Prof. Charu Monga | Faculty Profile | IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi
Students Faculty & Staff Visitors Procurement

Research Areas

Emerging Technologies Digital Futures, New Media Designing for Children Child-Centered Design, Ethical & Design Thinking Game Design Narrative Design, Social Inclusion & Virtual, Augmented & Mixed Reality Digital Heritage & Cultural Construction Virtual & Metadata in Museums Visual Communication Visual Storytelling, Animation Techniques, Film Production & Graphic Design

Biosketch

Infotech Fellow, University of Oulu Finland, 2024
Visiting Scholar, University of Oulu Finland, 2023
Visiting Scholar, University of Macau, 2016
Visiting Professor, SIT Japan, 2016
Awarded Microsoft Faculty Research Grant, 2015
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Bachelors & Masters, Delhi University, 2006

Charu Monga's academic pursuits traverse an array of captivating domains within the realm of design and digital media. With a fervent interest in Visual Communication, Graphic Design, Digital Futures, and New Media, she delves into the intricate interplay between design, technology, nature and human expression. Her scholarly endeavors encompass a diverse spectrum, ranging from Designing for Children, Game Design to Digital Heritage and Visual Storytelling. With a passion for narrative approaches, she explores the convergence of storytelling and communication in new media. Her research delves into virtualization techniques for cultural construction in education, pedagogy, futuring of education through Design Thinking approaches. As an expert in both academia and creative realms, Charu shapes futures by melding imaginative design with emerging technologies. She has won many awards and closely works with the Ministry of Education and Skill Development in India and globally.

At present, her scholarly focus converges on the exploration of various virtualization methodologies aimed at catalyzing educational paradigms, fostering cultural innovation, and facilitating effective science and design communication. As an Assistant Professor at the Department of Design, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, she brings to bear her rich academic background, fortified by a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Design from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. Her doctoral research delved into the nuanced intricacies of design elements within vernacular heritage structures, with a profound emphasis on cultural resurgence and construction.

Prior to her tenure at IIT Delhi, Charu served as a faculty member at the Department of Design, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, where she spearheaded the ARLab, which was instrumental in pioneering the integration of digital media technologies into animation and interactive film domains, thus amplifying the narrative potential of these mediums. Charu's academic journey is embellished with a rich tapestry of accolades and affiliations. With nine years of industrial experience under her belt, she stands as a recipient of esteemed fellowships, including the Film Heritage Foundation fellowship in collaboration with Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation & Cineteca di Bologna, L'Immagine Ritrovata, alongside a coveted Microsoft Research grant. Her scholarly endeavors have traversed international borders, as evidenced by her stints as a visiting faculty at the University of Oulu, Finland, and a visiting fellow at the University of Macau and Japan.

She has been featured in United Nation Development Program (UNDP’s) “For Tomorrow”, the documentary that won the Best Documentary at the Cannes World Film Festival, Best Environmental Film, Best Innovative Solution Film at the New York International Film Awards and many other awards at different festivals. Beyond academia, Prof. Charu's professional engagements span a diverse array of institutions and organizations, including the Film and Television Institute of India, Delhi University, and the National Institute of Fashion Technology. Her strategic acumen in Communication design has been instrumental in shaping the creative trajectories of various enterprises, including World Health Partners, IDC, IIT Bombay, Foundation 9 Entertainment, and Digikriti Entertainment. Charu's contributions extend beyond the realms of academia and industry, as she actively engages with humanitarian causes through collaborations with entities such as the Red Cross Society, UNICEF, and UNIFEM. Her artistic endeavors have graced esteemed galleries, including the Romain Rolland, Habitat Center, and Lalit Kala Academy.

In addition to her scholarly and professional pursuits, Prof. Charu remains ardently committed to the advancement of design pedagogy, social innovation, and cross-cultural communication research. Her scholarly outputs, disseminated through reputable journals and conferences, serve as beacons illuminating the evolving landscape of design scholarship and practice.

Awards & Honours
  • Young faculty fellow, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, 2020-2023
  • Awarded First Prize for Republic Day Tableaux Design by the Ministry of Defence with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 2022
  • Global Project Based Learning grant award with SIT by Japan Science and Technology, 2018
  • Awarded Film Heritage Foundation fellowship by Film Division in association with Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation & Cineteca di Bologna, L’Immagine Ritrovata, 2014
Selected Publications
  • Monga, C., Sharma, S., Kinnula, N., Iivari, N., Sebastian, S., Monga, M., Roy, S., Verma, D., Pade, C., Tandon, C., Designers Toolkit - Advancing Design Intelligence through Innovation, Ethical Framework, Artificial Intelligence, Inclusivity and Accessibility for All, Design Research Society (DRS) Conference, Boston, USA.
  • Sebastian, S., Sharma, S., Iivari, N., Kinnula, M., Monga, C., Verma, D., Abbas., S., Emerging Technologies in Global South Classrooms: Teachers Imagining Future of Education. PDC2024. Participatory Design Conference, Sibu, Malaysia.
  • Sharma, S., Kinnula, M., Iivari, N., Ventä-Olkkonen, L., Hartikainen, H., Durall, E., ... & Monga, C., Age Against the Machine: A Call for Designing Ethical AI for and with Children. In Adjunct Proceedings of the 2022 Nordic Human-Computer Interaction Conference (pp. 1-6).
  • Goyal, S., Vijay, R. S., Monga, C., & Kalita, P., Code bits: an inexpensive tangible computational thinking toolkit for K-12 curriculum. In Proceedings of the TEI'16: Tenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (pp. 441-447).
  • Verma, D., & Monga, C., Exploration of Visual Cues and Guidelines to Increase Visitors’ Engagement and Immersion in Virtual Museums. In International Conference on Research into Design (pp. 535-543). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
  • Verma, D., & Monga, C., Use of New Media to Preserve Cultural Heritage in Museums. In the International Conference on Research into Design (pp. 525-534). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
  • Monga, C., & Das, A. K., Cultural construction: design aesthetics, semiotics and semantics associated with masks in Namghar—the study of its design aspects in the Island of Majuli, India. In Research into Design for Communities, Volume 2: Proceedings of ICoRD 2017 (pp. 763-778). Springer Singapore.