University of Hyderabad (UoH) alumnus Vijay Chaganti (MFA Painting, 2016 Batch, SN School of Arts & Communication) has been appointed as the Country Manager for India at the Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF), a global design education institution operating across 496 cities in 107 countries.

The appointment was officially confirmed on September 16, 2026, by IxDF Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mads Soegaard. In his new capacity, Chaganti will oversee and support IxDF’s network of local chapters across India, onboard and mentor emerging community leaders, and forge strategic partnerships connecting India’s design community with higher education institutions and the IT sector, with an initial strategic focus on South India.

Chaganti’s appointment caps nearly a decade of grassroots community building. In June 2017, shortly after graduating from UoH, he founded IxDF Hyderabad from the ground up, starting with a small gathering of local designers. Under his leadership, the Hyderabad chapter has grown into a premier hub for free, open-access talks, workshops, and professional networking events, currently ranking 6th in Asia among all IxDF communities. Marking another milestone, IxDF Hyderabad will co-host a major design event at Amazon’s Hyderabad campus on September 26, 2026.

Professionally, Chaganti brings over ten years of experience as a User Experience (UX) designer specializing in enterprise software across fintech, healthcare, and telecommunications. Over his career, he has driven design initiatives for leading global corporations, including Morgan Stanley, Nike, British Telecom, and Cummins.

Reflecting on his journey, Chaganti attributes his interdisciplinary design philosophy to his formative training at the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication. He credits his fine arts studio background—specifically the discipline to observe closely, analyze complex problems deeply before engineering solutions, and commit to continuous craft—with shaping both his professional design practice and community leadership. Parallel to his industry leadership, he continues an active studio practice as a painter.

The University of Hyderabad congratulates Vijay Chaganti on this prestigious international achievement and wishes him continued success in shaping India’s design landscape.

https://ixdf.org/members/vijaya-santosh-kumar-chaganti?ep=vijaya-santosh-kumar-chaganti