Interview by Bhawna Rawat

Mr. Pramod Adhikari

Mr. Pramod Adhikari is currently working as the Chief Academic Mentor of JD Institute of Fashion Technology. He is also serving as the Co-Founder & Principal Consultant at Ideaworx Associates and as the Principal Business Consultant at Trendzsporting Company. He is an eminent member and a mentor for JD Institute of Fashion Technology. He represents the dynamic industry. He has worked with various apparel and fashion houses. Being a NIFT alumnus, he served as a Category Head at Madura Garments, Group Design Manager at Madura Garments, Design & Product Manager, Consultant & Partner at Oorja Trading, to name a few. He is one of the most sought-after consultants in the manufacturing and product development industry.

Experience in the education sector

I have been associated with -Education industry since I moved out of NIFT, as an external faculty & jury member for the last 20 years. Working in the industry & at the same time contributing to the education sector was my choice due to my passion for knowledge sharing.

For me, the feeling of satisfaction that one gets on sharing one’s knowledge & industry experience with the next generation makes the education sector the best to work in. This also keeps you constantly connected to the “generation next”. So, we can understand the changes occurring in our social environment & this helps us to always be a relevant contributor to this society.

The philosophy of leadership adopted by the Chief Academic Mentor, JD Institute of Fashion Technology

As a leader, one should keep a watch on positive dynamism cultivating around.

I believe in an "Inclusive approach” which means to value & respect every single idea or suggestion

which is proposed for the improvement of our organisation.

Any different & relevant idea coming from the lowest ranks indicates towards the emerging trend in an organisation & as a good leader one should acknowledge it. This helps us to work towards the growth & development of our people & organisation.

Keeping our education standards constantly relevant our industry  while adapting to the sustainable design philosophy

Fashion as an industry is the most dynamic in nature.  It is influenced by the social changes happening around us. Any social disruption leads to an emergence of a new fashion trend.

Our students should be enabled well to constantly observe & absorb the ever-evolving trends & design sustainable products.

Reasons for the sudden increase in the number of students pursuing design as their career

Strong emergence of industry in India - be it either fashion, interiors, products used in everyday life etc. The Indian aesthetics are in great demand across the globe - be it fashion, music, cuisine, Bollywood or be it any traditional Indian art.

This demand has given immense opportunity to students for exploring alternate careers instead of traditional ones. Fashion one of them !!

To start a fashion enterprise is also a good option today 

The growth of students through placement opportunities available at JDIFT

We train the students at JD keeping the Indian & Global fashion industry in perspective. The effort is to prepare them & enable them to excel in any department of the fashion industry. At JD, we have been motivating students to become "fashion entrepreneurs”. JD Incubation Cell mentors them in "Ideation to Execution” process. Apart from all the current batches, it’s open for JD Alumnus also.

JD academic cell has been closely working with the industry for students internships & training. Most of these internship projects are curated with collaboration with the industry to train our students. The companies get to incubate new projects for their growth & provides a purposeful experience to the students.

The additional pedagogy offered in JDIFT’s curriculum

Apart from regular we provide the students with lots of content coming directly from the Industry experts. It is in the form of Talk Shows, Curated Projects, Trade Fair Visits, Site visits, Educational Tours to the textile & fashion centres.

The students are also offered specialised courses with overseas universities under a knowledge exchange programme. These programmes help the students learn the global aspects of the industry. JD has collaboration with few of the leading fashion institutes around the world in order to have globally relevant fashion education.

An ideal school environment for design students

A dynamic & interactive environment for the design students can be an ideal environment which lets them have their creative exchanges.

The top qualities that an aspiring Designer must possess

  • Honesty in creative thinking.
  • Perseverance to realise their dreams.
  • Effective communication skills & presentation.

Goals for the Institute for the next few years

To become a global centre of excellence in Art & Design.

Suggestions for the current youth and the aspiring students

Always design products for a purpose. Develop a signature style.