India’s AI first Design Institute, Pearl Academy, Celebrates the Next Generation of Creative and Business Leaders with Portfolio Showcase 2026

New Delhi, Apr 17:  Pearl Academy hosted Portfolio 2026, its flagship annual graduation showcase, across two campuses in the capital, Rajouri Garden, West Campus and Pearl Academy School of Business, South Campus. The two-day event brought together graduating students alongside industry leaders, global luxury brands, and top recruiters, celebrating the future of design, fashion, business, and creative entrepreneurship.

Positioned as a culmination of student portfolios and industry engagement, the showcase transformed both campuses into interactive exhibition spaces, with live runway presentations, immersive installations, and AI-integrated projects offering a first-hand view of how design, business, and technology are converging in real-world applications.

At the Rajouri Garden campus, graduating students across Product Design, Fashion Design, Fashion Communication & Styling, Textile Design, Interior Design, Communication Design, UI/UX, and Game Design unveiled projects that blended bold creativity with real-world impact.

The showcase also reflected strong industry demand for new-age skills, particularly in areas such as communication design, UI/UX, extended reality, and emerging media. With up to 99% placement rate and offers reaching up to ₹26 LPA so far, the Communication Design programme continues to see strong traction, driven by rising demand for skills in digital interfaces, content ecosystems, and experience design. Recruiters and senior leaders from, Aditya Birla Group, Reliance Group, Lamborghini and leading fashion and lifestyle brands, engaged with students through portfolio reviews, feedback sessions, and hiring conversations.

Industry stalwarts, including  Rina Dhaka and distinguished Pearl alumni Liz Paul Mandira Wirk and Pawan Sachdeva, were present.

Aditi Srivastava, President, Pearl Academy, said “Portfolio 2026 is more than a showcase, it is the most defining moment of a student's journey with us. It is where years of learning, unlearning, and creative courage come together in one powerful expression. What excites me most is the quality of professionals we see walking out of these halls, designers who can lead boardroom conversations, business thinkers who understand craft, and innovators who are equally at home in a studio and a global marketplace. At Pearl Academy, nurturing complete professionals isn't an aspiration; it's our promise.”

Amod Vijayvargiya, Director, Pearl Academy School of Business, added, “The creative economy today demands professionals who understand both creativity and business. Portfolio Showcase is where this intersection becomes visible, students present their ideas, strategies and solutions to industry, inviting real-world feedback and constructive critique. It is as much a learning platform as it is a validation moment. With AI increasingly shaping how businesses operate, the portfolios this year reflect how students are thinking about scale, efficiency and innovation. For many, this marks the beginning of their professional journey.”

Simultaneously, at Pearl Academy School of Business in Delhi South, entrepreneurship and industry dialogue took centre stage with The Creative Business Conclave 2026, which focused on the evolving landscape of the creative economy and how business, technology, and innovation are shaping the future of creative industries. High-impact panel sessions explored the future of luxury, media and entertainment, sustainability, and AI in business, drawing senior leaders from global brands including Victoria Secret, Hero Motors, Arvind Fashion and Stanley Communications among others. Spot offers were received by Ferrari, Dior, and Burberry, Maruti Suzuki,  Lenskart, Jimmy Choo among others.

Pearl Academy’s collaboration with OpenAI was evident across disciplines, with students presenting AI-integrated portfolios that underscored the institution’s belief in AI as a collaborator rather than a replacement for creative thinking. The work spanned a diverse range from smart home systems and gesture-based creative tools to children’s literacy apps and AI-powered historical avatars, highlighting how emerging talent is applying AI in meaningful, real-world contexts, blending creativity, technology, and human-centred design.

Further strengthening this future-forward approach, the Pearl School of Business recently onboarded international faculty from Paris and London, reinforcing its positioning as an AI-first business school with a strong global outlook.

Aligned with India’s AVGC policy push, Pearl Academy has introduced an M.Des in Game Design & Extended Reality, positioning itself among the few design institutes in Delhi to offer this future-focused programme. Further strengthening its design portfolio, Pearl Academy also announced the launch of a B.Des in Product Design with a specialisation in Jewellery Design at its Jaipur campus, an initiative aimed at reinterpreting traditional craftsmanship through a contemporary lens.

Across both campuses, these developments reinforce Pearl Academy’s philosophy of nurturing complete professionals, creative thinkers who are as adept in boardrooms as they are in studios, and equally attuned to global opportunities and India’s rich craft heritage.