Prof Radha Kashyap has been working as the Head of Fashion and Textiles Department at IIS, Jaipur, Rajasthan. She has an amazing experience of 20+ years in the teaching field. She did her Masters in Clothing and Textiles from Punjab University and was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Rajasthan. Her specialization is in Traditional Textiles, Sustainability, Consumer Behavior and Product Development. She has supervised the research work in the area of Apparel and Textiles for awarding PhDs to a number of students. She has also published 50+ research papers in several national and international journals and has authored the book Clothing Behaviour: Psychological Analysis, in addition to contributing for several chapters in books written by other authors. She has conducted numerous research projects with University Grant Commission and Rajasthan Government: Science and Technology. She is a member of the Board of Studies and the Committee of Courses for a number of courses. She has organized many national level seminars and conferences. She is a member of the Home Science Association of India, Textile Association of India, Indian Science Congress, and is also a chartered member of the Rotary Club Jaipur Madhugandha. 

IIS University

Being the Head of Fashion & Textile Department, what are your responsibilities towards the students?

"To take care of students academic needs, manage departmental activities and supervise faculty" 

Being the Head of Department, I am accountable to supervise the smooth functioning of the Department and ensure that classes are conducted regularly. And I also need to take care of the fact that the curriculum is updated on a regular basis in line with industrial expectations and needs and students receive all kinds of facilities be it labs equipment, software or library resources. Overall my main aim remains that I am easily approachable by students of our department and give them a conducive environment for learning.

How do you establish healthy relations with the students and fellow faculty?

"Transparent communication environment is must to have a cordial relationship with others"

I believe that in order to build good relationships with faculty and students, a compassionate approach is required where their queries are heard properly and they get resolutions of their issues on time. Hence, I never miss a chance to interact with them outside classrooms through events like exhibitions, fairs, industrial tours and exchanging notes thereafter. 

How do you bring in a practical and industry oriented approach towards subjects?

"By conducting experiments, professional visits for students and assigning them projects"

We supplement theoretical knowledge of students with more and more experiments from time to time. As we believe in learning by doing, students are regularly taken for industrial visits and demonstrations are organized on campus regarding the latest technology. Students are also motivated to take up industry oriented/craft development projects as it will help them to build their skills and develop expertise in a particular subject. Lastly, internship training is organized by our department to bridge the gap between academics and industry.

How do you strategize and update the curriculum to make it befitting for the students?

"We regularly take feedback from industry experts and faculties while updating the curriculum"

We keep ourselves updated with the latest happenings of the industrial world and accordingly necessary changes are made in our curriculum on an annual basis after rigorous discussion with our Academicians and Industry experts.

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What are your views on the placements and higher education of students from your department?

"We provide every kind of trainings to them for both placements and higher studies"

Throughout their respective courses, we provide multiple kinds of training to our students to prepare them for the corporate world by inculcating necessary skills and grooming their personalities. Apart from inculcating entrepreneurial and communication skills, we also teach them about illustration skills, technical drawing, pattern making and draping. As a result, our students have achieved many milestones and are placed with well renowned designers and brands and few of them have cracked competitive exams too for higher education. 

How do you prepare your students to cope with this competitive world?

"By involving them in most of the college activities and conducting training whenever required"

We keep updating our curriculum in line with our students' needs and industry demands. Next we have various kinds of co-curricular activities for the holistic development of the students. In addition to all this, specific training programs are also arranged for them as and when required to inculcate best design skills and communication skills in them so that they can confidently conquer the difficulties of the outside world. 

Which extracurricular activities are organized in college to enhance the skills of students?

"Interaction sessions with designers and industry professionals along fashion shows competitions"

We regularly conduct extracurricular activities in the Department. And students are encouraged to participate in various competitions and fashion shows as it will help them in sharpening their skills with hands-on experience in design and marketing. Visits and interactions with designers and industry experts are organized by our college where students learn the business of fashion and lastly a platform for multi-layered communication is provided to them through events like Exhibitions, Seminars and Conferences. 

What challenges are you facing to uplift the education quality of your department?

"Shifting students focus from online to offline education mode is a hurdle for us"

Being one of the most creative subjects that evolve over time, the field of fashion designing requires constant touch with the latest developments of the field. And the biggest challenge for us currently is to keep our students abreast with the latest trends, styles and innovative technology. Due to covid and online teaching-learning, students have become techno-savvy with the result and they don't want to work manually. 

What approaches do you use apart from the curriculum to teach the students?

"We regularly organize demonstration sessions and workshops for them"

In order to make the subject interesting, we use approaches such as Fashion styling for understanding the latest styles and for experimenting with various fabrics and textures. Interactions with craftsmen to understand the tools and techniques of the craft along with live demonstrations and workshops are organized on a regular basis to make students understand the concept, technology and development in the field.

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Any valuable advice which you would like to give to the students to have a prosperous career ahead?

"Gather new skills and build network with brightest minds of this field"

As we all know, the field of Fashion Design offers a lot of career growth opportunities. So I would like to advise my students to improve their communication skills and other core areas so that they can look for solutions to some real world issues. Also make a very strong portfolio of your skills to clearly demonstrate your abilities, versatility and creativity. Apart from all these, build connections with people who are already part of the fashion industry as it will open new doors of learning and success for you.