Ph.D programme
The award of Ph.D. degree is in recognition of high academic achievements, independent research and application of knowledge in various areas of Fashion. Creative and productive enquiry is the basic concept underlying the research work. NIFT offers part time Ph.D. in the areas of design, management and technology as applied with broad reference to textiles, fashion, lifestyle and apparel sectors of the industry. The programme is designed for the purpose of creating a body of original knowledge for the use of academia and industry at large.
Programme Structure- The programme has two phases: course work and thesis research. The first phase covers the first two years of course work(compulsory and selected) . Successful completion of the first phase requires passing the comprehensive exam. The student then begins the second phase, i.e. thesis research work.
Areas of Research-Ph.D scholars at NIFT have worked in the areas of Anthropometry and Fit, Product Development, Technology Development, Textiles, Sustainability, Marketing, Human Resource Management, Trend Studies and Craft Studies.
Ph.D. Program was launched in 2009 with 7 students and currently 29 students are pursuing Ph.D from NIFT. Fifteen scholars have been awarded Ph.D till now.
Six students were conferred with the doctoral degree in 2017.Their areas of research were as follows:
| Name of the scholar | Research Title |
|---|---|
| Dr. Monika Gupta | Formulating Contouring Increments for Varied Bust Sizes |
| Dr. Priyanka Gupta | Studies on Bacterial Contamination of White Coats and Design of Uniforms for Hospital Nurses |
| Dr. Jagriti Mishra | Impact of store attributes on consumer buying behaviour in Indian luxury apparel fashion segment |
| Dr. Manoj Tiwari | Size Chart Standardization of Bottom Wear for Indian Male Youth (18-29 YEARS) |
| Dr. Vandana Jaglan | Costuming in Hindi Films (1950-2010) |
| Dr. Vandita Seth | Study of Tangaliya Craft of Saurashtra. A Model for Sustainable Development through Design Intervention |
Research by Faculty
NIFT faculty members are also engaged in innovation of systems and tools for apparel industry and continuously challenging the stereotypes. Some of the innovative researches include 3D printing of machine parts, sizing for baby diaper, self defence wearables, computerised sewing skill evaluation system, to name a few.
Patents
NIFT has applied for patent for Self Defence Wearable, jointly invented by Dr. Noopur Anand and Dr. Deepak Panghal. Dr. Pavan Godiawala has joint patent (with three other inventors from ATIRA, Ahmedabad) to his credit on production monitoring system for sewing machines in a garment manufacturing unit (patent no. 206591). Patent process initiated for computerised Sewing Skill Evaluation System, invented jointly by Dr. Prabir Jana and Dr. Deepak Panghal (with Mr. Dinesh Kumar of Design Innova) and Rotatory type needle change mechanism, invented jointly by Ravi Shekhar, Shubham Tilara (ex-BFTech students) and Dr. Prabir Jana.
Publication
NIFT faculty members are also actively engaged in writing books, chapters in books and research papers in journals. There are more than around 74 papers in journals, 450 articles in commercial magazines/newspapers, 20 books/book chapters and approximately 300 presentations in seminars and conferences by 105 faculty members during last 7 years
Incubation Centres
NIFT has initiated Setting up Creative Design and Business Incubation Centre (CDBIC) for Handloom sector, Karnataka and Incubation Centre in Apparel Manufacturing at Gwalior. To foster innovation and to create an integrated workspace and linkages–based entrepreneurial ecosystem for start-ups culture amongst the alumni and industry.
