Students participate in international design event

On 4th May, the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad celebrated Global Day of Design. The 24-hour event is intended to inspire students to create, make and build.

Design teacher Michelle Massaro led the event which had 130 participants from grades 6,8 and 11. Michelle collaborated with teachers from these grades to create activities that integrated different subjects and design thinking. Design thinking is an innovative, solution based approach to resolving issues. This approach is rooted in design fields such as architecture and has since permeated into social and business fields.

Grade 6 students, along with design teacher Anantha Muralikrishna, combined their knowledge of physical education with design to create a sport. With their understanding of the MYP design cycle, students collaborated in groups to plan, design, and test their new sport.

Students of grade 8 A and 8 K worked with Individuals and Societies teacher, Manali Laskar, in creating a monument or public space commemorating an event, person or culture. This was part of their ongoing unit on nationalism, and students used the opportunity to discuss appropriation, ethics and responsibility. They used cardboard, box cutters, glue, paint and “found objects” to build a model of their idea.

Academy fellow Himani Sood, and students of grade 8H designed a “School on Mars,” a concept for an education system on a hypothetical martian colony. This was connected with their Big History Project topic, “Stars and Elements,” and also drew parallels with what they had learnt about colonialism in their English classes. Students built 3D models using recycled material and also generated models using 3D software.

Grade 11 French teacher Sudha Dutta engaged her class in a multimedia design challenge. In conjunction with their unit “Fetes et Festivales,” students developed or updated events, celebrations or festivals for a francophone region, culture or country. They created a trailer to describe and promote their idea using video footage, still images, animation, voice over commentary and music.

The day of hands on, creative activity was a great way for students to let off steam after the MYP exam week. “Staff and students had the chance to engage in design thinking and see how applicable it is no matter what field of study you are involved in,” said Michelle. This marked the third year of the international Global Day of Design programme and the first time it was held at AKA Hyderabad. 

Contributed by Michelle Massaro