The career in Design is inevitably the next big revolution for the Indian education landscape as suggested by a variety of media reports and experts. Though historically, it is observed that young Indians choose options within conventional education with careers in engineering, finance, medicine, computer science, etc. It is due to a variety of factors, ranging from peer pressure to parent pressure, and lack of awareness with limited choices. With more and more youngsters today considering careers in design the emphasis of his education should be to create innate innovators and problem-solvers. With the objective of demystifying this shift in the modern education system, Avantika University - India's first design university participated at SILICA Design Quest 2016-17 in Pune, India recently.

SILICA is a design education and career training institution engaged in preparing students from XI, XII and PG grade for the professional world. It conducts aptitude tests, career guidance, coaching for entrance exams and admission guidance for creative careers like Design, Architecture, Fashion and Art. Design Quest in its 7th year offers an opportunity to students and parents to learn more about a variety of career options within Design Education. SILICA offers top design schools with a platform to conduct career-focused seminars and workshops.

Professor Sanjay Jain, Director - Design Education, presented Avantika University's unique education model. He spoke about a variety of problems around the world which stifle us and questioned if our conventional professional education with emphasis on 'specialization' prepares the youth to develop an attitude to 'problem-solving'. Professor Jain stressed on developing the kind of mindset and skills that is required by an individual to address wicked world problems. He presented the unique education pedagogy of Avantika to aspiring students and their parents. Through his dialogue, he provided an overview of how Avantika will empower the students with excellent communication, writing, listening and most importantly problem-solving expertise.

He emphasized on the need to create design technology innovators, driven by a design thinking approach. Avantika's learning focus on competence, relatedness and autonomy were also discussed. Avantika's unique academic structure, with integrated learning experience were the order of the day for this session. As part of this initiative, Avantika's student engagement team also connected with parents and curious students attending Design Quest 2016-17. With one-on-one counselling sessions, answers to student queries helped students in the best possible way.