Life & Times as a student @ JD!

There is no age bar for applying in this. One can apply for the same after completing HSC. I had two counseling sessions and one practical experience, which was very impressive. Based in my survey of other institutes offering the same course, I was sure of this one. They offered a lot of modules designed for the FD students. I managed to do two more courses with them. Merchandising and styling. Merchandising was 4-6 months course. Styling i did from UAL UK, in 2019 as a part of a tie up between JD and UAL .

I wanted to pursue fashion designing as a career hence i chose ths course. Since i am married i am unable to attend a very long duration course. This FD course in JD provided me with all the aspects of a fashion designer. Faculty is very qualified and are experienced in their fields. They know their craft well. Owing to the pandemic, the college did it's best to complete the curriculum timely. All studies were conducted online regularly. Many online tests and assignments were conducted during the course to assess the proficiency of all students. There were objective online tests held which proved to be quite challenging yet very wholesome in its questioning.

I was offered an internship during my final semester with a US based start up, called "Prince & Neetu" owned by an ex jedian based in Georgia. Thanks to JD, I also interned as a "stylist" for a calender shoot in 2019 with India's top models and designers. I alongwith two other ex jdians handled all garments, assisted behind the scenes during the shoots etc. I also assisted behind the scenes in the "London India Fashion week" in 2020 for their virtual show in collaboration with JD held in Delhi for the first time owing to the Pandemic. Here again, i alonwith another JDian handled all garments designed by an upcoming designer entrepreneur and also assisted the models with their shoots. These shoots provide one with a lot of exposure as a) one gets to examine and note all the fashionable garments, b) One can understand the nuances of the styling that goes on behind the scenes.c) One also gets to understand how to communicate with models and other proffessionals in the industry.

In a one year Diploma course, students are eligible towards the end of the final semester. After all modules are nearly completed and submitted. I was offered an internship with a US based entreprenual start up company. This came via JD Institute. I recieved a monthly stipend of 5000/- INR iniitially. This project is still on even as i submit this review.Nearly all students who are actively interested in internships are provided adequate assistance and opportunities by the Institute. Regularly "Job Opportunities" were posted with numbers, providing all details/ options of what one can apply for and expect to do. Some of these are very interesting and promise a lot of exposure if one can undertake these. Many well known brands require fresh talent, and they are more than willing to give opportunities to freshers. My plans are to do internship with a well known fashion designer so as to get groomed in managing my own enterprise in the future.

I paid 1,60,000/- for my 1 year FD diploma. During that course I paid additional 20,000/- for merchandising degree and I got a wonderful opportunity to do styling degree from UAL, 2nd best design University in the world. That degree was for 1 lakh INR. One gets a lot of exposure when you do these degrees, which can prove very valuable in the course of your career. Lateron I was given a very good internship opportunity by JD with a US based start up company with a stipend equivalent to 5000/- INR. This is currently on. We are also being provided with "Resume Building" sessions, "Portfolio review", "mock interview" sessions. Also valuable inputs like creating social media handlies ie, Linkendin and Instagram are encouraged as mostly all work related opportunities are available online.

Since its a one year course, we had events at regular intervals alongwith the other 3 years course students. Many talk shows by industry pundits proved beneficial. Notable among all these were the ones especially hosted on Instagram live by our JD director Ms.Akshara with various industry celebrities who shared valuable insights on how they were managing during the stressful times during the pandemic, the changes the industry was and is facing and how to handle the same were very insightful and inspiring.