Prof. Shilpa Das
Shilpa Das has spent over three decades proving that design is a vital lever for social justice. As head of Interdisciplinary Design Studies at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India, her 33-year career beautifully bridges academia, publishing, and voluntary sectors to fundamentally reshape how the world understands inclusion. Rather than treating disability as a clinical deficit, Shilpa frames it as a uniquely rich source of expertise in her doctoral research on the intersections of disability, social stigma and social justice.
Her insights actively shape global policy. She has advised the Gates Foundation on human-centered global health, guided McKinsey’s Design for Good alliance, and spearheaded strategic disability related behaviour-change initiatives for the Government of Gujarat. A prolific voice with over 50 research papers, her recent co-edited volume, Narrative Universes of Disability (Springer, 2025), directly critiques systemic ableism, complementing her editorial leadership for journals like Global Health: Science and Practice.
Shilpa’s real impact unfolds through dialogue. Supported by prestigious international research grants from the British Council, Leading House Iran, Government of Japan and the Wenner-Gren Foundation, she regularly runs transformative, empathy-driven disability sensitization workshops worldwide. Her teaching spans an impressive global network, including the Royal College of Art, Central St Martins, Estonian Academy of the Arts, HSLU, RISD, Politecnico di Milano, University of the Arts, Tokyo and numerous Indian universities from Kashmir to Kolkata.
Currently serving as Vice-Chairperson of the Indian Disability Studies Collective and Co-Director of the Social Design Network, she remains a prominent fixture on international scientific committees, juries, and PhD defense panels. For Shilpa, the goal is clear: ensuring that marginalized lived experiences are not simply accommodated, but are actively driving the progressive future of global design.