Design Innovation Centre at IUST, (DIC@IUST) was established in 2015 in collaboration with the University of Delhi (DU), Jamia Millia Islamia, and School of Planning & Architecture (New Delhi). It was established under the MHRD scheme of National Initiative for Design Innovation (NIDI), as a spoke of DU under Hub-spoke model with a total funding of INR 1 Crore. The major objectives of DIC@IUST include establishing facilities for product design, teaching elective courses on design and innovation, workshops and training on design and innovation. A state-of-the-art innovation lab at DIC@IUST was established having facilities for computer aided design, 3D printing and scanning, electronic design and verification, Laser cutting etc.

DIC@IUST has been consistently conducting and offering elective courses, certificate courses, short term training programs, workshops, internships, fellowships and school outreach programs in design thinking, innovation, and new technologies like 3D printing to students across educational domains and institutions. Hundreds of students have been directly benefited by these activities. We have also encouraged and funded student driven design innovation products and processes in Mechatronics, Embedded systems, Social Intervention and Education. Since our inception we have focused on student driven innovation especially to solve local problems, and we have received tremendous response from the student community at IUST. Students at IUST have played an instrumental role in the growth and evolution of DIC. They have been working on their own creative ideas, scouring for local problems to solve, organizing workshops and conducting outreach programs amongst school children.

Our special focus on addressing local problems through innovative technological interventions has yielded many products including: wearable wrist band with vibro-tactile feedback for visually impaired, an assistive Haptic device for refinement of motor skills in children with learning disabilities, Low-cost energy saving Kashmiri hypocaust (underfloor heating system), Automatic book page flipper for neck-down disabled, Negative Pressure Chamber System, Frugal Ventilators, Knee Exoskeleton For Assistive Walking, System for automation and protection of Hybrid Orchards, etc.