This three-course specialization equips engineers to integrate creative, user-centred design thinking with quantitative sustainability tools across the entire product development process. Learners progress from the fundamentals of product design — user research, ideation, prototyping, and product aesthetics — through advanced embodiment design, Design for X, universal design principles, and interaction design, to a dedicated course on sustainable product design covering Life Cycle Assessment (classical and fast-track), sustainable material selection, design for disassembly and recycling, circular economy and product-service systems, and eco-labels and regulatory compliance (RoHS, REACH, WEEE). Taught by faculty of the Department of Design at IIT Guwahati and grounded in industry case studies, AI role-play simulations, and hands-on projects, the specialization prepares learners to take a product from user need to a validated, environmentally responsible design.
Applied Learning Project
Each course pairs AI role-play simulations — in which learners interview users, defend design decisions, and present sustainability analyses to realistic AI personas in authentic industry scenarios — with graded, project-based assignments. Learners conduct user research and prototype an everyday product, perform an embodiment design analysis applying universal design and interaction design principles, and complete a Life Cycle Assessment–driven sustainable redesign, producing portfolio-ready reports evaluated through AI and peer review.
