Dr. Idris Afzal Shah is an Assistant Professor and IT In-Charge at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Srinagar, where he also coordinates the Foundation Programme. He specializes in computer science, distributed systems, computer networks, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and emerging technologies. He holds a PhD in Distributed Systems and Networking and an M.Tech. in Energy-Aware Cloud Computing Data Centers. With extensive teaching, research, and academic experience, he teaches courses in UI/UX, research methodology, web infrastructure, information design, and AI analytics.

His research interests include Delay Tolerant Networks, Wireless Sensor Networks, CloudIoT security, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, generative AI, the role of AI in fashion and design, and smart IoT textiles. He has completed two funded research projects as Principal Investigator supported by the Ministry of Education and the Department of Science and Technology, including projects on a Security Framework for CloudIoT and Learning Drug Associations Using Convolutional Networks. He has more than 10 publications in reputed SCI/SCIE and Scopus-indexed journals and several international conference publications. He also holds a patent for a Biometric Fingerprint Recognition System with Encryption.

Dr. Shah actively contributes to academic administration, student mentoring, technology integration, outreach, and capacity-building initiatives. He promotes the application of AI and digital technologies in education, fashion, traditional crafts, smart textiles, and societal challenges.