Think like a designer.
Build like an innovator.
Pitch like you mean it.
Five days at the Design Innovation Centre (DIC Hub), IIT Hyderabad — ecology maps, human-centred design, live prototyping, an industry visit, and a Grand Jury pitch. Built for high-school students who want to build, not just learn.
Programme credentials
DIC — HCD Labs
Industry partner certificate
Finland 2030 × Lifology
Completion certificate
HCD Institute
Design portfolio certification
Why the Design Thinking Immersion
What classrooms can't build in you
Theory tells students about design and entrepreneurship. This immersion makes them practise both — with real tools, a real HCD Labs campus, and a real jury at the end.
A real HCD Labs campus
Five days inside HCD Labs' Design Innovation Centre and HCD labs — real tools, real faculty, real problems. Not a school hall.
Design thinking, made for teens
Empathy → problem framing → prototyping → pitch. The full human-centred design cycle, paced and scaffolded for Grades 9–12.
A portfolio, not just notes
Ecology map, user personas, a working prototype, and a pitch deck — documented and ready for design entrances and college applications.
Systems & ecology mapping
Students learn to read a whole system and find the real friction points before designing a single solution.
Industry & startup exposure
A guided industry visit to see design thinking and entrepreneurship working at real-world scale — beyond the classroom.
The Grand Jury pitch
Teams present their solution to a panel of HCD Labs faculty and industry mentors — judged with warmth, but for real.
Programme structure
Five days. From empathy to Grand Jury.
Each day moves students from observer to builder to founder — from systems thinking and field research to prototyping, an industry visit, and a live pitch. Tap any day to open it.
Arrive on a real HCD Labs campus, meet your team, and learn to see the world as a system you can read and redesign.
- ›Welcome, icebreakers, and team formation (teams of 3–4)
- ›Guided walk of the HCD Labs campus and the Knowledge Well Library
- ›Design thinking introduced as a way of seeing — the "curious eye"
- ›Systems & ecology mapping made simple: everything connects
- ›Teams build a large-scale Ecology Map of a real, familiar challenge
Day output
A large-scale Ecology Map identifying the real friction points in a system
The Grand Pitch
Your system. Your solution. Their verdict.
On Day 5, teams present their complete system-solution to a jury of HCD Labs faculty and industry mentors — judged with encouragement, but to real standards. Every student leaves with a documented portfolio: ecology map, user personas, a working prototype, and a pitch. Standout teams earn Capstone Excellence recognition.
Inside the studio
Inside the DIC Hub immersion
Students at work inside the Design Innovation Centre (DIC Hub), IIT Hyderabad — systems mapping, prototyping, and real work on a real campus.
Drone innovations at IIT H
What you'll take home
The programme ends. The portfolio doesn't.
Every student leaves with tangible, documented, verified assets — useful for design entrances, college applications, and every step beyond.
Opportunity thinking
The skill of spotting a real problem and turning it into an idea worth pursuing — the foundation of every entrepreneur.
Three verified credentials
Certificates from DIC HCD Labs, Finland 2030 × Lifology, and HCD Institute — each with distinct value for applications.
A prototype & pitch portfolio
An ecology map, personas, a working prototype, and a Grand Pitch — documented and portfolio-ready for UCEED, NID, and college forms.
Confidence, built by doing
The confidence to take initiative, test an idea in public, and adapt under pressure — earned through making, not watching.
Career clarity, early
First-hand exposure to design, product, and startups on a real HCD Labs campus — years before most students get to see it.
A global alumni network
Entry into the Finland 2030 × Lifology community of thousands of students across colleges and schools worldwide.
Who is this for
Built for students who want to build.
No design background required. No business idea needed. Just curiosity, and the drive to work on real problems.
Curious about how things are made and how startups work
The programme puts students inside a live innovation campus where ideas actually become things.
Learns best by doing, not by listening
Every day, students make something — a map, a prototype, a pitch. By Day 5 they hold a portfolio, not a page of notes.
Wants credentials and a portfolio that stand out
A DIC HCD Labs certificate and a real design portfolio give an edge in design entrances and college applications.
Wants to explore a path before committing to it
A safe, guided first look at design, product, and entrepreneurship — while there's still time to choose.
Build something real.
Pitch it to industry.
Batches of 10–20 students, five days at the Design Innovation Centre (DIC Hub), IIT Hyderabad. Bring a cohort from your school, or enquire about the next open batch.
Enquire now →DIC — HCD Labs · Finland 2030 × Lifology · HCD Institute
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