Join the Innovation: Emerge 2026 Attendee Registration is Live!

EMERGE 2026

Emerge 2026 is a three-day seminar with the theme of Product Design and Innovation sponsored by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and hosted by the IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay. While anyone can submit to the seminar, Emerge encourages people under the age of 35 years working in any area of design research whether through traditional PhD routes or practice-based, industrial, or independent pathways.

Keynote speakers

EMERGE 2026 brings together renowned thought leaders from across the globe. We are honored to introduce our keynote guest speakers, whose exceptional expertise and impactful work continue to shape industry standards and inspire the design community worldwide.

Pushkar Ingle

Pushkar Ingale is an industrial designer and an alumnus of IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay (2008 batch). He began his career designing motorcycles at Bajaj Auto before pivoting to healthcare innovation following his selection for the Stanford India Biodesign Fellowship.

With extensive experience in emergency, neonatal, and maternal health, Pushkar served as Country Lead at Laerdal Global Health, focused on low-resource settings. Currently, he runs the design consultancy Cohesive Labs and co-founded Petsaurus, a pet nutrition company. His award-winning work has been recognized by CII and Stanford Medicine. He also occasionally teaches and hosts the podcast Forty Two Talks.

Dr. Bori Fehér

Dr. Bori Fehér is an architect, social designer, and design strategist with over 15 years of experience connecting climate resilience, social equity, and practice-based research. She has led projects focused on disadvantaged communities in rural peripheries, and is co-founder and co-chair of the Social Design Network. Currently project lead of CoDesign4Transitions at MOME, she also serves as strategic advisor at the rector's office. A visiting researcher at MICA's Center for Social Design in Baltimore since 2014, she additionally supports foundations and municipalities as a design strategist, with earlier practice in Budapest and New York.

Suhasni Paul

Suhasini Paul is an eminent Indian Toy Designer, TEDx Speaker, and NID alumna. Recipient of the "Designpreneur" award from PM Modi, she has created over 400 toy designs, including the iconic Kinder Joy surprise toys. Her global expertise as a designer and creative advisor is highly sought after across numerous countries. Currently, she serves as a Play Ambassador for The Genius of Play (New York), a member of the CII National Committee on Design & Innovation, and an Adjunct Professor at IIT Kanpur.

Sandip Paul

Paul Sandip, aka "The Curious Observer" is an eminent Industrial Designer known for his unique ability, “Innovation by Observation”. He is a four times TEDx speaker, winner of the prestigious Red Dot Design Award twice, recipient of the “Designpreneur” title from Shri Narendra Modi, an Editorial Cartoonist and Author of “i didn’t say it!” - Book of Humorous Observations. He has designed over 1000+ products for his clients worldwide and is the only Indian designer to be listed amongst Top 30 Industrial designers globally by Dexigner, New York.

Who should attend?

Young faculty members embarking on research careers
Recent PhD graduates transitioning to research positions
Postdoctoral researchers continuing their scholarly work
PhD students (all stages) and M.Des by Research or similar program students on a research pathway
Researchers and designers within corporate R&D teams conducting rigorous inquiry

Emerging practitioners and independent researchers dedicated to advancing design knowledge
Prospective students exploring design research as a career direction
We particularly welcome researchers whose work challenges conventional disciplinary boundaries and those whose research contexts extend beyond traditional academic institutions.

Why participate?

FOR PRESENTERS

Present and receive constructive feedback on your research from peers and senior researchers
Connect with a community of young design researchers from diverse backgrounds and institutions
Gain visibility within the design research community
Learn about diverse research methodologies and approaches within design
Explore potential collaborations and future research partnerships
Access insights from established researchers navigating research careers in design

FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS

Engage with cutting-edge design research across multiple contexts and methodologies
Build your professional network within the design research community
Discover diverse pathways for research careers in design
Participate in substantive conversations about the future of design inquiry
Access inspiring examples of how young researchers are advancing the field

What EMERGE 2026 offers?

Invited talks by promising national and international young researchers sharing practical success stories, career moves, methods, and lessons learnt — designed to inform and inspire.
Peer-reviewed presentation slots: selected participants will present papers and receive constructive feedback from peers and senior mentors.
Informal networking, mentorship opportunities, and conversations about career building in academia, industry R&D, and practice-based research.

Registration, Travel & Accommodation

All participants will have to register to attend the seminar. The registration fee is INR 2500 for professionals and INR 1000 for students. Registration fees will cover seminar kit, 1 dinner, 2 lunches, and 4 tea/refreshments on the 3 days of the seminar.

Thanks to a sponsorship from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, presenters under the age of 35 who have an accepted paper, poster or demo will get a waiver of registration fees. The seminar will also be able to cover travel and accommodation costs for a limited number of presenters under the age of 35. Instructions about this will be sent along with the acceptance notifications.