Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing (CPDM) is among the most research and technology intensive design and manufacturing schools in India, steeped in the ambience of Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. IISc is one of the top institutions in the world, and CPDM is its design and manufacturing face.

CPDM is among very few schools in India that train students in developing and making systemically-complex, technologically-intensive, and socially-impactful solutions that are functional, aesthetic, usable and sustainable. It is among the top design schools in the world that specialise in training development of hardware products and manufacturing systems, and has been among the best in research into design, ranking alongside design schools and research centres in Stanford, Delft, Cambridge and CMU.

CPDM pursues excellence in teaching, research and industry interaction in the areas of design and manufacturing. The two-year professional Masters MDes programme (in Product Design and Engineering) has been the flagship programme of the Centre for over twenty years. From August 2019, CPDM initiates, along with over twelve partnering departments at IISc, a brand new MTech in Smart Manufacturing, and a research programme (MTech by Research and PhD) in advanced manufacturing.

The Centre has two active research programmes. One is in advanced design and engineering, spanning the areas of Design Theory and Methodology, PLM, Human Factors in Design, User Interface Design, Vehicle Design, Technology Integration, Sustainability etc., with major applications in Automotive, Aerospace and Biomedical sectors. The other is an interdisciplinary programme in advanced manufacturing, with the following as research areas (see details in the webpage research programmes): new materials and processes, digital manufacturing, manufacturing supply chains, sustainable manufacturing, Industry 4.0, controls, autonomous systems and robotics, and policy and entrepreneurship in manufacturing.

The core competence of CPDM lies in the successful amalgamation of research into design and manufacturing (MTech by Research and PhD) and training for design and manufacturing in practice (through its MDes and MTech programmes). CPDM firmly believes that practitioners and researchers are complementary to one another. While practitioners create products and manufacturing systems to improve the society, researchers develop effective methods and tools for supporting practice and education for improved design and manufacturing.

Pursue excellence in education, research and practice in the areas of design and manufacturing so as to support development of systemically-complex, technologically-intensive and socially-impactful solutions that are functional, aesthetic, usable and sustainable.

Develop professionals in designing products and manufacturing systems that are functional, aesthetic, usable and sustainable; Create leaders who can strengthen existing practice and develop new practice in the areas of design and manufacturing; Develop products and manufacturing systems that can significantly impact the society; Develop knowledge, including methods and tools, to inform and empower practice and education of design and manufacturing.

1.    Pursue excellence in education, research and industrial interaction in design and manufacturing.

2.   2-Year M.Des. programme to train students with UG degrees in engineering or architecture to conceptualize and engineer products to satisfy societal needs considering functional, aesthetic, ergonomic, materials, manufacturing, cost, sustainability and marketing aspects.

3.   2-year M.Tech. programme to train students with UG degrees in engineering in the areas of smart manufacturing, with exposure to design, materials, processes, digital manufacturing, sensors and mechatronics, AI and analytics, and in operations and supply chains.

4.   Research programme in product design and engineering (at MTech by Research and PhD levels) - in a variety of research areas, by developing new knowledge as theories, methods or tools for better design and associated engineering.

5.   Research programme in advanced manufacturing (at MTech by Research and PhD levels) - in a variety of research areas, by developing new knowledge as materials, processes, systems, methods or tools for (better) manufacturing.