BITS Design School today announced the integration of the innovative BITS Pilani Practice School program into its undergraduate curriculum. A unique offering, the Practice School program links industry experience with university instruction. This integration is aimed at enabling the Design School students to undertake structured, industry-embedded learning experiences from the end of their second year onwards.
Under this, students of BITS Design School’s B Des programme will participate in the work-integrated Practice School learning program and will have the opportunity to work on live projects in real industry environments under joint academic and industry mentorship. The program includes 8-weeks Practice School–I engagement at the end of Year 2, followed by a 22-weeks Practice School–II immersion in the final year, making industry exposure a core, credit-bearing component of the curriculum. Through these engagements, design students will gain first-hand exposure on the application of design within complex organisational, technological and societal contexts.
The Practice School program will offer BITS Design School students the opportunity to work across sectors such as technology, manufacturing, healthcare, space, consumer products and emerging digital industries. Organisations like Google, Apple, Amazon, NVIDIA and ISRO, are part of Practice School.
Nandita Abraham, Dean, BITS Design School said, “The integration of the Practice School program will ensure that our students engage with the realities of professional practice even as they continue in their academic journey. Working in the industry, on live projects will allow them to see how design decisions interact with technology, engineering constraints, user needs and business priorities. We believe this learning is essential to shape thoughtful and effective designers.”
Annapoorna Gopal, Professor of Management and Dean (Institute-wide), Practice School, said, “The Practice School program has consistently focused on meaningful industry engagement through live projects. Bringing BITS Design School students into this framework will introduce a strong design lens to industry problem-solving, while giving students exposure to multidisciplinary teams and real-world challenges.”
The integration will enable students to apply their learnings in design, user research, systems thinking, visual communication and product strategy in real-world projects alongside engineers, and business teams. This collaboration mirrors BITS Design School’s trans-disciplinary approach to design education, where design is taught and practised as an integral part of larger systems rather than as a standalone discipline.