In A bid to introduce Indian students to the contemporary developments in photography from around the world,the National Institute of Design (NID),Ahmedabad,in collaboration with the University of Creative Arts (UCA),Farnham,the UK,will launch a Post Graduate Certificate Course in Photography Design from June 15 this year. Deepak John Mathew,Coordinator,NID,Photography Design said: This course was introduced last year,but we had some financial constraints. But this year,with a lump sum assistance of 50,000 pounds from the UK India Research Funding,it has become a full fledged course. He added that with the success of this PG certificate course,NID plans to offer a Master of Arts in Photography Design from 2010 onwards,a first of its kind in India. He said for the first time,the entire batch of 15 students will get an opportunity to undertake some part of the second semester of their one-year course at UCA in the UK. In addition,the students will benefit from a battery of foreign faculty from the UK and UNICEF,as well as other foreign universities,Mathew added. Explaining the focus of the course,an NID official said: The focus is on research in areas such as history,critique and theory of photography practice. The course is designed in a way to equip the students with advanced knowledge of debates that have shaped the practice of photography,and to place their work in the context of professional practices being considered by the digital world.
