Bangalore (India) - Momentum India 2012, a Media and Education Design Forum organised by the National Institute of Creative Communication (NICC) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), was held in Bangalore, India on 15-16 January, 2012, at the JN Tata Auditorium. The conference provided an interactive platform for industry experts, academicians and the general public to showcase the role of Media and Design in the larger perspective, bringing education in line with industry parameters, opening up career prospects for students, and providing a platform to network.


Above: The JN Tata Auditorium

The introductory session began with a talk by Dr Akash Rose, Founder Director of NICC on the importance of design in various fields. The welcome address of the inaugural session was delivered by Vinay L Deshpande, former Chairman, CII Karnataka followed by Inaugural addresses by Ms. Marja van Weeren frmly. president of Bureau of European Design Associations (BEDA) and Prof. Theo J.J. Groothuizen, Icsid Regional Advisor - India, Counsellor for Science and Technology, Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, and Michael Longford, Associate Dean Research, York University, Canada.

The two-day symposium had plenary sessions on 'India – Media & Design Destination', 'Media & Design Education Opportunities', 'Media and Design Careers in Industry', 'Industry-Education Collaboration', 'The Indian Media & Design Entrepreneur', and 'Recognise your Child's Talent'. The Symposium also had 8 different workshops on topics such as Photography, Typography, Toy Design, Digital Game design, Copywriting and User Experience design. Along side, there was an exhibition area with over a dozen participants and a visual lounge.


Above: The inauguration of Momentum India 2012.

During his keynote address, Dr. Akash Rose said, "Media and Design is everywhere from Products, Buildings, Industrial Design, Advertising, Motion Graphics, Print & Electronic Media Design and multiple other professions. There is need for more participation from young minds to the field of design. Momentum India seeks to promote design as a viable and attractive career option and highlight the growing need for Industry-oriented professionals."

Ms. Marja van Weeren stated, "India is a rich source of creative talent and a major potential hub for global design. Just as India's national GDP growth was fueled by the IT Sector, it is now the time that Indian Design talent provides the second major platform for innovation and growth, and the avenue to the evolution of India as a Design destination of choice for the global community."

After the inaugural session, the second half of the first day focused on expectations from the Industry and the biggest takeaway was that while hiring the professional degree is just a hygiene factor to enter the corporate world. The need of the hour is to supplement the degree with a sound understanding of the latest trends in other fields including history, geography and sciences in order to come up with intuitive and intelligent solutions to industry problems.  

On the second day, students and parents were interacting with successful entrepreneurs on their experiences in Media and Design as Entrepreneurship in the pre-lunch sessions. The second half of the day focused on mechanisms to identify students with creative talents, opportunities in the field and preparing them for entrance exams to higher education in Media & Design.  

The speakers were veterans from the field of media and design such as Nick Talbot, Global Design Head, Tata Elxsi; Srinivas Reddy, Director, Glynt Designs; Michael Foley, Founder, FoleyDesigns; Sonia Manchanda, Director, IDIOM; BR Swarup, Creative Director, Stark Communications; Ramesh Ramanathan, Advertising Consultant; Wasim Khan, Fashion Photographer; Amit Deshpande, Head UI Design, ESPN; Abhijeet Sojwal, Creative Head, Myntra and Dilip RS Mobile Evangelist, InMobi; Sunil Sudhakaran, Director Icarus Design; Dr. Ali Khwaja, Chairman Banjara Academy, to name a few.

---

For more information, please contact:

Rajesh Pandey, Prashanth Gaikwad
ClarityIMC
t: 98808 75878
t: 99452 77756
w: www.momentum-india.in

Aleksandra R. Rose
Dean of NICC India
t: +91-80-65337001 ext. 2
m: +91-9886135901
w: www.niccindia.org

About National Institute of Creative Commnication

NICC, a member of The European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA), has been setting benchmarks in Media and Design education since 2005 and enjoys the reputation of being one of the leading academic institutions of its kind in the APAC region. With its specialized, industry-centric and result-driven academic programs, NICC educates and delivers globally qualified, career-ready Media and Design professionals.
www.niccindia.org