Smt. Jyotsna Dalal has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Educhoice Women – Leaders in Academia Awards 2025. As the driving force behind JD Institute of Fashion Technology, Smt. Dalal has shaped the lives of countless students, fostering creativity, leadership, and independence. Under her guidance, JD Institute has evolved where students discover their voice, break boundaries, and gear up for the actual world of design.
Education with Heart and Purpose
Smt. Dalal’s education philosophy is rooted in a profound belief that learning isn’t just about theoretical knowledge but the uncovering of who you are as an individual. For her, design education is about developing creativity and challenging each student to develop their voice. As she is often quoted, “Design education needs to be more than technical proficiency; it needs to be about discovering the student’s voice and providing them the freedom to articulate it.”
This ideology is seen in JD Institute functions—students are taught to design, think creatively and explore their imagination. Smt. Dalal’s style of education has empowered numerous women to have faith in themselves, to think differently from the norms, and to perceive education as a means to express themselves and bring about change.
Breaking Barriers, Making Education Accessible
One of the best things about Smt. Dalal’s work towards making education accessible to all, irrespective of their economic conditions. She created several scholarship schemes in JD Institute to make sure that economic limitations are not a hurdle in the way of a student’s aspirations. These scholarships, particularly for women, have allowed numerous young girls to follow their passion for designing without financial constraints. Her dream for JD Institute is inclusion, where every student gets to fulfill their potential and leave their mark on the world.
Smt. Dalal also advocates how women are excellent at multitasking, running a home and also building a career. She identifies this talent as an important component of leadership that enables women to excel in their homes as well as their workplaces. Her own life is a perfect illustration of this. As a mother, an entrepreneur, and a mentor, Smt. Dalal has a touch for balancing several roles at once. It’s a talent she has imparted to her students as well, inspiring them to command their lives, deal with stress, and lead with confidence. “Leadership is in the everyday, seemingly little things, from running a household to running an institute, and it’s here that women learn the most significant leadership skills,” she adds.
Smt. Dalal is also a supporter of women’s health and wellbeing, knowing that success in life and business comes from having a healthy body and mind. At JD Institute, she instilled programs around mental health education, breast cancer, and menstrual health. She has made a culture that empowers both students and staff to take charge of their health, be it physical or mental. In a society where women are more often encouraged to put others before themselves, Smt. Dalal’s effort makes us remember that women can flourish in our private and public lives only if we first tend to ourselves.
The Lifetime Achievement Award by Educhoice Women- Leaders in Academia Awards 2025 is a tribute to Smt. Jyotsna Dalal’s incredible efforts and dedication. Her vision has turned JD Institute of Fashion Technology into a creative hub where students are inspired to break barriers and think out of the box. With her vision, Smt. Dalal has demonstrated that women’s leadership begins in education, and that design is more than making things beautiful—giving people the power to create and influence the world. Her legacy of inclusivity, mentorship, and empowerment will be a source of inspiration for generations of students to follow.
