Pearl Academy

History

Starting with a campus in Okhla in South Delhi, the academy later moved to a larger campus in Naraina, in the West of the city.

Expansion saw new campuses being added in Jaipur (2005) and Mumbai (2014). The Jaipur centre moved to a new custom design-and-build campus in 2008, after which a new campus in Noida opened in 2012.

In 2011 Pearl entered into a long term partnership with Laureate International Universities, and it is now part of the LIU global network which includes more than 80 institutions around the world.

In 2012 the institute's name was changed to Pearl Academy, in recognition of the growing number of courses in design and business.

The academy now has over 3000 students, more than 200 full-time faculty, and around 70 part-time faculty. A large number of guest faculty are also actively involved in teaching and serving on juries for assessment of projects.

Campuses

As of February 2016 the institution has four centres in India: Delhi NCR West, the academy's oldest campus, located at Naraina; Delhi NCR East which is located in Noida sector 59;Pearl Academy Jaipur, located at Kukas; and the newest campus in Mumbai located in Andheri.

The Jaipur campus is designed by architects Morphogenesis and completed in 2008. The design uses traditional cooling methods found in the desert environment of Rajasthan, such as a step-well in the centre and the use of Jali-inspired structures. It won the award for 'Best Learning Building' at the World Architecture Festival awards held in Barcelona, Spain in 2009. The Jaipur campus of Pearl Academy recently hosted the Jaipur Design Carnival. Jaipur Design Carnival was conceived as a designers’ festival to celebrate the power of design. Many creative practitioners from diverse fields design participated in the event. There were panel discussions, fashion show, live music, workshops and display of arte facts. The event was organized by the faculty and students of Pearl Academy Jaipur and the workshops were conducted by students of Pearl Jaipur.

The latest campus (Mumbai) was officially launched on 16 April 2014 by Sussanne Khan, noted Interior Designer and founder of design studio 'The Charcoal Project', who announced her support for students of the academy by way of Scholarships.

Academics

The Academy has the following School - School of Fashion, Styling & Textiles, School of Design and School of Creative Business.

Qualifications offered include BA (Hons), MA, Diploma, Postgraduate Diploma, and Professional Diploma.

Apart from the flagship BA (Hons) in Fashion Design, notable courses include Interior Product Design and Luxury Brand Management, both among the first in India for these subjects. Additionally, the institute has recently launched a new School of Media & Journalism. Below are the pathways Pearl Academy offers:-

International Partners

Pearl Academy has partnered with over 20 international institutes for exchanges of students and faculty, including Domus and NABA in Milan, Italy; BTK in Berlin, Germany; Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Northumbria University, Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, and Ravensbourne College in the UK; Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles, USA; Bunka University, Tokyo, Japan; and Donghua University, China.

As part of the Laureate International Universities network, Pearl Academy is one of Laureate’s Centers of Excellence in Art, Architecture and Design, a network which also includes Media Design School, New Zealand; Santa Fe University of Art and Design in New Mexico, USA; NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego, USA; Universidade Anhembi Morumbi in Brazil; Universidad del Valle de México; as well as Domus Academy and NABA in Milan, Italy.

Pearl Academy has been admitted as a full member of Cumulus, the International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media. It is only the fourth Indian college to be given Cumulus membership.

International collaborations take the form of student and faculty exchanges, guest workshops, and joint research projects.

Student life

Plan Clan

Student activities are managed by a student body called Plan Clan, which consists of student volunteers and nominees, who are guided by faculty members. The students enroll themselves in any of the following: • Cultural Club • Dramatics and Literary Club • Music and Performing arts Club • Movie Club • Adventure and Sports Club

Portfolio

Each year, the graduating students showcase their final project at the Academy arranged event called “Portfolio”. This event is counted proudly among all the prestigious fashion events. Dignitaries from government and business and families of students form the audience of this showcasing event. Industry and media spot budding talent. Television Channels interview the achievers who are conferred the academic awards. Few of the awards are tited - : • Most innovative collection • Most wearable collection • Most Avant-garde collection • Best design collection • Special jury award

At this forum, students pursuing business courses are given a platform to present their final research projects to the business community in a professional setting. Recipients of “Innovative Research Award”, “Outstanding Research Award”, and “Practical Research Award” make formal presentations and address queries raised by industry members. All students have a chance to exhibit their work as posters and to interact with industry visitors.

Pearl Utsav

“Pearl Utsav” is a fest organized annually by students to serve as a platform for demonstrating talent in music, drama, dance and other performing arts.