IIT Guwahati’s Abhilasha Introduces 6,400+ Students to Careers in Design

Author : Yasaswini Sampathkumar

Published: 24 February 2026 Category: Community & Outreach Office: Department of Design

When the Governor of Meghalaya inaugurated a design workshop in Shillong this February, more than 1,150 students, teachers, and parents were present in U Soso Tham Auditorium. 

The event was a year in the making and marked the culmination of Abhilasha 2025-26, IIT Guwahati's Department of Design programme. The programme had travelled to six districts across Assam and Meghalaya and impacted more than 6000 students.

What is Abhilasha?

Abhilasha is the Department's flagship outreach initiative, meant to introduce school students to design fundamentals and the career pathways in the field. 

This year's edition was a significant expansion initiated by Prof. Pratul Chandra Kalita (HoD, Dept of Design), with the objective of extending IIT Guwahati's academic reach to rural and remote communities across the Northeast.

Six Districts, Six Months

Between August 2025 and February 2026, the programme was conducted across six phases in three districts each in Assam and Meghalaya. It opened in Jorhat, where more than 1,600 students, parents and teachers participated over three days. Subsequent phases were held in West Garo Hills and Ri-Bhoi in Meghalaya, followed by Dhemaji and Hojai in Assam, before concluding in East Khasi Hills district in Shillong.

Across all six phases, the programme reached more than 6,450 participants in 2025–26.

On the Ground

Faculty from the Department of Design conducted sessions on design fundamentals, creative problem-solving, and professional pathways in disciplines such as product design, visual design and communication design. 

Research scholars accompanying the faculty guided students on preparation for national entrance examinations, UCEED, NID-DAT and NIFT-NIFTEE.

Dr. Soumen Das, alumnus of the Department of Design, IIT Guwahati, and Director of T.I.M.E. Guwahati, facilitated district-level promotion and student mobilisation, and introduced students to national career avenues through examinations such as IPMAT, CLAT and CUET.

Looking Ahead

The Department of Design aims to reach more than 10,000 students across the Northeast in the next edition, continuing to position design, creativity and innovation as substantive career pathways for the region's youth.

Special Thanks

The successful execution of Abhilasha 2025–26 across six districts was possible due to the generous support from faculty and research scholars from the Department of Design, Senior District Administrators in Assam and Meghalaya, and staff from the Design Innovation Centre.

Faculty

Prof. Amarendra Kumar Das, Prof. Ajeet Kumar, Prof. Supradip Das, Prof. Sheetal M. Gokhale, Prof. Shakuntala Acharya and Prof. Sharmistha Banerjee

District Administrators: 

Shri Jay Shivani, IAS, District Commissioner, Jorhat 

Shri Vibhor Aggarwal, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, West Garo Hills 

Shri Abhilash Baranwal, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, Ri-Bhoi 

Shri Rahul Suresh Javir, IAS, District Commissioner, Dhemaji 

Shri Bidyut Bikash Bhagawati, ACS, District Commissioner, Hojai 

Smti. Rosetta Mary Kurbah, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, East Khasi Hills

Research scholars:

Ms. Shalini Singh, Ms. Lipika Basumatary, Mr. Hritam Sarkar, Ms. Kavyashree Venkatesh, Ms. Devi Naga Bavani Vanamadi, Mr. Gyaneshwar Krishna, Mr. Shivram Kumar, Mr. Surya Aditya Sinha, Mr. Pascal Mario Kmenlang Pathaw, Mr. Arbaniabud Mawthoh and Mr. Akarshan Agarwal.

Staff:

Programme coordination was handled by Shri Taranga Chakravarty, Design Innovation Centre Office Coordinator, IIT Guwahati.