National Institute of Fashion Technology celebrates 39 years of excellence

New Delhi [India], January 20 :Celebrating a remarkable journey of creativity, education, and innovation, National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) marks its 39th Foundation Day with pride and reflection. Anupam Jain, Director, NIFT Delhi Campus, said on Friday that the 39th Foundation Day is not just a commemoration but a reaffirmation of our commitment to shaping the future of fashion education.
Speaking with ANI, Anupam Jain, Director, NIFT Delhi Campus, said, "It's, I think a very important event for us. When I say us, I'm talking about all the NIFT employees, our students and our alumni. So, we really feel emotional about it and very passionate about the event because it's like celebrating the birthday of a child in the family. So everybody's very excited. And it is also the remembrance of where we started, who were the people who were given that responsibility when it was initiated, and you know, what all they contributed, so most of them who were there never thought that NIFT would grow as big as it is today'.
Speaking about how NIFT started, Jain said, "We started with a very humble, you know, small campus offering a two-year diploma program from a small Samrat hotel in Chanakyapuri, Delhi, after intervention from the Ministry of Textiles. And today, we have 18 campuses across the country. full-fledged campuses offering graduation program, four-year graduation program, a two-year master's program and, of course, PhD programs".
"We have also done a lot of research projects for the private sector as well as the government of India. We have also contributed to sustainability. And sustainability has become, I think, a very key factor for our education system. So we have been teaching, you know, green design and green fashion to our students for many, many years now. And even in the future, we are also adopting the new technologies that are coming because, you know, otherwise we will be obsolete. So our students are very keen on accepting new technologies; our faculty are trained on them all the time, and new researchers are included in them. They also contribute to research. We already have a good name internationally; we have around 22 to 30 MOUs with international universities and institutes across the world and we are hoping for more," Jain added.
He said that NIFT had already established a fashion industry that wasn't very popular.
"So the word fashion and now everybody knows, I think that is our big achievement. fashion doesn't mean you know something just visually appealing; it also means, you know, giving everybody a chance to express themselves the way they want within certain parameters, you know, on occasion based on. so we will like to take this forward and we will also, you know, through design and fashion education, like to contribute in areas like sustainability and self-reliance. So we are also getting a lot of, you know, by this we're also creating a lot of opportunities for young people. There are a lot of jobs. many of our graduates have become entrepreneurs. so they are also generating employment through our graduates. So that would be, I think, a big thing that we'll look into," he said.
Speaking on what efforts NIFT is making to inspire youth, he said, "We have been doing a lot of exhibitions; we do kind of road shows, you know, and of course fashion shows people know about. We also go to schools and do a lot of counseling or faculty or staff visit and tell them about the importance of fashion education. it's a new area, not so new but still, you know, people think that okay, they are, you know, others; this is not as important. Many people think, So we tell them that you know how this has contributed to the country as well as the industry of textiles and garments.".