A Sneak-Peek Into The Creative Corridors Of Pearl Academy

2020 can be considered a watershed year for the education sector. The pandemic has nudged and pushed the education ecosystem to be ingenious, embrace technology and pole vault towards a holistic, learner-centric approach. This year, after a long wait of almost three and half decades, National Education Policy has been introduced and it puts the much-deserved focus on creativity, design thinking, innovation and 21st-century skills. The rise of the creative economy is imminent and with it the demand for professionally-skilled talent for existing and upcoming roles. However, as global businesses and economies are re-setting themselves to adapt to the post-COVID world, education organizations and industries cannot have a cookie-cutter approach to prepare the workforce.

Pearl Academy is India’s leading creative education institution as per industry bodies and knowledge platforms like ASSOCHAM and Business of Fashion. The institute offers 40+ under-graduate, post-graduate and professional development programs in design, fashion, business and media through its campuses in Delhi-South, Delhi-West, Jaipur, Mumbai and Bangalore. For 28 years, Pearl Academy has been a catalyst for success for its students through its unique pedagogy, constructive tie-ups with industry bodies and international universities that is strongly reflected in our placement record of over 99 % year-on-year.

Despite 2020 proving to be a difficult year for the education sector Pearl Academy has steered ahead with its student-centric approach and innovative solutions. “The pandemic has posed several serious challenges for educational organizations- be it the continuity of the academic cycle or the quality of teaching and engagement in the virtual mode. However, it has also created an opportunity to re-think and re-invent the entire teaching and learning process. In a short span of six months, we not only transitioned to a complete virtual campus but implemented a unique immersive-creative-learning-framework, developed highly engaging pre-semester learning modules and have now equipped our students to set up their home studios”, says Nandita Abraham, President, Pearl Academy. Some of the key initiatives taken by the institute are:

• Home studio kits: Pearl Academy developed and sent over 2,300 customized kits so that students can set up mini-studios in their homes. These kits vary as per the program and curriculum requirements to include Wacom tablets, sewing machines, fashion mannequins/ mini-dress forms, drafting boards, hand-knitting devices, block-printing kits, Arduino kits, software stacks, sketching kits and softwares.   Besides this, students have access to full Adobe Creative Suite, Business of Fashion, Coursera, WGSN and digital library to supplement the classroom lectures.

• Immersive online learning: Besides virtual classes and assessments, the institute created knowledge-development modules that were taught on social platforms like Instagram. The students loved it. It also partnered with an international platform for designers- Arts Thread- so that the students can showcase their work to the global fraternity. It set up more than 150 virtual jury boards that shared an industry perspective on their projects and mentored them on a regular basis.

• Participation in India’s first phygital fashion show by FDCI: Pearl Academy students got the exclusive opportunity to experience and participate in India’s first-ever phygital fashion week by Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) and presented their collaborated work, viewed by thousands. Such platforms provide them with the much-needed industry exposure and prepare them to work in tandem with the changing realities.

• We Care: Pearl Academy runs a holistic program called ‘We Care’ for the physical, mental, emotional, and financial well-being of its students. A 24x7 counselling helpline has been made available to them to address and alleviate issues related to stress or anxiety. The institute has offered flexible fee payment options to all the students so that they don’t feel unnecessarily burdened. Close to 100 students whose families have been worst hit by COVID-19 have been given special scholarships.

• Excellence in E-learning: Pearl Academy is the only creative education institute to get a perfect score of 150/150 for e-learning and is QS I.Gauge E-Lead certified. Besides this, Pearl Academy faculty members are trained and certified in virtual teaching from the University of California.

• Safe campuses: The institute has received Bureau Veritas safeguard certification for safe & secure campuses during COVID-19