MBA in Design Management & Strategic Thinking
Where Design Meets Strategy to Drive Innovation
MBA in Design Management & Strategic Thinking
Where Design Meets Strategy to Drive Innovation
MBA in Design Management & Strategic Thinking
Where Design Meets Strategy to Drive Innovation
Duration
2-Year Degree
Eligibility Criteria
Any Bachlelor Degree of Minimum 3 year
(Min 120+ Credit)
Next Intake
July 2026
Session begins from 15th July 2026
The MBA in Design Management & Strategic Thinking (DMST) at ATLAS | ISDI is an interdisciplinary postgraduate program that bridges design, business, innovation, and strategy. It equips future leaders with the tools to apply design thinking to complex business challenges while fostering creativity, analytical thinking, and sustainability.
Through hands-on projects, global collaborations, and live industry exposure, students learn to drive innovation across diverse sectors such as design consulting, entrepreneurship, and leadership. The program nurtures human-centered problem-solvers who combine empathy, research, and business acumen to create meaningful impact.
Critical
Thinking
Thinking
Process Management
Design
Thinking
Thinking
UX design
Market
research
research
Business Model understanding
Pitch making
Entrepreneurship
Circular Economy
Strategic management
Systems Thinking
Product Management
Project Management
Social Impact Entrepreneurship
Brand
Manager
Manager
Marketing
Manager
Manager
Brand Designer
Product
Manager
Manager
Service Design Manager
Strategic Planner
Research Analyst
UX Marketer
Business Analyst
Experience Design Manager (EX & CX)
Design Strategist
Design Management
Digital Product Manager
Design Manager
Design Strategy Director
Design Operations Manager
Entrepreneur
Sustainability Design Manager
Gourav
Keswani
Keswani
Sania
Shaikh
Shaikh
Mohit
Bhardwaj
Bhardwaj
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Vaibhav
Mohite
Mohite
Fenil
Shah
Shah
Rita
Ashra
Ashra
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Malvika
Mahidhar
Mahidhar
.png)
Solange
Suri
Suri
Ritika
Karnani
Karnani
C Krishna Chaitanya
Prajakta
Upadhye
Upadhye
Divya Vijaychandran
Riddhesh
Ardarkar
Ardarkar
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Our Globally Benchmarked Curriculum
Semester 1
Students build a strong foundation in design thinking, management principles, and research. The semester focuses on human-centered design, strategic thinking, and business fundamentals, while developing creative and analytical skills through drawing, imaging, and financial statement analysis.
Design Thinking for Sustainable Business Practices
Introduces design thinking as a tool for innovation and sustainability. Students learn to craft human-centered, strategic solutions to market challenges.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion + User Research
Focuses on inclusive design and research methods to create accessible solutions that serve diverse user groups.
Strategic Thinking & Management
Explores global business strategies through case studies, teaching decision-making and leadership in dynamic contexts.
Management Principles for Design
Provides a foundation in management, organizational structure, and team leadership within design-driven environments..
Skill – Basics of Drawing & Imaging
Develops visual communication through traditional and digital tools, enabling students to express ideas effectively.
Skill – Financial Statement Analysis
Teaches how to interpret financial documents, assess company performance, and make data-based business decisions.
MOOC – History & Design
Traces key movements in design history, connecting cultural evolution to modern design practices and thought.
ATLAS Elective
Semester 2
Semester 2 focuses on creating impactful and forward-looking design solutions. It emphasizes system thinking, lifecycle approaches, and immersive experiences while encouraging innovation, entrepreneurship, and disruptive projects that challenge conventional design boundaries.
Critical Thinking for a Better World
Encourages speculative and future-oriented design thinking to reimagine global challenges and create sustainable solutions.
Business Model Design
Teaches students to develop and pitch innovative business models that align user needs with market opportunities.
Organizational Behavior
Explores motivation, teamwork, and leadership dynamics within creative organizations to enhance collaboration and innovation.
Digital Ethnography
Examines human behavior in digital spaces through research on online communities, data collection, and user interaction.
Business & Leadership
Develops ethical and effective leadership skills through case studies, decision-making frameworks, and strategic analysis.
Skill – AI & Design
Learn how AI enhances creativity, speeds up workflows, and helps build smarter, more intuitive design solutions.
Skill – Financial Modeling
Equips students with tools to forecast, analyze, and plan financial outcomes for design-led organizations.
MOOC – Portfolio Management
Guides students in creating a professional portfolio that effectively showcases their strategic design and business skills.
ATLAS Elective
Why our Year 1 outpaces every
other design school?
other design school?
ISDI School of Design
Broad Exploration
Students engage in multiple design domains (Critical Design, Xperiential Design, System Design, XR, AI) across Sem 1 & 2.
Hands-On, Experiential Learning
Innovator’s Studio and Disruptive Project emphasize experimentation, prototyping, and real-world problem solving.
Future-Ready Skills
Designing with AI, Designing for XR, and Lifecycle/Systems Design equip students for emerging technologies and societal challenges.
Other Design Schools
Narrow Focus
Students usually stick to a single track or specialization throughout the program.
Theory-Heavy
Focus is often on concepts and aesthetics, with minimal practical experimentation.
Limited Emerging Tech Exposure
Little attention to new tools, technologies, or systemic thinking.
Semester 3
Students tackle complex business realities using systems thinking and entrepreneurship. Through the Innovation Studio and Sales & Marketing Strategy courses, they learn to transform insights into viable solutions.
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Systems Thinking for Complex Realities
Equips students to map and address complex, interconnected business challenges through holistic systems analysis.
Sales Innovation & Marketing Strategies
Focuses on aligning brand identity and digital marketing with consumer insights to drive growth and engagement.
Innovation Studio
A hands-on studio course where students prototype inclusive, sustainable solutions for real-world challenges.
Entrepreneurship and Sustainability
Encourages building responsible ventures by blending market strategy with environmental and social awareness.
Financial and Taxation Planning
Introduces taxation systems and financial planning for informed decision-making and business compliance.
Skill – Data Analytics & Visualizations for Businesses
Teaches students to interpret complex data through visual tools that support design and strategic business decisions.
DMST Internship (Post Year 1)
Students gain hands-on industry experience, applying classroom learning to real projects while building professional skills and networks.
Semester 4
The final semester emphasizes implementation and leadership, bringing together design, business, and innovation. Through Incubation Studio and Project Management, students turn ideas into viable ventures, explore experiential design.
Incubation Studio
Transforms creative concepts into viable ventures through iterative design, business modeling, and mentorship.
Project Management
Builds essential skills in planning, resource allocation, and agile execution for managing complex design projects.
Xperiential Design for Businesses
Explores designing immersive user experiences that enhance brand engagement and business value.
IPR & Design Innovation
Introduces intellectual property rights and innovation management to protect and leverage creative ideas.
Business Ethics
Examines ethical leadership, responsibility, and decision-making within design-led organizations.
Financial Marketing
Bridges finance and marketing strategies to optimize brand performance and budget efficiency.
Skill – Interface Design
Focuses on creating intuitive, accessible user interfaces using HCI principles and usability testing..
Why our Year 2 outpaces every
other design
school?
other design
school?
ISDI School of Design
Narrative-Driven Learning
This year’s curriculum nurtures creative storytelling and visual communication that connects culture, emotion, and message.
Thinking through Making
Subjects strengthen ideation, visualization, and identity design from concept to execution.
Design with Insight
Subjects help students link user understanding with hands-on interface creation and testing.
Other Design Schools
Limited Creative Integration
Often focuses on static design principles, with minimal emphasis on storytelling or cultural narrative development.
Technique over Thought
Prioritizes software proficiency over conceptual thinking and creative strategy.
Sequential, Not Synergistic
Research and digital skills are usually taught in isolation, delaying practical application
02
ATLAS Aptitude Test (AAT)
03
Portfolio/Work/
Resume Review
Resume Review
04
Group Discussion (GD) & Personal Interview (PI)
Eligibility
Bachelor’s Degree with a minimum of 120 credits
- Minimum 3 years of post–K12 study
A-Levels (UK)
- Minimum grades A, B, or C in any 2 subjects
- Total of 3 subjects required
International Baccalaureate (IB)
A minimum of 24 points, including:
- 3 Higher Level (HL) subjects
- 3 Standard Level (SL) subjects
Application Fee: ₹1,500
After selection, the enrolment fee of ₹50,000 to secure your seat is refundable!
Why MBA in Design Management &
Strategic Thinking at ISDI x Parsons
Strategic Thinking at ISDI x Parsons
Design for Real Life,
Not Just Portfolios
Not Just Portfolios
Our classrooms are live labs. You’ll ideate, iterate, fail, restart, and refine in spaces designed for doing, not just thinking.
Design With A
Global Perspective
Global Perspective
Curriculum shaped by Parsons,
New York — reimagined for today’s
Indian context.
New York — reimagined for today’s
Indian context.
Your Mentors Are
Also Makers
Also Makers
Learn from practicing designers, strategists, and studio founders —
the people who design the world
you interact with.
the people who design the world
you interact with.
Everything is a
Studio Experience
Studio Experience
Our classrooms are live labs. You’ll ideate, iterate, fail, restart, and refine in spaces designed for doing, not just thinking.
The Future is Cross-
Disciplinary
Disciplinary
Work alongside fashion designers, product innovators, entrepreneurs, coders, and media artists — because good ideas don’t exist in silos.
Where concepts meet execution,
in and beyond the classroom.
At ISDI, every project becomes part of a career-ready portfolio. From hands-on labs and design sprints to brand collaborations, internships, hackathons, and industry showcases, you graduate with real-world experience and work that speaks for itself.
Entrepreneurial Marketing Bootcamp by Dr. Zubin Sethna
The Entrepreneurial Marketing Bootcamp, led by Professor Sethna, was an intensive five-day program exploring brand building through storytelling, entrepreneurial journeys, and the relevance of traditional marketing models in today’s dynamic landscape.
Workshop on Neurodiversity: Different Minds; Same WorldHosted by Yash Charitable Trust and Atlas Skilltech University
The workshop promoted empathy, inclusion, and awareness around neurodiversity through interactive activities and real-life examples.
Welcoming of Dutch University Delegates - Erwin Sledgers and Bieneke Bennekers
ATLAS welcomed delegates Mr. Erwin Sledgers (HKU Utrecht) and Ms. Bieneke Bennekers (Amsterdam University), who spent a month engaging with students across design and management programs, inspiring meaningful exchanges and collaboration.
Masterclass on User Research in Industry Practices in Amazon for ISDI by Biju D. - Creative Catalyst Series
ISDI hosted Biju Damodharan, Director of UX at Amazon, for a masterclass on ‘Designing Consumer-Backwards,’ where he shared Amazon’s user-first approach and offered valuable portfolio feedback to students.
Global Design Collective with Carla Fernandez, Thomas Rau and Richard Van Der Laken
On March 5, 2025, ISDI and What Design Can Do (WDCD) hosted the Global Design Collective at the ATLAS ISDI campus, featuring global design leaders discussing sustainable innovation and highlighting the upcoming WDCD Delhi conference.
ISDI Career Connect 2025
Atlas ISDI Career Connect 2025, held from March 5–12, offered students interviews, networking, and career-building opportunities with top industry partners through placements, internships, and projects.
AI in Marketing 3 Day Bootcamp
Students completed a 3-day AI in Marketing bootcamp at ATLAS SkillTech University led by Prof. Rajesh Bhargave from Imperial College Business School, exploring AI’s role in marketing and developing StyleMate AI, a personalized fashion assistant.
Studio Day at ISDI
For the first time, ATLAS showcased postgraduate student work from the MBA in Design Management and Strategic Thinking and the Masters in Design of the Future, fostering interaction among students, faculty, parents, and industry partners like Shaaze Design.
The Ethics of Digital Manipulation & Data Collection
Under the course Organizational Behaviour, this project focuses on different aspects of how Digital Manipulation of various data sets is collected. The most important aspect of the data is how ethically it's sourced and utilized to derive insights and generate decisions that are data-driven.
Paper Recycling (Design Thinking for Sustainable business practises)
This project studies India’s raddiwala system and proposes a solution to improve paper collection and recycling, recognizing paper’s diverse applications and the need for a more efficient, sustainable system.
Diversity Strategy for Boston Consulting Group
A strategic initiative developed for Boston Consulting Group to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion through inclusive hiring, equitable policies, and a culture that celebrates diverse perspectives.
Branding Strategy and Visuals for skin care products
A comprehensive branding and visual strategy designed to position skincare products with a distinct identity, emphasizing purity, trust, and modern aesthetics.
Branding strategy and Visuals for Flower decors
Mystical Meadow crafts enchanting floral decor with artistic finesse and sustainability, transforming spaces into whimsical havens for weddings, events, and interiors with timeless, natural beauty.
Student Projects in Motion
Where creativity meets momentum
Ajuni Kaur, Awrutti Dongre, Aditee Girap, Sayli Kangutkar, Janvi Shah, Vaidehi Agarwa
Chitwani Wadera
Shubham, Sonira, Pooja, Anna, Vidhi F.
Kajal Bhawsar
Naveli Jain
Ajuni Kaur
Ishan Desai
Amartya Garikapati
Student Voices: Real Voices from the Program
Hear from our students
We have learned so much about the industry. I am so happy to be practicing it now.
Sanya Kulkarni
Class of 2025
I love our college, I am so proud of my college and excited for what’s next. I feel prepared thanks to everything my college has done for me.
Vasi Desai
Class of 2025
I’ve learned a lot at ISDI. I have had a great support system and thanks to that I have joined a company as a Lead Designer
Kriti Bishnoi
Class of 2025
Ready to Build a Design Degree
that’s Built for the Real World?
Questions? We can read your mind
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