Education

Ph.D., Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Powai

MFA, Kala Bhavan, Shantiniketan

B.F.A, Sir. J. J. School of Art, Mumbai

Experience

At IIT Kanpur since 2006 in several capacities (Associate Professor and Assistant Professor at the Department of Design, Chandrakanta Kesavan Centre for Energy Policy and Climate Solutions, and Department of Humanities and Social Sciences).

Dr. Koumudi Patil works in the area of interactive and inclusive design of pedagogies and appropriate solutions for the Indian developmental context. As a member of the National Committee formulated by the Ministry of Education, she developed the India Design Manifesto to facilitate the role of Design in Indian education and industry. She has designed the digital curriculum for early education for the State of Madhya Pradesh and several tools for STEM education that have been deployed in 3,973 schools across 5 States under the Jigyasa project. She is currently leading the National initiative of the Government of India on Rural Craft and Artisans Development & Rural Industrialization and Entrepreneurship Development, under the aegis of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan programme. She is serving on the Board of the Centre of Toy Science, Gandhinagar and Center for Research and Innovation in Frugal Technology. Previously, she has served on the Advisory board of Science City Center, Lucknow and the Rajya Shiksha Kendra (educational division) of the Government of Madhya Pradesh. She was an elected Board member of the International Toy Research Association from 2014 to 2023. She was invited by All India Council for Technical Education to develop and design UG curriculum for Higher Educational Institutes and the National Vocational Education Framework. She has been working with craft communities in India since 2008, having designed a museum of craft, developed a creative visualisation software for craftspeople, and held several training workshops. She holds several patents and has mentored many award-winning designs by students. Her doctoral thesis won the best research award at the international congress of ITRA held in Braga, Portugal. She also works closely with the industry, having successfully completed projects in the past for Unilever, Microsoft, Xylem, New Venture Funds, Oxfam, Google and others.