We recently had Roberto Fraquelli, Professor of Design and Head of Three Dimensional Design at the University of Plymouth to visit our Delhi and Jaipur campus. He conducted an interactive session with the students on “Importance of Strategic Design in Development Contexts”. The session witnessed a huge participation from the students and an interesting Q&A round which was an eye opener to many.

He specializes in Industrial Design and Strategic Design Thinking and has recently created in 2014 Designlabplymouth.uk – a commercial enterprise within the school of Architecture and Design in the Faculty of Arts. He also works closely with The School for Startups, The Technology Strategy Board and The Design Programme offering Innovation workshops and seminars for entrepreneurs and small businesses (SME).

He did not only speak about the nitty-gritty involved in the profession but also highlighted his own professional journey which included many awe-inspiring projects on some of the most sought after brands. For instance, Roberto led and directed a multi-disciplinary IDEO team to create invisible technology defining a new luxury shopping experience. A wireless electronic platform included the design, development and manufacture of the world’s smallest hand held computer, charging trolleys, customer and staff profile tags, and scanning closets. The project pioneered RFID technologies within retail environments and has subsequently been adopted by many other industries. He also has designed a variety of products, environments and experiences across a very broad range of industries, some of the brands for example are LEGO, Alcatel, IMB, Hewlett-Packard and many more.

In his own words – “ As students are constantly  exposed to local issues, local cultures and local ecologies, it is very important to infuse a fresh perspective through international experts/faculty to augment the course and create a rich and an engaging learning experience”