Dr. Ashish Chandra is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Leather Design at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Raebareli, where he also serves as the Regional Industry Coordinator (RIC). In this capacity, he actively fosters industry–academia collaboration, facilitates consultancy and sponsored projects, and strengthens partnerships with leading organizations to enhance experiential learning and student employability. He holds a Ph.D. with research focused on optimizing production operations and waste management in the footwear industry, reflecting his commitment to sustainable manufacturing practices and operational excellence. His academic and professional interests span footwear, leather goods, fashion accessories, luxury branding, and product innovation. With over 16 years of combined experience in industry and academia, Dr. Chandra possesses extensive expertise in footwear manufacturing, leather products, merchandising, sourcing, and product development. Prior to joining NIFT Raebareli in 2021, he held key positions across the fashion and leather sectors, contributing to fashion product merchandising, softlines and hard goods merchandising, footwear production operations, and strategic sourcing.