National Institute of Fashion Technology

In acknowledgement of the stellar role NIFT has played in developing India’s textiles and fashion industry, it was recently accorded the status of an Institute of National Importance The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) — the country’s premier fashion design, management and technology institute — was promoted in New Delhi in 1986 under the aegis of the Union ministry of textiles and Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), New York. Over the past two decades, the institute has promoted seven regional affiliates in Kolkata, Chennai, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore. Its pan-India presence has enabled NIFT alumni to assume leadership positions in India’s fast track textiles, garments and haute couture industries. In acknowledgement of the stellar role it has played in developing India’s fashion industry, NIFT was recently accorded the status of an Institute of National Importance by President Abdul Kalam. The award places NIFT on a par with the blue-chip Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). “Our institutional objective is to develop NIFT into a centre of excellence and innovation and a growth catalyst of the fashion business through education leadership. Benchmarking performance and processes in the areas of fashion education, research and development, training and consultancy are our chosen methodologies for attaining excellence. Integrating design, management and technology and empowering the crafts community to retain regional characteristics and position their cultural identity in the global market are also high on our agenda,” says Gauri Kumar, director general of NIFT. Undoubtedly, since it was somewhat hesitantly promoted in the national capital two decades ago by the then floundering Union ministry of textiles, NIFT, Delhi, if not its seven regional clones, has built an excellent reputation for producing high fashion garments and trendsetting couturiers including JJ Valaya, Ritu Beri, and Manish Arora. The regional institutes too, have shaped top-rung fashion designers such as Manish Malhotra and Narendra Kumar (Mumbai), Prasad Bidapa (Bangalore), and several mondaine page 3 fashion gurus and divas. More significantly, NIFT has contributed over 5,000 well-trained textiles and garment industry professionals who are masterminding India’s global charge as a major textiles and garment player in the new post-WTO international order. Modelled after India’s highly respected and successful IIMs and IITs which were also promoted by the Central government, the teaching-learning process in the seven NIFTs involves creation of a cohesive, contextual and nurturing environment for students. The emphasis is on professional development through standardised pedagogy. “This involves sharing of learning processes between faculty and industry whose feedback and guidance is crucial to students’ understanding, development, and maturity,” says NIFT spokesperson Pavan Kaushik. Moreover NIFT faculty are trained in some of the leading design and fashion institutes of the world, and bring to the classroom professional capabilities, wide exposure and years of hands-on industry experience. “The examination system focuses upon task-based assign-ments, interactive industry projects, intern-ships, research surveys and written examinations throughout the year,” explains P. Joshi, a faculty member. In 1997, a common board examination (CBE) based on evaluation in core subjects was introduced across all NIFT centres to ensure…