Design (HaXD) is an underexplored area in the context of entertainment digital games. Similarly, player traits and their relation to player experience is another emerging domain. In this research we have currently explored the state of art in HaXD and player traits in entertainment digital games. Through this research we are striving to establish a relationship between game events and haptic modalities and identify the relationship that may possibly exist with player traits. Research Questions: 1. How to classify the different game events in entertainment digital games that are relevant to haptic modalities? 1.1 What are the different types of haptic modalities used? 2. How do player trait orientations influence the experience of different haptic modalities? 3. Do players with different player trait orientations need different haptic modalities for the same game event? |
Community-Based Disaster Risk Management for Sustainable Settlement Design Framework
Supervisor: Dr. Sharmistha Banerjee Abstract Maskrey introduced the idea of 'community-based' approaches to disaster management in 1989, although communities worldwide had already been engaging in disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts. He argued that involving local populations is crucial for mitigating disaster impacts and that achieving long-term vulnerability reduction requires considering local environmental, socio-economic, and political contexts. In recent years, the approach to disaster management has evolved significantly, shifting from relief and response efforts to DRR and community-based management. Organizations and vulnerable communities involved in DRR have moved from a reactive, top-down approach to a proactive, community-centered disaster risk management strategy. Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) aims to reduce vulnerabilities and enhance people's capacity to manage hazards and cope with disasters. This involves a thorough assessment of a community's hazard exposure and an analysis of its specific vulnerabilities and capacities, forming the basis for activities, projects, and programs aimed at reducing disaster risks. By involving the community throughout the process, their actual needs and inherent resources are considered, increasing the likelihood of effective interventions. Community participation is emphasized not only in the processes of CBDRM but also in its content. It is expected that the local community will directly benefit from improved disaster risk management, leading to safer conditions, enhanced livelihood security, and sustainable development. After a comprehensive overview of CBDRM, a thematic analysis was conducted to identify key thematic areas, sub-themes, key research questions, and research focuses emerging from the case studies. We identified gaps by analyzing existing CBDRM frameworks and their implications. The comprehensive analysis of various frameworks for CBDRM reveals a multi-faceted landscape of approaches that address different dimensions of disaster risk management (DRM) and community resilience. However, a critical gap emerges when considering these frameworks in the context of sustainable settlement design. While they offer guidelines for DRR, they generally lack explicit directives on integrating CBDRM into Sustainable Settlement Design (SSD). This is a significant oversight, as sustainable settlement design is not merely about environmental sustainability but also about creating communities resilient to various types of disasters. Integrating CBDRM within a framework for sustainable settlement design necessitates an interdisciplinary approach that encompasses social, environmental, and economic dimensions. It requires a nuanced understanding of community resilience, disaster preparedness, and stakeholder engagement. While the discussed frameworks offer building blocks for this integration, they fall short of providing a comprehensive guide. While existing CBDRM frameworks provide a strong foundation, there is a pressing need for a more integrated approach that explicitly connects CBDRM principles with sustainable settlement design. Such an integrated framework would not only enhance the resilience of communities to disasters but also contribute to their long-term sustainability. This presents an avenue for future research to develop a more holistic and integrated approach to community resilience and sustainable settlement design. Research Questions How do existing sustainable settlement design frameworks address aspects of DRR and community-driven aspects, related or unrelated to DRR? How can existing frameworks be adapted and extended to incorporate CBDRM effectively? How does the integrated framework perform in real-world scenarios, case studies, or expert evaluations? |
A Design support for assessing and designing products for environmentally sustainable end-of-life performance
Supervisor: Dr. Sharmistha Banerjee & Dr. Pankaj Upadhyay Abstract: Coming Soon Research Questions: Coming Soon |
Completed
Enhancing sustainability criteria in GRIHA* standards for the built environment in India (*: Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment)
Supervisor: Prof. Ravi Mokashi Punekar Abstract: In India, the acceptance of the design and development of sustainable building systems is still in its infancy. The guidelines for sustainable practices and standards are always evolving. Some of the current tools and techniques for assessment predominantly focus on environmental and economic parameters overlooking their systemic impact. Considering the tremendous surge in urbanization and the massive push for robust industrial output, infrastructural growth, and rapid growth of the building industry, there is an urgent need for developing proper design guidelines, building norms and practices, and appropriate updated standards for the built environment. This research, “enhancing sustainability criteria in GRIHA* standards for the built environment in India,” examines the present sustainability assessment (SA) parameters to verify if there is a need to update their parameters on the three dimensions of environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability. The research methodology follows a seven-stage framework. These seven stages are detailed out over the different chapters comprising of the following: Stage 1: Undertakes a Literature Review through secondary research of published literature to study and understands the various parameters, methods, and instruments for assessment of sustainability-related to the built environment. Stage 2: Identifies leading Indian agency/s and international agencies engaged in the Sustainability assessment of the built environment and examines their methods and instruments for SA to identify the various standard and critical parameters in SA. Stage 3: Examines case examples of public buildings – national and international - their ranking and their performance parameters for SA. Stage 4: Reviews GRIHA, the Indian SA method, and assesses the different parameters identified in stage 2 and has defined parameters that are suggested for enhancement, modifications, and additions. Stage 5: Undertakes field-based study of a select set of public buildings. It examines their sustainability star ranking based on their performance parameters for SA assessments made by experts GRIHA assessors. From the review, it makes a comparison of those additional or missing parameters identified in stage 4. Stage 6: Expert assessors review the proposed modification/changes to parameters for SA based on insights gained from stage 4 and stage 5 as validation before finalization of the proposed changes to the GRIHA SA framework. Stage7: Summarizes the overall conclusive observation on the outcome, methodology, and justification to review the aims and objectives of the research, its deliverables, limitations, and scope for further research. Drawing from the above seven-stage research framework, the research study makes the recommendation that the following specific parameters of sustainability be added/modified to the existing GRIHA standards to enhance the sustainability parameters in their evaluation.
1. Regional vernacular considerations (context) 2. Transport These have been finalized after validation with certified GRIHA assessors. Case examples of select institutional public buildings have added strength to the recommendations made under this research. |