BHUBANESWAR: National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Bhubaneswar, held its eighth graduation ceremony on NIFT campus Tuesday.
This year, 185 students from six different departments, namely Accessory Design, Fashion Design, Textile Design, Fashion Communication, Fashion Technology, and Fashion Management are passing out after a rigorous 4 years (for Bachelors) and 2 Years (for Masters) training at classroom, labs, and industry through various projects and internships.
The campus avoided any extravagant celebrations this year as the state has suffered massive destructions due to cyclone Fani. Instead of a fashion show, a static display of final Graduating Collections designed by students was organised and attended by many eminent leaders from industry, academia along with parents and outside visitors.
Industry leaders like Ranjiv Kapur, COO, Triburg, Alok Upreti, brand head, Ashima Group, Debopam Deb, director, PWC, Turja Barua, director, PWC, Rahul Jindal, operation head, ABFRL, Vikrant Bharti, ,merchandising manager, Li & Fung, New Delhi, and Yogesh Tiwari, director, Ashtech Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi among others attended and appreciated the event.
The campus placement drive is still on and so far, 80% of the students have been placed. Many of the students have opted to become entrepreneurs and a few of them are going for higher studies. This is a good sign that an increasing number of students every year are opting to take up enterprise as a career. This would change the landscape of future fashion business in the country, said Binaya Bhusan Jena, Director, NIFT Bhubaneswar.
He said, “Today, the country needs more entrepreneurs to promote the fashion industry.” Sushmita Behera of Centre Academic Coordinator of Bhubaneswar Centre emphasised that graduates from NIFT have a unique professional identity and a set of values and beliefs that will allow them to continue their quest for lifelong learning and distinguish themselves in their chosen paths.
Santosh Tarai, HOD, FMS Department, said, “India needs more ethical fashion managers to make Indian fashion industry more vibrant. Sandeep Kidile, HOD, Textile Design Department, said, “We need to use our cultural ethos transformed as Indian fabric designs. Sobharani Lakra, HOD, FD department, pointed out that the future of Indian fashion industry lies with a more sustainable fashion value chain. Sulagna Saha, HOD, BFTech Department emphasised that students should make our industry floors more organised and efficient so that we remain competitive.
Amit Das, HOD, Fashion Communication said, “There is no dearth of creative pursuit in this country, what we need is to communicate to the world in a more palatable format. This is what NIFT is doing.”
The ceremony closed with Ranjiv Kapur, COO, Triburg, saying “By choosing NIFT you have guaranteed high quality education for your children. In these competitive business environments, education is the strongest instrument against challenging global circumstances.”
Since 2010, when NIFT, Bhubanewar was established, it has today become a leading fashion institution, standing at tenth position in India. This has come with the visionary leadership of the Director General of NIFT, Sarada Muralidharan, IAS along with the Dean of NIFT, Sharmila Dua have been riding on curriculum restructuring and a better industry-academic interface to take the 21st century challenges. Director, NIFT, Jena said, “The state government has also stood by us throughout our journey since 2010.”