National Institute of Fashion Technology, Bhopal

ADDRESS
NIFT Campus, Raja Bhoj University,
Chuna Bhatti, Kolar Road,
Bhopal – 462042,
Madhya Pradesh,
http://www.nift.ac.in

 

Picture – Nikhil Srivastava

To be in a fashion College is way different from any other college you will ever study in. It may seem like it’s all about partying your heart and sometimes your liver out, Girls in short skirts and high heels fluttering their wings all around the campus. Let’s cut to the chase, Life in a Fashion College is much more than that.

Along with all the blooming glitters there are submissions, deadlines, stationary (A lot of it), Gossips, Group Projects, Collections, Designing, Execution, Budgets,  Fashion Shows, Chemistry, Geometry (Hard to believe right). But all of this is worth it. Worth investing your time and energy. Wonder why.?

I will tell you why?

It’s NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology)

It’s one of the most prestigious institutes to get admission in.

It provides one of the best infrastructure in terms of  Knowledge and Experimentation. i.e. The Resource Centre, Laboratories and Design  Studios.

The freedom to explore as a designer is the most while you are still in NIFT which somehow descends when you further work in Industry.

NIFT trains you to be a deadline achiever. No matter what apocalypse you go through nothing holds a position above deadlines.

It brings out the rational yet creative and commercially viable person out of you and your designs.

If you belong to LGBT, well nothing could be better than this.

NIFT is like a downscale edition of the real world every student will eventually face, thus making you a bold, strong individual.

One interesting aspect about NIFT is its Student-Faculty Relationship. Your mentors are also your friends and you can actually discuss anything and everything with them. In a nutshell faculties are like Lord Varys (Game of Thrones), they do have their little birds.

Since Its a Government Institute, Management skills needs to be worked upon.

If you belong from general quota, well All the best for your entrance exams.

So Basically, It’s one of the best institutes to study in. It make mature enough to hold your own and cool enough to have fun at the same time.

 

Campus

One of the best thing about NIFT Bhopal  is the campus. The campus is compact yet pretty. Although the present campus is rented, yet it has won hearts. It is serene beautiful and not to forget 4-5 degrees cooler than rest of the city. The heart of the campus lies in the ‘BRIDGE’. This is one place NIFT Bhopal is famous for. The ‘Bridge’ has so many stories to tell. Everything happens in this very place.

Bridge – Ananya Khare

 

All the emotional burst of love, new ideas, creative discussions happen mostly at “The Bridge”.

The infrastructure even though is small, comprises of every facility required. The Studios are well designed (of course), air conditioned and decently furnished. The classrooms and studios are designed taking care the need of a design student. The whole campus is WIFI enabled. So yes your laptops come handy in every corner of the campus.

The Resource Centre AKA library is one of the most amazing place to spend your time. Oh, the books they have, Shoes, Bags, Apparels, Knitting, Textile Science, Tattoos, Designers, Trends, History, Photography, Artists and so on. There is everything you would like to read stocked in the library . It’s a paradise for every reader.

There are 5 Labs :

a) Weaving lab
b) Surface Design lab
c) General Workshop
d) Leather lab
e) CAD lab

All the labs are well equipped with few of the best machinery including jacquard, Dobby, Zuki, Handlooms, Laser cutting Machine, 3D printer, Digital Printing, Vacoms, Jewelry lathe turning machine, Sand Blasting Machine, Knitting Machine, Embroidery Machine and so on.

The campus also includes Basketball, Volley ball, Kho Kho and Badminton court.

 

 FACULTY AND ACADEMICS

The syllabus is not really flexible. There are defined majors and minors for every semester which are defined by grade points for subjects. Class timings are officially 9am to 5:30 pm which are quite flexible, specially the morning sessions. Sometimes they end up starting at 10 am.

The college is  stern regarding attendance. 75% is a compulsion otherwise the repercussions are the real deal. They won’t settle for anything other than semester back (I Know Right).  The academic structure is usually tight with weekly submissions forcing student to be always uptight and scheduled with their work.

NIFT focuses on practical learning rather than theory, hence most of the subjects and curriculum deals with practical approach. Every semester there are only 1-2 theory subjects.Relative Grading is followed by the institute which I believe is a practical approach making the environment competitive. The Final exams are all about juries. And folks this is the most awaited time of the semester. The juries are fun once you cross the amateur level of college life which usually last only till your first year. So the basic concept of jury is that all the work that you have done in the whole semester in that specific subject is displayed (and the displays are to die for, visual merchandising and marketing at its best) and a jury panel judges you on that basis.

As I have mentioned earlier the faculties are your friends and best mentors you can have. They are friendly, helpful and always approachable during and even after college timings.

 

CAMPUS LIFE

Life in campus and Life  in the city are like two different dimensions. Since Bhopal is 2 tier city, the happening college life is restricted only to the campus. Campus life is adequate enough for anyone to have fun. We here at NIFT find our own ways to have fun and make our life interesting. Every day here is new and you can literally make the most out of it. Every college party is a bliss. It is pure heaven. I won’t be bragging if I say it feels like a red carpet party.

The Night Life in college might turnout to be a bit disappointing, since the campus is rented there are few rules which the college is really strict about, like you can not be in the campus after 10. But the actual nightlife starts once you move out of hostel. Late night drives, House parties, there is everything in stock. NIFT Bhopal is also coming up with it’s new campus located in Bhauri which is near Airport, Once the campus will hit the road, hostel will be provided to everyone and obviously changing the campus lifestyle for all the good reasons.

Since it is a National Institute, the crowd is diverse from every corner of the country. The senior junior relationship is beautiful. If you are new to this place at first go no one can distinguish a senior or a junior amongst a group of students. Though we still like to maintain a professional environment by designating Sir and Ma’am.

 

HOSTEL

Hostel Room – Ananya Khare

The campus includes just one hostel solely for girls. There are no hostel for boys. The on campus hostel is available only to the first year. There is no hostel service after your first year. The rooms varies on the quantity of students one room can occupy. There are single, double and triple sharing rooms available in the hostel. The rooms come with beds, almirah, table, chair, two tube lights, fans and the hostel is WiFi enabled.

Every two room has a living area of its own. And there is also a common room with television., refrigerator and all the other amenities. You must be wondering  what happens after the first year.! Well nearby societies namely New Friends Colony, Amaltas Phase, Bhoomika Residency, Chunabhatti etc have facilities. One easily gets rental options around these places. Also the rest of the students always help find places for juniors.

 

MESS

The food quality is average. I would say it is edible. Since the crowd is diverse, the menu covers cuisines from all around the country. At the starting of every semester mess committee is formed including the students by the management for the students. They decide the menu for every week considering the budget of the mess. Every month the mess hosts a feast which surprisingly offers tasty food.

Meals are provided 4 times a day; breakfast, Lunch, Snacks and Dinner. Most of the college students whether in hostel or not prefers mess food. Thus making mess the most happening place in college. Apart from the mess there is a canteen which provides a little treat to your taste buds. And even if that does not makes you happy, you have options around the city. The most famous and loved is “Sagar Gaire”. Even if you have holes in your pocket, this place will always be your savior. Their sandwich, pasta and cold coffee are to die for. Two people can easily have their meal under 300. And if it’s the starting month, you know when your pockets are full, you can go to TDS (Ten Downing Street). They have their afternoon happy hours where two people can fulfill themselves under 1000 including beer, YAY!

And yes when you are in a mood to eat but not to eat, and may be stroll around, confusing right..? Well yeah that’s the thing about moods, Bhopal does have a place for your fickle mind: Shahpura Lake and it’s chowpatty. A perfect place to spend your evening.

 

STUDENT AND CO CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

The college has clubs regarding the co-curricular activities. The various clubs include Music, Dance, Hindi Drama, English Drama, Hindi Press, English Press, Creative Activities, Mime, Photography, and Poetry Clubs, English Language Activities Society, and Hindi Activities Society.

A number of fests are organized by the college namely, SPECTRUM (annual fest), which includes sports, literary, cultural activities.

 

Picture – Aishwarya Malhotra

The cherry on the cake is the SPECTRUM Fashion Show which steals everyones heart and praises,  CONVERGE (Inter NIFT fest), is held every year at any of the NIFT, which acts as a host for all the other NIFTs. This is one of the biggest fests of the college. The fests are completely managed by the students with a faculty coordinator to keep a check on institute norms.

And oh boy..! This is one thing every student should attend once in their life. Every single thought you ever come up with regarding a design school will turn into reality while these two fests. From Avant Garde to pop culture everything is right in front of your eyes. The fashion shows are worth watching. Oh the adrenaline rush you get during these fests. This is the time when you understand the meaning of being alive in all the sense. And not only this, these fests will give you hangovers (By all good means) which will lasts for months and you will desperately wait for the next fest to come again.

 Of course, you are excited. Well you should be. NIFT has the power of doing this to people, to enchant them. NIFT is one live example of how Brand image functions. And well a word of advice, whoever is planning to get through NIFT make sure you really want to do this. This is where your passion lies, because only your creativity and wit will take you ahead.

And never forget you have to be ODD to be number ONE.

 TRANSPORTATION

Nearest Airport – Raja Bhoj Airport, 23 Kms

Nearest Railway Station – Habibganj and Bhopal Main Station, 6 kms and 15 kms respectively.

IN A NUTSHELL

Location: 5/5 (everything nearby, market place, Shahpura lake, Kaliyasot dam)

Nightlife:2 /5 (considering Bhopal, Not much of nightlife)

On Campus Madness: 5/5

Strictness on Campus: 4/5

On Campus Housing: 3/5

Overall Crowd: 4/5 (1 boy for every 7 girls)

Party Scene: 4/5

~ By 
Ananya Khare,
National Institute of Fashion Technology, Bhopal

What do you guys think? Please leave comments so I can make edits to the blog and incorporate everyone’s view!