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Workbench · Materials, making & prototyping · DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad
Workbench. Stop drawing it. Start building it.
A global making studio by HCD Institute and DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad. Makers from anywhere in the world learn materials, digital fabrication and electronics by building something real: in a five-day residential intensive on campus, or a six-month hybrid diploma.
Two ways in
Five days to start. Six months to go deep.
Summer 2027 · 5 days · Residential · All-inclusive
Workbench Summer
Five days living and building at IIT Hyderabad. A new shop every day, ending in a show of working prototypes. Stay, meals, materials, workshop access and certificate are included. Separate supervised batches for school students (Grades 9–12), and for college students, educators and professionals from around the world.
Apply for Summer2027 cohort · 6 months · Hybrid
Workbench Diploma
Twenty-four weekly builds online with live reviews, plus studio weeks at DIC Hub. Four phases, from materials to a final product tested with real users. For college students, professionals, founders and educators, wherever they live.
Apply for the Diploma- Start with Summer, continue to the DiplomaSummer participants who want to keep building can join the next Diploma cohort with their summer projects counted towards the first phase.
Why making
Ideas get better when they meet materials.
Most design courses stop at sticky notes and slides. This one starts there and keeps going: into wood, acrylic, filament, metal and circuits. You learn what a material allows, what a machine can do, and how fast a rough prototype tells you the truth about an idea.
Workbench Summer · 5 days
One shop a day. One working prototype by Friday.
01
Day 1 · Materials
Workshop induction and safety, then wood, metal, plastics and card. Your first object by evening.
02
Day 2 · Laser
Vector drawing to laser-cut flat-pack: joints, hinges and press-fits.
03
Day 3 · 3D print
CAD to printed parts. Design something that has to fit something else.
04
Day 4 · Electronics
Arduino, sensors and motors. Make your object sense and respond.
05
Day 5 · Build & show
Combine it all into one prototype, test it with people and present it to a jury.
The workshop
Four shops. One place to build anything you can design.
Additive
3D printing
Model in CAD, slice, print, fail, fix. Enclosures, joints, mechanisms and parts that fit first time by week three.
Subtractive
Laser cutting
Flat-pack design in acrylic, ply and card: living hinges, press-fits and kerf, from vector drawing to a finished object.
Hand and machine
Wood & metal shop
Measure, cut, join and finish. Hand tools first, then power tools and CNC routing, always with a safety induction.
Interactive
Electronics lab
Arduino, sensors, motors and soldering. Make objects that sense, move, light up and respond to people.
Workbench Diploma · The 24 weeks
Four phases. A new build every week.
- Weeks 1–6 · Materials & hand skillsWood, metal, plastics, textiles and card. Properties, joining, finishing and workshop safety. You leave knowing which material to reach for, and why.
- Weeks 7–12 · Digital fabricationParametric CAD, 3D printing, laser cutting and CNC routing. From sketch to file to machine to object, then back again to improve it.
- Weeks 13–18 · Electronics & interactionMicrocontrollers, inputs and outputs, sensors, actuators and power. Prototypes that people can touch, use and test.
- Weeks 19–24 · Final buildA real problem, framed with human-centred design: research the people, prototype in rounds, test with users and present a working product to a jury at DIC Hub.
01
Brief
A new challenge every week, set by faculty.
02
Build
Design and make it, at home, in a local lab or at DIC Hub.
03
Test
Put it in front of people. Note what breaks.
04
Document
Photos, files and what you learned, into your portfolio.
Studio weeks
Hybrid, but never only on screen.
DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad
Come to campus to work with the machines.
Weekly builds run online with live reviews, so you can take the diploma alongside study or work.
Studio weeks bring the cohort into the DIC Hub workshop: a hands-on induction at the start, and the final build and jury at the end, with faculty and researchers at your bench.
Who it's for
Anyone who would rather build it than describe it.
College
Students
Engineering, design and science students who want a portfolio of things that work, not only things that look good.
Work
Professionals & founders
Engineers, designers and founders building hardware, products or a first prototype to show investors.
Teach
Educators & lab leads
Run your school makerspace, Atal Tinkering Lab or HCD Lab with confidence, because you have made every project yourself first.
School
Grades 9–12
Workbench Summer runs separate, supervised school batches for students from India and abroad, with staff on campus around the clock.
- No experience neededCuriosity and the patience to fail a few times are enough. We teach every tool from the first cut.
Outcomes
What you leave with.
Credential
Certificate
From HCD Institute with DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad: a Summer certificate, or the Diploma on completing 24 builds and the final jury.
Portfolio
Documented builds
Files, photos and process for every week: proof you can make, not just a line on a CV.
Product
A working final prototype
Researched with real users, built in the workshop and presented to a jury.
Skill
Workshop fluency
Safe, confident use of 3D printers, laser cutters, shop tools and electronics.
Method
Human-centred making
The habit of testing with people early, so what you build is worth building.
Network
Makers who stay in touch
Your cohort, faculty and researchers at DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad.
Admissions
Fees and admissions.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Workbench Summer fee | On application, one all-inclusive fee |
| Summer includes | 5 days and nights of campus accommodation, all meals, materials and consumables, full workshop access, faculty mentoring, local transfers during the programme, and the certificate |
| Summer excludes | Travel to and from Hyderabad, visas and travel insurance |
| Summer dates | Summer 2027 batches, dates to be announced |
| Workbench Diploma | Six months: weekly online builds with live reviews, plus studio weeks at DIC Hub. 2027 cohort, dates to be announced |
| Diploma fee | On application |
| Diploma includes | Faculty reviews, workshop access during studio weeks, and a starter making kit |
| Scholarships | Scholarship-supported seats available, as set out in the admissions pack |
| Seats | Limited, to keep time on the machines for everyone |
01
Apply
A short form: your background and something you have made or want to make.
02
Show us
Photos of any project, however rough. A sketch counts.
03
Conversation
A 20-minute call to check fit, track and schedule.
04
Confirmation
Your offer, the admissions pack and the studio-week calendar.
FAQ
Common questions.
Summer or Diploma: which should I choose?
What does the Summer fee cover?
I live outside India. Can I join?
Where do Summer participants stay?
Do I need to have made things before?
Do I need machines at home?
How is this different from a design thinking course?
Who awards the certificate?
What do Summer and the Diploma cost?
Workbench · 2027