NOTES

The
Diploma
Project
Manual
NOTES
Diploma Project
Registration Form
Email
Diploma Project Title
Diploma Project Schedule
Name of the Sponsor
Address
Contact Person
Email ID
Academic approvals by
Mobile Number
Year of joining NID GDPD PGDPD
Discipline
Date of commencement
/ /
Date of submission
/ /
Name of the student
First name Last name
Nature of Business
Telephone
Stipend
(project proposal including budget submitted and
verified by Guide)
Total No. of Weeks
Diploma Project Guide:
Discipline Coordinator:
Signature of the student:
The sponsor will have to contribute Rs.5,000 to NID towards education and research.
In case the company requires the student to sign an NDA, it must be noted that the outcomes of the
project will not be exempt from the diploma document, as well as for presentation in the diploma jury.
Months
=
Centre Head:
(For students at the R&D and PG campuses only)
Chairperson (PEP):
Registrar (Academics):
/ /
Date:
Credit & Evaluation:
Fees Cell:
Dy Registrar :
(for R&D Campus only)
(scrutinised for course completions)
ORIGINALITY STATEMENT
I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and it contains no full or substantal copy of previously
published material, or it does not even contain substantal proportons of material which have been
accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of any other educatonal insttuton, except where
due acknowledgement is made in this diploma project. Moreover I also declare that none of the concepts
are borrowed or copied without due acknowledgement. I further declare that the intellectual content of
this Diploma Project is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the
projects design and concepton or in style, presentaton and linguistc expression is acknowledged. This
diploma project (or part of it) was not and will not be submited as assessed work in any other academic
course.
Student Name in Full:
Signature:
Date:
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
I hereby grant the Natonal Insttute of Design the right to archive and to make available my diploma project/
thesis/dissertaton in whole or in part in the Insttutes Knowledge Management Centre in all forms of media,
now or hereafer known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act. I have either used no substantal
portons of copyright material in my document or I have obtained permission to use copyright material.
Student Name in Full:
Signature:
Date:
PART 1
The Diploma
Project
NOTES
2
1.1 WHAT IS THE DIPLOMA PROJECT?
The end of the students academic tenure at the Natonal Insttute of Design is marked by the culminaton of a
substantal investgaton in the eld of design on a topic closely allied to their discipline of study. It ias through
the diploma project and subsequent documentaton of the same that this investgaton takes place. This is the
nal academic project for the student. A jury comprising faculty members evaluates the students performance
in the diploma project, afer which, students are awarded NIDs professional educaton programme diploma.
The diploma project is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their expertse as independent practtoners
of design. However, this project must be done with academic rigour incorporatng systematc inquiry and
informed design decisions. The phrase systematc inquiry implies the presence of a structure and method by
which the student must carry out his/her project.
Diploma Project should reect the thought leadership manifested through creatvity and innovaton. The
project should lead to new knowledge creaton and should align with broader objectves of the insttute.
The diploma project reects the students ability to:
apply his/her learning to current practces in the process of creatng new forms of products,
processes, services, and systems.
analyse and rene his/her ideas in an iteratve manner on the basis of critque.
evaluate/reect upon the creatve processes s/he has followed.
While the last point above represents a higher order of inquiry usually expected in research, its signicance
in design cannot be understated if the designer is also to be viewed as a reectve practtoner. The diploma
project reects the students competence to excel in their chosen profession. This project orients the students
to the needs and demands of the industry; it also helps students to make an informed decision about which
career path they would like to follow upon graduaton.
1.2 WHEN CAN STUDENTS BEGIN THEIR DIPLOMA PROJECTS?
The diploma project is the nal semester of any academic programme at NID and falls within the tmetable
of the nal semester - 8th semester in case of GDPD and 5th semester in case of PGDPD. The students can
start registering for the diploma project once they have cleared their 7th semester (GDPD) and 4th semester
(PGDPD) juries.
1.3 WHAT IS THE DURATION OF THE DIPLOMA PROJECT?
The minimum tme frame for a diploma project is 16 weeks (4 months) and the recommended tme frame is 24
weeks (6 months).
1.4 WHERE CAN STUDENTS UNDERTAKE THEIR DIPLOMA PROJECTS?
Students may undertake an internship with any organisaton in India or abroad. Organisaton here means a
public sector organisaton, any privately owned or managed rm, or an NGO. In a sponsored project, it is the
sponsor who ofen determines the inital design brief and the expectatons/scope of work for the project. In
some cases, this is done in consultaton with the student. The students also have the opton of undertaking
self-initated projects on a topic of their interest. The insttute also sponsors diploma projects under its various
departmentsprimarily, Research & Publicatons, Design Consultancy Services, and Outreach Programmes.
The nature (topic, tmescale, duraton) of these projects diers periodically. A student interested in pursuing
a diploma project with NID can approach its respectve departments for details on what opportunites are
available at that point in tme.
1.5 DO STUDENTS GET PAID FOR THEIR INTERNSHIP?
A student may undertake his/her project in two nancial modes:
a project sponsored by an organisaton or
a self-sponsored project.
A sponsored project implies that the students are paid, that is, they receive a stpend for rendering their
services to a rm/organisaton. In a self-sponsored project, the students choose their path of inquiry
independently; hence, they do not receive any nancial support, primarily in the form of a stpend. The
stpend that a company oers to an intern varies; it depends on the company, its policies, its locaton, and
other contextual factors which may have a bearing on its nances. Students should understand that what is
being oered to them is a stpend and not a salary. However, they should also ensure that the stpend covers
their basic sustenance costs (food, accommodaton, and transport) for the duraton of the project. In order to
minimise variance across stpends oered by dierent organisatons, the insttute recommends the stpend to
NOTES
3
be oered to diploma students. These guidelines are also sent to the sponsor, and are revised periodically. The
current norms for stpends oered to diploma students sponsored by NID is minimum Rs 15,000 per month,
for a maximum of six months.
1.6 HOW DO STUDENTS SELECT THEIR DIPLOMA PROJECTS?
Selecton of an appropriate topic for the project is the rst and the most important step. Students might wish
to explore a subject, theme, or area of study that featured strongly in their earlier work; and they might wish
to investgate this work in greater depth. The students might also wish to pursue a topic of personal interest
that has tll date not featured in any of their works at NID. Alternatvely, they might choose their projects based
on the directon their careers might take. It is essental for students to have a keen interest in the topic they
wish to pursue as they will need to sustain their interest and motvaton throughout the course of study. The
appropriateness of the topic is discussed with the students guide and discipline coordinator.
The inital search for an appropriate topic/subject for the diploma project may commence at the beginning
of the pre-nal semester of the students undergraduate or postgraduate programme at NID. Students can
select their projects through personal contacts, faculty contacts, or through opportunites available with the
Placements Cell. The Placements Cell announces the availability of diploma projects from tme to tme.
Young Designers, an annual publicaton from NID makes for good reference material as far as students
diploma projects are concerned. This publicaton is a systematc documentaton of diploma projects completed
by students during a partcular academic year; it clearly enlists details about the sponsors of each of these
diploma projects. The Knowledge Management Centre (KMC) at the insttute has an extensive collecton of
diploma documents pursued under various disciplines over the years.
1.7 WHO CAN BE A STUDENTS GUIDE?
The guide should be a faculty member at NID. The student can look for a guide based on the expertse, or area
of specialisaton of the faculty (largely determined through courses taught and research or practce pursued).
The guide in conjuncton with the student will work out a schedule for periodic reviews during the course of
the project. The student may also choose a co-guide along with the primary guide from among other faculty
members depending on the nature of his/her project and the expertse or experience of the potental co-guide.
1.8 WHAT IS THE DIPLOMA PROPOSAL?
Every diploma project needs to begin with a project/research plan. This plan needs to be artculated in the
form of a writen proposal that is formulated in consultaton with the students mentors at work and his/her
faculty guide at the insttute. This plan is known as the diploma proposal. Before the student can set out on
his/her project, s/he needs to submit the proposal for scrutny by the Guide. Writng the proposal enables
the student to dene a framework for the scope of the project, the directon or approach to the project, the
method/s by which to carry out the project and so on. The diploma proposal mainly comprises:
The (Working) Title
Background/Context: this secton focuses on the purpose of the diploma project, the research focus of
the project, the design brief given by the sponsor/client, the importance of the project from the students
perspectve as well as that of the sponsors, and the learning outcomes.
Background Study/Literature Review: this secton will focus on the work that has already been carried out
in this area.
Objectves: the strategies/plans/steps followed by the student to atain the aims s/he set to achieve at the
outset of his/her diploma project.
Problem Set ng/Research Queston: identfying the problems/challenges of a given situaton in context
and formulatng an appropriate research queston that can lend a proper directon to the project.
Methodology: the approaches and methods the student plans to employ to answer the research queston.
Time frame: this will give an idea about how the diploma project will be structured over the six month
period, that is, the sequence of various stages of the project and the approximate tme that will be required to
complete each of these stages.
NOTES
4
Deliverables: this refers to what the student foresees as the outcome/s of the project in the form of tangible
deliverables.
Budget Estmates: A budget needs to be submited along with the diploma project proposal, with an indicaton
of the overall cost of the project under the following heads:
1. cost of studio materials
2. cost of model/prototype producton
3. cost of NID machine tme
4. cost of services outside NID
5. cost of travel and local conveyance during the diploma project
6. cost of one diploma document for the sponsor
7. cost of three guide visits by student
8. cost of one round trip by air and local hospitality for the Guide during his/her visit to the Sponsor
9. Contngencies (10% on points 1 to 8 above)
10. Stpend (remuneraton per month x number of months)
11. Contributon to NID by the Sponsor for academic supervision and research
(Rs 5, 000 by cheque in the name of Natonal Insttute of Design)
12. Total (specify the sum of points 1 to 11 above)
The sponsor must second the diploma proposal if the diploma project is a client sponsored one. Thereafer, the
proposal must be veted by the students Guide at NID, and the Discipline Coordinator ensures that the student
has successfully completed all courses prior to registraton of the project. The project proposal is an important
document and must be well writen, detailed, and coherently structured.
1.9 WHEN AND HOW DO STUDENTS REGISTER FOR THEIR DIPLOMA PROJECTS?
The window for diploma project registraton is open to students, who can now register their projects during the
rst 45 days of the semester; or else, the next window for registraton of diploma projects will be open only in
the rst 45 days of the next semester.
As mentoned in secton 1.2, the registraton process can begin immediately afer students have cleared their 4th
semester (for PGDPD students) and 7th semester (for GDPD students) juries. The window for diploma project
registraton will remain open during the 4th semester-end summer vacaton (for PGDPD students) and during
the 7th semester-end winter vacaton (for GDPD students) in additon to the above mentoned 45 days.
Students can commence their projects only afer registering them with the Academic O ce. Students can
register their diploma projects on the conditons that:
they have a minimum Cumulatve SGPA of 5.0 and above and should have cleared all courses and projects with
a pass status.
For this the students must:
a) complete all their courses and get clearance from the Credit & Evaluaton Cell.
b) Fill in the diploma registraton form available with this manual.
c) atach a copy of their diploma proposal along with a tme schedule, an itemised budget of expenses expected
to be incurred during the project, and a conrmaton leter from the sponsor addressed to NID agreeing to
the diploma project guidelines.
d) get the form signed by their respectve Guide(s), the Discipline Coordinator, the Registrar, the Centre Head,
and the Chairperson (PEP).
e) submit two copies of the diploma project registraton form to the Academic O ce.
The diploma project can commence only afer the registraton process is complete. It is important to note that
the four to six month duraton of the diploma project begins from the date of registraton.
1.10 RESEARCH ETHICS
Ethics has a major role to play in the research or background study conducted for a diploma project. Design
studies at NID are fundamentally inter-, mult-, or transdisciplinary. Therefore, they bring into their ambit
ethical principles of various disciplines. Honesty and integrity of the research conducted is a decisive factor in
determining the relevance of the diploma project. Students must avoid fabricatng data and misrepresentng
facts or ndings.
NOTES
5
Some instances of unethical practces include:
misleading people with false informaton about the project
concealing from subjects the actual reason for investgaton into a partcular topic whilst seeking their
help/advice/cooperaton
using contacts to gain condental informaton
betraying peoples condence or trust in one encroaching on peoples privacy without their consent, and
causing stress or anxiety to others through ones behaviour during the investgaton.
While documentng the diploma document, the student must avoid plagiarism of any kind. Examples of
plagiarism are:
The student trying to pass o another persons ideas and words as his/her own, by using them without
acknowledgement.
The student not acknowledging the help and cooperaton of other people who work with him/her,
or endorse those persons who gave the student permission to use their work. The student needs to
acknowledge this in the document clearly. The student could use footnotes/endnotes to do this, besides
put ng the names of those individuals in the acknowledgements secton.
Quotng text/passages from a book, journal paper, newspaper, report, website, or any other source and
not acknowledging and referencing the source directly in the text or by means of footnotes/ endnotes.
Not giving credit to photographs or illustratons.
Plagiarism will lead to the following disciplinary acton:
The student may be asked to rewrite his/her document with all instances of plagiarism removed.
In severe cases of plagiarism, where the student has copied existng work and submited it as his/her own,
s/he will be expelled from the insttute.
NOTES
6
7
PART 2
The Progress
of the Diploma
Project
NOTES
8
2.1 GUIDE VISITS
A student needs to have periodic meetngs with his\her respectve guide(s) in order to share and discuss the
progress of the work done, seek critque from the guide, redene the design brief as required, and also to look
at new directons for design development. Three guide visits to NID are mandatory. The duraton of the visit
may range from one day to a week depending on the requirement of the project, and the dates may be xed
in consultaton with the guide. The guide can also meet the client during the course of the diploma project and
conduct a mid project review, provided the client bears the travel expenses of the guide.
For diploma projects undertaken abroad, at least one guide visit is recommended. The student needs to
remain in constant touch with their faculty guide.
2.2 USE OF RESOURCES AT NID
When the student visits NID for consultatons with his/her guide as well as during the diploma documentaton
phase, s/he may use the KMC and IT facilites at the insttute.
2.3 DISPUTE REDRESSAL
In case of a conict of opinion or dispute with the client, the student may need to consult his/her guide or the
respectve discipline coordinator for eectve redressal of the problem.
9
PART 3
The Diploma
Document
NOTES
10
The diploma document is a lens through which the students project will be appreciated and assessed not only
by his/her peers, the guide, and the jury panel, but also by faculty members, visitng faculty, research scholars,
and industry members. Therefore, it is imperatve that the student adheres to the highest standards of quality
while writng the diploma document.
Diploma report shall ideally be of 8,000-12,000 words of original writng.
3.1 THE STRUCTURE OF THE DIPLOMA DOCUMENT
A broad structure for a diploma document would read like this:
Title (Subttle if required)
Originality & Copyright Statement: Sign and insert the Originality and the Copyright statement available in this
manual.
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
Non Disclosure Agreement: if the student has signed an NDA for their project, this should be mentoned here.
A copy of the NDA is to be inserted over here.
Abstract/Synopsis: A brief descripton of the project (max 1000 words)
Original Project Proposal: As discussed with the students guide/ discipline coordinator and submited
thereafer. Here the student identes design opportunites.
Introducton: The general background for the project/study; the purpose of the study; guiding questons;
the area/set ng of the project/research; the limitatons and possibilites; the importance of the study; the
deniton of terms and so on.
Informaton about the Client and the Design Brief
Objectve/Aim of his/her project
Background Study/Literature Review/Data Collecton/Scenario Building: This should show the importance
of the project in the context of work already done in the area. Here, the student refers to earlier projects at
NID or elsewhere. Depending on the nature of his/her project, the student may need to refer to published
literature, gather informaton from the internet, meet the stakeholders and the target groups, refer to case
studies, precedent studies, gather informaton from the client etc.
The Design Process: Here, the student should include data and the means of obtaining it; the methodology; the
problems and how s/he will specically treat each problem.
Methodology/ies used for data collecton: Here, the focus will be on communicatng the ndings of the project,
the relatonship of these ndings to literature and to practce.
Analysis and Synthesis: This includes the redened design brief (this may need to be communicated to the
client), design assessment, and design criteria.
Design Development: This stage will include inital design exploratons, design alternatves, structure, form, and
nal design exploratons.
Design Validaton: This phase includes prototyping and mock-ups, design alternatves/dummy/ sampling/user
studies.
Consolidaton: This stage involves renement/creaton of the nal concept or product/product specicatons/
industry testng.
Ethical issues
NOTES
11
Conclusion/Learning from the Project/Reecton on the Project
Prototypes, scale models, lm/animaton, or any other deliverables in tangible form as per the requirements of
the discipline
References: References, footnotes, and endnotes to be formated as per the MLA/Harvard/Numeric style.
Glossary
Image Credits
Appendix/Appendices
The structure of the diploma document should ideally reect the design process followed. There are several
design processes, and they would vary across and within disciplines depending on the project.
3.2 TITLE OF THE DOCUMENT
The ttle must be clear and concise and should reect the nature of the project. It may be supported by a
subttle that will make it more explanatory. The ttle of the document should reect the theme of the project
as it acts as an interface to the content. The ttle will also be indexed in the library catalogue, and once
archived, it is through this ttle that the diploma project will be referred to by peers, faculty, and research
scholars. Hence, the student may wish to be creatve but must ensure that the ttle does not confuse the
reader or cause ambiguity.
For instance, Visible-Invisible may be an interestng and creatve ttle from a students point of view, but
ambiguous for a reader. Chances are that someone coming across such a ttle in the online KMC catalogue
will never be able to gure out what the project is all about. Therefore, the student must add a subttle that
reects the nature of the project. For instance, in this case, the ttle could change into Visible-Invisible:
Designing Furnishings for an Export House.
3.3 THIRD PERSON NARRATIVE TO BE USED IN THE DIPLOMA DOCUMENT
The nal diploma document submited by the student is a comprehensive research document chiey
comprising the identcaton of a problem/eld of study, scope of the study, various methods used for data
collecton, analysis of the problem, and ndings and conclusions. Therefore, it is recommended that the
student avoids the use of rst and second person pronouns while writng the document. Instead, it
is recommended that s/he uses pronouns of the third person in the document, as academic writng must be
formal in tone. The student may use rst person pronouns in the Acknowledgements secton of the document.
First person pronouns: I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours
Second person pronouns: you, your, yours
Third person pronouns: he, she, it, him, her, his, hers, its, they, them, their, theirs
Here are three examples, the rst note is writen using the rst person pronouns, while the second and third
ones use third person pronouns:
First Person: I was expected to conduct a study of various looms used to weave this cloth. I began to explore
the cultural and symbolic signicance these looms held in the crafspersons lives and I found it extremely
interestng. I had to ensure that I noted down the crafspersons responses in great detail; I felt it was my
responsibility to do so.
The other members in my group were given other tasks; we were documentng the same weaving traditon
afer all! I enjoyed speaking to the families of crafspersons whose livelihood was dependent on weaving this
cloth. I spoke to Asha and Nisha. Asha complained about less salary. Nisha told me, I studied tll only tenth and
took to weaving soon afer. I was touched and angered at the same tme by the poverty in the crafspersons
lives and asked myself, What on earth has happened to all the government schemes? I would eventually start
examining the raw materials used in weaving the cloththis too was an important secton of our study and I
did not want to ignore it.
Second Person: The student was expected to conduct a study on various looms used for weaving this cloth.
She began to explore the cultural and symbolic signicance these looms held in the crafspersons lives. It was
important that she accurately noted down the crafspersons responses, as these were crucial to the ndings
of her study. These crafspersons led extremely bleak lives. The meager income they earned through weaving
NOTES
12
was not enough to sustain their families. The student interacted with Asha and Nisha, the only women from
the locality who had taken up weaving as a profession. While Asha complained about how wages for female
weavers was lower than the ones for male crafspersons, Nisha had to discontnue her educaton and take up
weaving in order to support her family. It was found that though government schemes were in place, their
implementaton was extremely skewed. For the next stage of her study, the student examined the raw materials
used for weaving this cloth.
Third Person: This diploma document is a metculous study on various looms used for weaving this cloth. The
document begins by exploring the cultural and symbolic signicance these looms held in the crafspersons
lives. The accurate descripton of the crafspersons is indeed a crucial input in the document. The meagre
income they earned through weaving was not enough to sustain their families. This document records the
experiences of Asha and Nishathe only women in the locality who had taken up weaving as a profession.
While Asha complained about how wages for female weavers was lower than the ones for male crafspersons,
Nisha had to discontnue her educaton and take up weaving in order to support her family. It was found that
though government schemes were in place, their implementaton was extremely skewed. The next secton of the
document focuses on the raw materials used for weaving this cloth.
The use of third person pronouns ensures objectvity in the document. It correctly establishes that the student/
writer gives foremost importance to the subject or topic being discussed, making the relaton between the
student/writer and the reader a secondary one. The third person narratve makes the document objectve
and lends greater authority to the students work. The third person narratve also seems less biased when
arguments are presented. The third person narratve also strongly establishes that it is the students individual
point of view that is being expressed throughout the document. Also, the diploma document is based on factual
details and must refrain from including personal opinions and views, made very obvious by the frequent use
of the self-referentalI. It is necessary that the third person narratve be used consistently throughout the
document in order to ensure eectve reading. Simply put, the third person narratve is similar to narratng a
story, wherein the student, as a partcipatve, but impersonal observer, explains in detail various stages of her
projectright from the introducton to the conclusion.
3.4 THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF DIPLOMA DOCUMENTS
Cover Page: The cover page of the diploma document should have the following informaton for easy retrieval:
Title of the Project: Eg: A Song and A Story: An Animaton Film Based on a Folktale from Tamil Nadu
Volume Number: (not required if the documentaton has a single volume). Eg.: Vol 1 of 2, Vol 2 of 3
Students Name: First Name, Surname Discipline, Faculty, and Programme: Eg.: Product Design, Faculty
of Industrial Design, PGDPD Name of the Faculty Guide (and Co-Guide wherever applicable): First Name,
Surname
Campus: Natonal Insttute of Design, Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar/Bengaluru
Year: Menton the year in which the document will be submited
Jury Certcaton Sheet: The second page in the rst volume of the project must include the Jury Certcaton
Sheet. The informaton sought for in the certcate should be lled in as follows:
The Evaluaton Jury recommends (name of the student) for the Diploma of the Natonal Insttute of Design
herewith for the project (Title of the Diploma Project).
The font Frutger must be used for the Cover Page and the Jury Certcaton Sheet. Please refer to the kportal
for a sample alternatvely you can contact Placement O ce.
The cover template and jury certcate available on the intranet are to be mandatorily used without
modicaton in typeface and format. If the cover and jury certcate are found to be varying in visual style,
the student will be asked to reprint them in the right visual style. A sample of the Cover Page and the Jury
Certcaton Sheet are available on the intranet.
Acceptable Sizes in Which the Document Must be Submited: Acceptable sizes for submission:
A4 portrait (210mm x 297mm), A4 landscape (297mm x 210mm), A4 square (210mm x 210mm)
A3 portrait (297mm x 420mm), A3 landscape (420mm x 297mm), A3 square (297mm x 297mm)
All technical drawings or prints should be appended to the document or as a separate volume if required. In
case the diploma document covers copious data, it is always beter to divide the document into two or three
NOTES
13
volumes instead of submit ng a single cumbersome document. It is preferable to have one volume with
double sided paginaton. It is important to note that the contents will determine which of the above size and
orientaton best suit a students documentaton.
Margins: It is essental to maintain a one inch or 2.5cm margin on the lef hand side, so that there is adequate
space for binding. Margins from the top, right and botom sides should not be less than 1.5cm.
Typography: Its advisable to use fonts that are legible. Helvetca, Calibri and Garamond are examples of fonts
that can be used in your documents. It is also essental to vary the size, weight and style of fonts used for
dierent elements of the text, for example- the font size, style and weight used for headings, sub-headings,
body text, quoted passages inserted into the main text, text as captons for images or tables, footnotes etc
should vary to delineate hierarchy or emphasis as per the requirements.
Images:Images sourced or photographed for the document should ideally have a resoluton of no less than
300dpi. The .t format is preferred.
Images placed in the document should be sized appropriately so that they are readable. Each image/table/
illustraton/gure needs to be numbered and captoned. The source of images that do not belong to the author
and have been obtained from the internet, books, or from someone else need to be acknowledged in the
document.
Layout: Sample layouts will be placed on the intranet.
Digital Tools: Sofware applicatons such as InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator, are used extensively during
documentaton. The insttute can also help setup group demonstratons of the sofware by an expert, if
required. Microsof PowerPoint or Word should not be used for creatng layouts.
Printng: For the inside pages: 80-120 gsm mat paper is recommended. For the Jury Certcaton Sheet:
uncoated 130 gsm paper is recommended. For the ttle/cover page: 230 or 250 gsm mat art card is
recommended. The front and back cover need to be laminated. Double sided printng is mandatory in order to
reduce the thickness and weight of the nal document.
Binding: The mandatory binding technique is the use of spiral wire to hold the document together. It should
be either wiro-binding or spiral bound (plastc). Spiral binding is advantageous as pages can be added and
removed as the Jury recommends. It is cost eectve and easily available.
3.5 SUBMISSION OF THE DIPLOMA DOCUMENT
Submission of the diploma document can take place only afer a minimum of 16 weeks from the date of
registraton of the diploma project. Students can submit their diploma document at any tme of the year.
The student is expected to submit two copies of his/ her diploma document. One of the copies must be
submited to the KMC afer the student successfully clears the diploma jury, while the other copy is returned to
the student. If the project is an industry- sponsored one, then the student should send a copy of the document
to the sponsor/client. As the nal submission, a student must submit two hard copies of the document, along
with a digital copy of the document in pdf format on a CD.
Submission requirements vary across disciplines and depend on the nature of the project. For instance, in
Film and Video Communicaton, the student is expected to simultaneously submit a DVD of his/ her lm along
with the diploma document to the Academics O ce, afer get ng the technical quality of the lm checked
and approved by VTR department. Likewise, apart from the writen document, a submission may include one
or more of the following: a set of technical drawings, a set of samples (in case of textles), an audio/video
cassete, a to-scale prototype and so on. For specic submission of samples, lms, videos, mock ups, the
students must consult their respectve guides and discipline coordinators.
A student is eligible to appear before the diploma jury only afer s/he submits two manuscripts to the
Academic O ce. In additon to the printed manuscripts, s/he is required to submit in a specied format, a
performance report which has to be seen and signed by his/her sponsor and his/her guide.
The last date for submit ng documents is August 30 of the year in which the student is due to graduate as per
his/her enrollment (for the student to be eligible for convocatng the same calendar year).
NOTES
14
However, submission before this date only ensures a jury date. The convocaton and award of diploma in the
same year is subject to the outcome of the evaluaton and the students ability to complete the follow-up
before the specied date.
3.6 EXTENSION
An extension for submission is not allowed, except in those cases where the student cannot complete the
project due to a serious illness or any other unavoidable circumstances such as a family members sudden
demise, or an inexplicable conict of interest with the sponsor; in which case, the student must submit a
writen request for extension to the Chairperson (PEP), through his/her guide. The student will need to justfy
the duraton of extension required through his/her guide. The Chairperson (PEP) will use his/her discreton
to grant the permission based on whether s/he is convinced of the need and genuineness of the reason. The
maximum extension that can be allowed for diploma project submission is upto 1 semester, provided the total
duraton, including the extension does not exceed 1 academic year.
3.7 RE-REGISTRATION
In case a student fails to submit the project within the stpulated tme frame of 24 weeks, the insttute will
not send the project for evaluaton by the jury. The student will have one more opportunity to complete the
diploma project, subject to the recommendatons of the faculty guide for the rst project and the respectve
discipline coordinator. If the rst faculty guide, discipline coordinator, and the Chairperson (PEP) disapprove of
the at tude and initatve reected in the rst atempt,no further atempt shall be granted. If this is the case,
s/he will be issued a Course Completon Certcate, which will indicate the total tme spent at the insttute,
the courses studied and their duraton. If the student fails to submit the project on tme, even afer the second
atempt then s/he will be asked to discontnue the Professional Educaton Programme.
Registering for a fresh project would involve re-registraton charges of Rs 5,000/-, an amount which is
periodically revised.
3.8 YOUNG DESIGNERS
Every year NID publishes Young Designersa publicaton that showcases the nal diploma projects of all
graduatng students. It is compulsory for all students to submit informaton pertaining to their diploma project.
It is from this database that contents are selected for each diploma project descripton in Young Designers. The
following content is to be submited on a CD or online through Circulaid.
The students personal email ID (not his/her NID email ID)
A synopsis (of no more than 300 words) of the project along with ve to seven keywords that best
describe their individual projects.
Five high resoluton images from their projects in order of preference. It is important to note that the rst
image will be the primary image, and all or some of the images will be secondary images in the actual
Young Designers publicaton.
A high resoluton portrait of the student.
The diploma document including the cover page in .pdf format.
The students must submit this informaton before appearing for the jury, and the same will be duly
veried by the guide before the student can proceed for the jury.
3.9 RIGHTS OVER THE STUDENTS DESIGN
In case a client sponsors the project, the sponsoring organisaton will own the rights of the design, provided
the sponsor pays the prescribed contributon to NID towards educaton and research promoton.
NID/Faculty Guide, along with the student-designer will own the copyright of the diploma document.
NID will hold the rights to publish the work for promoton of the insttute. In case the sponsor does not
commercially develop the sponsored work within two years of submit ng the diploma document (unless
extension is sought in specic cases); the design rights will automatcally revert to NID.
In case the design soluton presented for the diploma project is not sponsored by any client, and it presents
scope for further development or implementaton, or the possibility of commercial exploraton, the insttute
in consultaton with the student will follow the necessary steps to achieve these ends. In such cases, the IPR
will rest with the insttute, while royalty will be shared. In all his/her dealings with the sponsor, a student
must ensure that s/he does not violate the sponsors and NIDs intellectual property rights as per the IPR
15
PART 4
The Diploma
Jury
NOTES
16
4.1 THE JURY DATE
The Academic O ce, in consultaton with the students Guide schedules the jury. The student is expected to
nd out the venue for the jury from the Academic O ce and set up his/her presentaton on the day of the jury.
4.2 THE JURY PRESENTATION
There are various approaches/methods by which diploma projects are required to be presented before
the Diploma Evaluaton Jury. A student should therefore discuss with his/her guide the type and format of
documentaton accepted and also the approaches/methods through which the ndings of the project are to be
presented.
It is advisable for the student to display all the exploratory sheets, sketch books/diaries, mock-ups, prototypes,
models, installaton, lm and other supplementary material (including literature) s/he may have made during
the course of the project.
4.3 THE JURY PANEL
The jury panel typically consists of:
The students faculty guide at NID;
A faculty member from his/her discipline (could be the coordinator) or the broad faculty stream in which his/
her discipline falls;
Another faculty member who chairs the jury proceedings and also belongs to another faculty stream;
An external expert (from the industry, an independent designer, or an academician) who is selected based on
the nature/domain/subject of the students project.
4.4 THE JURY PROCESS
The jury must begin by introducing the student to all members on the panel. Thereafer, the student has to
make a presentaton to the panel on various aspects of his/her project. The student is alloted 20 minutes to
present his/her work. The panel will put forward questons to the student during or afer his/ her presentaton,
based on which a discussion may ensue for 10 minutes. The diploma document is circulated among the jury
panel members in advance so that they are familiar with the project and come to the jury with questons/
points of discussion. Hence, it is recommended that during the jury, the student must not repeat the same
facts that have already been stated in his/her diploma documentaton. The student may talk about the process
and experiental aspects instead.
A diploma jury would typically last 45 minutes . On completon of the project presentaton, the student leaves
the jury for a short while. During the students absence from the jury, the panel deliberates on the worthiness
of the work presented and the possibility of awarding the nal diploma to the student. The required feedback
is communicated to the panel members by the guide, in additon to discussing the students project, and the
manner in which s/he worked on various stages of the diploma project.
4.5 ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Since the diploma project engages students from various disciplines in a process of independent inquiry
and evaluaton, it necessarily entails a diverse range of outcomes. Hence, it is important, for both the panel
members and the student, to arrive at some mutually agreed and understood criteria that can be established
for assessment. The general criteria used by the panel include assessment of the following aspects:
Research: Use of a su cient range and number of relevant and up-to-date sources.
Methodology/Design process: A clear and appropriate approach to the research and the development of the
subject.
Critcal engagement: Reecton coupled with a critcal and analytcal approach to the subject. This should
include the development and sense of a clear academic positon or viewpoint, with some critcal reecton on
why that positon or viewpoint has been adopted.
Originality: Original insights or perspectves that illuminate the chosen subject, and in the case of exceptonal
work, develop it beyond existng parameters.
Context: The recogniton and development of a subject within either the students own discipline and/ or
wider historical/cultural conditons.
NOTES
17
Structure: The organisaton and presentaton of ideas within a coherent structure. Presentaton: The
dissertaton should be presented in a professional manner in terms of appearance and layout (including an
appropriate quality and quantty of illustratons and references).
A diploma project will be graded as per the prevailing credit and evaluaton guideline of the insttute at the
tme of jury. The Insttute may revise these guidelines periodically.
4.6 JURY OUTCOMES
There may be three possible outcomes of the jury:
The student passes the viva, in which case the jury recommends that s/he be awarded the NID Diploma
without any modicatons to the submited manuscript or additon to the work conducted.
The student is asked to do some minor or major follow up work on specic aspects of his/her project. This
may or may not include the documentaton.
If the work is not meritorious enough (in quality or quantty of original work) to be awarded NIDs diploma,
the student is asked to redo their diploma project. This inovlves re-regisraton with a new project.
All panel members, except the jury chairperson will sign both copies of the diploma document if the project is
complete in all respects.
In case of a major follow up, the Academic O ce will send documents to the panel members for their
signatures, once the student satsfactorily completes correctons assigned to him/her.
The student is required to submit the no dues form, duly signed by all concerned to the Academic O ce,
where, upon vericaton, the student will be given one copy of his/her diploma document. The other copy will
be retained and archived in the Library.