About the Institute
We help people design for people.
HCD Institute UAE brings human-centred design into schools, universities, companies and government across the UAE, to help build a sustainable, knowledge-based future that works for everyone, in step with We the UAE 2031 and the UAE Centennial 2071. It is incubated at DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad, India, works in fellowship with it, and is governed by a Governing Council chaired by Dr Deepak John Mathew.
Our story
It started with one idea in 2011.
- 2011HCD Institute begins, guided by the late Prof. M. P. Ranjan, one of India's most influential design educators.
- PhilosophyFrom day one: look at whole systems, not isolated objects. And make design education open to everyone, not just design students.
- DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad, IndiaThe Institute is incubated at the Design Innovation Centre (DIC) Hub, IIT Hyderabad, India, and begins working with leaders in fellowship with it.
- Curriculum & outreachWe help shape the design curriculum at Mahatma Gandhi University, and work with universities, education departments and startup missions to build design labs.
- 2026A Governing Council and an Academic Council are constituted, so the Institute is run with the accountability of a public institution.
- TodayHCD Lab @ School takes a DIC Hub curriculum into school labs, and every year school and college students spend a week at IIT Hyderabad, India.→
Why we exist
Few people are ever taught to design for others. We're changing that.
The UAE and India train more engineers and managers than ever. But the habit of understanding people, framing the right problem and prototyping a fix is still rare: in classrooms, in boardrooms and in government.
HCD Institute exists to close that gap, with the academic grounding of DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad, India and the urgency of people who teach real learners to take on real problems.
We work with schools, colleges, companies and public institutions. The method stays the same, and the work is assessed and certified by DIC, IIT Hyderabad, India.
Built for public education
Designed to fit the system, not sit beside it.
A private institute with a public purpose. Our programmes are built to work inside public education and government systems, in India and now in the UAE, so a public school, an education authority or a government entity can adopt them without starting from scratch.
Education 33 · Dubai
Learner-centred, future-ready learning
Design thinking, project work and assessment by jury: the hands-on, learner-centred learning Dubai's Education 33 strategy calls for, with project reports as evidence.
We the UAE 2031
Skills for a forward economy
A lab model, teacher training and a course book that build the creative, entrepreneurial skills a diversified, knowledge-based and sustainable economy depends on.
Maker spaces & STEM labs
Works inside the labs you have
HCD Labs run inside an existing maker space or STEM lab or any classroom. Tinkering gives students tools; we teach them what to build and why.
Ministry of Education initiative
Anchored at DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad, India
The Design Innovation Centre is a Ministry of Education initiative. Student and teacher work is assessed and certified by DIC, IIT Hyderabad, India.
About DIC HubPeople of Determination
A city for everyone
Universal Access audits buildings, services and digital systems against the Dubai Universal Design Code and international accessibility standards, so public life works for everyone.
Universal AccessHigher education
With universities
We help universities and colleges start design departments and adopt a design thinking curriculum, and work through their own approval processes.
Build a design departmentGovernance
Run like a public institution.
HCD Institute is privately run and publicly accountable. A Governing Council sets direction, an Academic Council safeguards the quality of what we teach and certify, and standing committees look after money, children's safety, accessibility and the responsible use of AI.
01
Governing Council
Policy, partnerships, budgets and the annual plan. Chaired by Dr Deepak John Mathew.
02
Academic Council
Curriculum, assessment, juries and certification standards across every programme.
03
Standing committees
Finance & audit, safeguarding, accessibility standards, and responsible AI.
04
Advisory Board
Independent practitioners who advise on direction, industry and global partnerships.
Governing Council · Constituted October 2026
Governing Council.
Sets the Institute's policy and direction, approves partnerships and MoUs, and reviews every new programme before it goes to DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad, India.
Dr Deepak John Mathew
Chair · Professor, IIT Hyderabad, India · Head, DIC Hub
Chair
Mathew Sebastian
Founding Board Member, HCD Institute · Fellow, DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad, India
Member · Founding Board
Dr Delwin Remedios
Professor, Department of Design, IIT Hyderabad, India
Member · Academic
Dr Kawahya Tizhe
Public Health Physician · World Health Organization
Member · Public systems
Sanmitra Chitte
Design & Innovation Strategist · BITS Design School, Mumbai
Member · Design education
Jomon Jacob
Entrepreneur & Investor, Tricta Technologies
Member · Enterprise
Gaurav Sahni
Corporate Strategy, Growth & Responsible AI
Member · Responsible AIAcademic Council
Academic Council.
Approves curricula, assessment and certification standards, sets the jury process for student and teacher projects, and reviews course books before they reach a classroom.
Dr Delwin Remedios
Professor, Department of Design, IIT Hyderabad, India · Head, Animation Lab
Chair
Jacinta Bell
Interaction designer · Researcher, DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad, India · Fellow, HCD Institute
Member Secretary
Marsukola Kranthi Kiran
Member, DIC · Research Scholar, IIT Hyderabad, India
Member · Research
Elias V
Research Scholar, IIT Hyderabad, India
Member · Research
Shibu Prabhakaran
Design Strategist, Kloudspot · Indian Institute of Science
Member · Design strategy
Deepak Krishnan
UX Design Leader, Mashreq, Dubai
Member · UX & AI
Gavin Remedios
Experience Design Leader, IBM Consulting
Member · Industry
Chandrima Deuri Sikka
Product Marketing Manager, Somfy North America
Member · ProductStanding committees
Who looks after what.
| Committee | Chair | Members | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance & Audit | Jomon Jacob | Chandrima Deuri Sikka | Budgets, grants, partner agreements and the annual accounts. |
| Child Safety & Safeguarding | Dr Kawahya Tizhe | Jacinta Bell | Safeguarding for every school programme and residential immersion, and the handling of any concern raised. |
| Accessibility Standards | To be appointed (UAE) | Gavin Remedios · Elias V | The Universal Access framework, audit criteria and certification decisions, with IUCDS, Mahatma Gandhi University. |
| Responsible AI & Ethics | Gaurav Sahni | Deepak Krishnan · Marsukola Kranthi Kiran | How AI is used in teaching, assessment and student work, and research ethics for studies with students. |
Incubated at DIC Hub
Incubated at, and in fellowship with, DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad, India.
The Design Innovation Centre at IIT Hyderabad, India is a Ministry of Education initiative and a national hub for design-led innovation. HCD Institute is incubated there, and works alongside it as a training and outreach partner.
- Curriculum: built on the DIC Hub design thinking framework
- Certification: work is assessed and certified by DIC, IIT Hyderabad, India
- Faculty: programmes designed and taught with DIC Hub faculty
- Network: graduates join a growing community of practitioners
Our philosophy
Design thinking is a horizontal, not a vertical.
It runs through every discipline. It helps you understand, imagine, solve and build. It isn't only a route into a design career. It's a way to be creative wherever you end up: engineering, research, a start-up, or public service.
01
Understand
See people, problems and systems clearly before you act.
02
Ideate
Find many possibilities, not just the first one.
03
Solve
Test ideas with real people. Keep what works.
04
Build
Turn ideas into products, ventures, services and systems.
Human first. AI native. The best practitioners pair deep empathy for people with the tools that let them try things fast.
How we teach
What we stand for
What you can count on.
Rigour
Every programme is built on the design thinking framework of DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad, India. Real method, not motivation.
AI-native
Generative AI is part of every stage of the work, and people make the decisions.
Learning by doing
Real briefs, real prototypes, real feedback. No slide decks about design.
Open to all
From a Class 6 student to a senior official, we meet people where they are and move them forward.
Value
Stewardship
Careful, accountable use of the DIC framework, and of AI.
Value
Equity
Learning spaces that are accessible and welcome everyone.
Value
Universality
Global standards, made locally relevant.
Value
Endurance
Skills and judgement that last longer than the latest trend.
India · UAE
One institute, two homes.
HCD Institute began in India in 2011 and works with schools, universities and governments there, in fellowship with IIT Hyderabad, India. HCD Institute UAE brings the same method, faculty and programmes to the UAE.
India · Since 2011
HCD Institute India
Schools, universities, public institutions and research across India. Articles, guides and the HCD Toolkit live there too.
Visit hcd.instituteUAE · Dubai
HCD Institute UAE
Programmes for schools, universities, enterprises and government across the UAE, with immersions at IIT Hyderabad, India.
Programmes in the UAEWho we work with
Everyone starts somewhere.
Schools
An HCD Lab in your school, in any curriculum, with teachers trained at DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad, India.
Start an HCD LabTeachers
Faculty training at DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad, India, to teach design thinking by doing it first.
Faculty TrainingColleges & graduates
Five-day immersions at DIC Hub, IIT Hyderabad, India, for any stream.
College immersionProfessionals & leaders
Hybrid certifications in design thinking, UX, product and AI.
CertificationsGovernments
Design thinking for management and policy, and accessible public systems.
Management & policyOrganisations & researchers
Projects that untangle hard human problems, and our research.
PracticeFor every school in the UAE