A Faculty Development Programme (FDP) on Textile Design under the ATAL Academy programme is being organized at Amity University. Experts from leading institutes from across the country & senior industry members will be present to share their knowledge with the participants in the third edition of the FDP programme.
Ms. Divya Chauhan, Chairperson ASFT, ASFA, ASPA averred that there is nothing more than learning in life and the presence of participants from across the nation showcases their eagerness to learn. She added that while Covid has changed several things, what has not changed is the willingness to learn. She advised the participants to enrich their knowledge through the FDP. She stated that there is a lot of future in design, textile & fashion and how the country is moving ahead in this field.
Prof. (Dr.) Balvinder Shukla, Vice-Chancellor, AUUP shared that the Indian economy is dependent on the textile designing industry & trade. She averred that designs & trends keep changing in the textile industry and there is a need for constant innovation to meet customer demand. She shared that this FDP would cover a wide array of subjects in the field of Textile Design and benefit the participants in increasing their knowledge base & enable their professional development.
Guest of Honour Prof. (Dr.) S M Ishtiaque, Emeritus Professor, Department of Textile Eng., Indian Institute of Technology Delhi added that good teaching will come from good teachers & the survival of teaching will depend upon research. He stated that textile plays an integral role in life. He averred that the functional & comfort aspect of fabric cannot be forgotten while designing and that can only come through understanding the basics of raw material, yarn, thread etc. He further called for exploring how knitted fabric can be used to bring the cost down & taking the Indian products like saree & designs to the European markets.
Guest of Honour Mr. Ram Sareen, Chairman and Founder Tukatech Los Angeles, CA U.S.A in his address stated that the foundation of any society is educational institutions & if handled right, they can produce gems for the industry that can make a difference. He shared that change is constant, growth is optional. He asked students to do things that make their institution's name shine and stressed the need for constant evaluation and up-gradation of the curriculum to suit the market requirements. He stated that the fashion industry needs to focus on the present markets trends & requirements to gather pace. Mr. Sareen also stressed the importance of Big Data & the use of technology to make businesses grow as shown by the growth of the on-demand manufacturing model.
Prof (Dr.) Pradeep Joshi, Director General, Amity Directorate of Applied Arts / Fine Arts /Performing Arts / Visual Arts, AUUP welcomed the gathering and shared that textile is the necessity of mankind & design is the key differentiator between textiles. He talked of the varied and rich craft, cultural heritage in the country & the need for creating innovative designs to catch the attention of the buyer. He stated that there is a need to communicate to the weavers the customer needs & demands to create products that have a wider buyer base.
The five-day programme will have sessions on ‘Intersection of design, craft and culture’; ‘Functional and Experimental Textile Design’; ‘Role of CAD in Handloom sector’; ‘Revival of Indian Textile Craft’; ‘Design Management in textiles’ and ‘Importance of Textile materials in Design’ among others. More than 100 participants from institutions across the country is part of this 5-day long training programme.