Driving Innovation by Design Thinking Strategic Advantage to your Organisation

Driving Innovation by Design Thinking

Strategic Advantage to your Organisation

Join us for a transformative two-day journey into the world of innovation driven by design thinking! At School of Design Innovation at Mahindra University, we are bringing together renowned innovation experts like Vijay Kumar and our founding Dean B.K. Chakravarthy to share their unparalleled knowledge and experience in driving innovation across industries and academia.

This conference isn’t just about learning it’s about equipping you with take home frameworks, endearing live industry case studies, concerns and methods for innovation and a drive to lead innovation in your organisation.

Speakers:
Prof. Vijay Kumar – Author of 101 Design Methods
Prof. B.K. Chakravarthy – Founding Dean – School of Design Innovation | Chakku’s 7Concerns of Innovation

Interactive Case study sessions from
Prapti Jha – Innovation Strategist | Keynote Speaker
Harsh Wardhan – Innovation Strategist Keynote Speaker

Interactive Case study facilitators
Prakash Narkhede
Dr. Chaitanya Solanki

  • Exclusive Expertise: Learn directly from eminent speakers with decades of experience in design thinking and innovation.
  • Hands-On Learning: Participate in practice sessions and receive toolkits that empower you to apply design thinking methods effectively.
  • Real-World Insights: Learn from live case studies of successful industry initiatives and understand how to use each component of design thinking strategically.

The conference is open to:

  • Students who are eager to learn the nuances of Design Thinking
  • Faculty who wants take-home case studies for enhancing design thinking education
  • Industry Professionals who want to bring in Design Thinking methods in their organisation

This is your opportunity to:

  • Gain a strategic edge with design thinking
  • Network with professionals, academics, and thought leaders.
  • Transform challenges into opportunities using proven methodologies.

Be part of this unique learning experience and take a step toward mastering the art of innovation!
Dates: January 24-25, 2025
Venue: Mahindra University, Hyderabad
We look forward to welcoming you to this exceptional event!

Vijay Kumar – Author | Advisor | Chief Consultant

Vijay Kumar is a globally recognized expert in innovation and human-centered design, with over 35 years of experience. He serves as a thought leader, advisor, and coach to companies, small businesses, social organizations, universities, and governments.

Currently he is the Charles L. Owen Endowed Chair in Design and Professor Emeritus at Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institute of Design. He previously led the Strategic Innovation Planning and Design Methods programs. For over 12 years, he was the chief methodologist at Doblin Inc. (now part of Deloitte), a leading global innovation firm. Since the late 1980s, Vijay has advanced design-led innovation by developing structured methods and frameworks for creating impactful human-centred innovations and transforming them into strategic plans. His work spans multiple sectors, including education, healthcare, retail, government, and technology. His methods have been applied worldwide by students, researchers, project managers, and business executives. Vijay has consulted with major organizations to develop systemic innovation strategies, including Amway, Autodesk, Bose, Cigna, Godrej, Hallmark, Infosys, McDonald’s, Motorola, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Shell, SAS Airlines, Steelcase, Target, and T-Mobile.

He has collaborated with public sector, non-profit, and service organizations such as the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), Bloomberg Philanthropies, Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Cure Violence, Design Futures Council, Design Management Institute (DMI), Hong Kong Design Center (HKDC), Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), Kellogg Foundation, Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP), Korean Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP), MacArthur Foundation, NASSCOM, Singapore Ministry of Education, Steelcase Foundation, UAE’s MBR Center for Government Innovations, and World Government Summits.

Widely published on innovation, Vijay is the author of the best-selling book “101 Design Methods: A Structured Approach for Driving Innovation in Your Organization”. A frequent speaker, Vijay has delivered multiple keynotes, seminars, and executive workshops on innovation globally. The Design Futures Council named him an Honorary Senior Fellow for his “significant contributions toward the understanding of changing trends, new research, and applied knowledge that improve the built environment and the human condition.” He served on the International Advisory Board of the Muhammad Bin Rashid Center for Government Innovation (MBRCGI) at the UAE Prime Minister’s invitation. Recognized for his innovation expertise, Vijay was selected for the Selection Committee of Bloomberg Philanthropies 2018 Mayors Challenge, a nationwide initiative to inspire bold, inventive solutions to U.S. cities’ toughest challenges.

Prof. B.K. Chakravarthy – Chakku’s 7 Concerns of Innovation

Prof. B. K. Chakravarthy teaches Innovation by Design at the IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay and is currently on a 2-year lien to Mahindra University, Hyderabad, where he is the Founding Dean of School of Design Innovation. Drawing on his academic research as well as his vast industrial experience, he brings to his classroom a teaching methodology that is grounded in recent case studies from the industry. With a view to inculcate experiential learning among his students, he has set up the Shenoy Innovation Studio at IITB, where students and young designers are given the opportunity to work on live projects within an academic setup, and benefit from readily available academic and industrial expertise in a range of interrelated fields. Prof. Chakravarthy also works closely with other academics at IIT Bombay who are engaged in innovative research in diverse fields. He has been instrumental in translating research conducted at various departments and laboratories of this premier institute into actual usable products that reach the market. For these numerous contributions to teaching, innovation, and entrepreneurship at IIT Bombay, he was awarded the Institute Chair Professorship in 2015.

Prof. Chakravarthy’s research encompasses areas such as Innovation, Creativity and Aesthetic Perception. He has come up with Collaborative Model for New Product Innovation, as an outcome of his doctoral research. Prof. Chakravarthy is recognized for his serial innovation around petrol pumps starting from the Z-Line petrol pump for Larsen and Toubro, Bullet fuel dispenser for MIDCO Ltd., OVaL petrol pump for ONGC and Multi Hose dispenser for MIDCO Ltd. These petrol pumps can be seen all over the country.

As a firm believer in the transformative potential of design in the field of development, Prof. Chakravarthy has constantly worked with government departments and occupational communities engaged in essential services. These endeavours have resulted in unique innovative products. Among his recent projects are a maintenance- free letterbox for India Post, a domestic arsenic filter and a palanquin for pilgrims visiting the famed shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi. The Ministry of Culture, entrusted IIT Bombay to build a memorial in remembrance of the Salt Satyagraha. Prof. Chakravarthy led the project in its crucial stage of design and implementation and coordinated with multiple professors from various departments in IITB to build a net zero memorial of national importance. The memorial was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 30th January 2019 at Dandi, Gujarat.

As a speaker at prominent national and international conferences, Prof. Chakravarthy also conducts several workshops to disseminate insights into innovation through design thinking.

Prof. Chakravarthy has set-up the Design Innovation Center at IIT Bombay funded by the Ministry of Education (MoE) in 2014 with a mandate to take students projects to market and the Center now has 26 patents and multiple technology transfers with industry. The methodologies and practices developed resulted in multiple products the most recent products are those for the elderly and Parkinsons patients. The rocking chair for the elderly and the photo biomodulation products, the Led Hat and Gut belt have created a lot of interest among researchers and therapists.

Prapti Jha – Innovation Strategist | Keynote Speaker

Prapti Jha is an Innovation Strategist and speaker with expertise in design-led innovation. As an intrapreneur, Prapti has spearheaded innovation projects for Fortune 100 companies, including shaping the future of mobility at Ford Motor Company and humanizing cybersecurity at Cisco Systems.

In academia, Prapti worked with Harvard University’s Design Laboratory, collaborating to bridge the gap between theory and practice through capacity-building initiatives. She has designed and delivered impactful workshops and sessions on innovation, design thinking, and strategic foresight to audiences across the globe.

Prapti is passionate about guiding interdisciplinary teams through human-centred design to develop strategic solutions. Her extensive experience includes building and scaling innovation capabilities with a blend of business and design frameworks. She has collaborated with corporations, government bodies, and top-tier universities worldwide, driving meaningful impact across diverse sectors.

As an international speaker, Prapti shares her insights and methodologies, empowering organizations like Google, Amazon, PUMA, Target, and Total Energies— as well as individuals—to harness design-led innovation for transformative impact. Her work has been featured in leading publications, including Fortune and Fast Company:

Harsh Wardhan – Innovation Strategist | Keynote Speaker

Harsh Wardhan is a Design Innovation Leader recognized for his transformative work at the intersection of design thinking, digital transformation, and product strategy.

As an Innovation Leader at Google Cloud, he leads customer engagements with multimillion dollar impact, engaging with C-suite executives from Fortune 500 companies to address complex challenges and develop cutting-edge solutions. His expertise in human-centred design enables him to align business goals with user needs, helping global enterprises harness cloud and Al technologies to enhance operations and improve customer experiences.

Before Google, Harsh was a Design Strategist at Ford Motor Company’s innovation lab, where he advanced new product development for the company’s portfolio, aligning it with future mobility and customer trends.

As an influential thought leader, Harsh frequently speaks at industry conferences, contributing insights on innovation, digital transformation, and design strategy. He also teaches design thinking at executive and university levels, mentoring future leaders. Regularly featured in articles and podcasts on design thinking and strategic innovation, Harsh continues to drive impactful change through his expertise in design and product development.