Ms. Susmita Behera is an Associate Professor in the Department of Fashion & Lifestyle Accessory Design (F&LA) at NIFT Bhubaneswar, with extensive experience in fashion design, lifestyle accessories, craft-based design, and design development. A passionate and dedicated design professional, she brings together academic expertise, creativity, industry exposure, and institutional experience in her teaching, mentoring, and professional responsibilities.

A significant milestone in her career was her pivotal role in establishing the F&LA Department at NIFT Bhubaneswar single-handedly in 2012. She nurtured the department from its inception and remained its only designing faculty until 2021, contributing significantly to curriculum delivery, academic development, student mentoring, GP Projects,  placement and design initiatives.

Driven by a deep passion for design, crafts, teaching, and knowledge sharing, Ms. Behera actively promotes experiential learning through workshops, field projects, fashion shows, craft interventions, and community-based initiatives. Through her academic and field-based projects, she has trained and engaged more than 1,000 artisans, supporting skill enhancement, design development, and the contemporary application of traditional crafts.

Her work focuses on preserving and contemporizing traditional crafts while creating innovative, functional, and market-oriented design opportunities. Known for her passion, dedication, discipline, energy, and perseverance, she continues to inspire students, artisans, and colleagues through innovation, mentorship, and sustained contributions to the fashion and craft ecosystem.