Founder & Director, ARCH College of Design & Business
Vice President, CUMULUS Executive Board (2022–2025)
Archana Surana is a Design Educator, Creative Entrepreneur, Mentor, and Social Entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in design education. As the Founder & Director of ARCH College of Design & Business, Jaipur, she has led a 25-year legacy of building innovative pathways in design, business, and research, preparing future-ready creative professionals through national and international programmes.
She is re elected & served as Vice President of the CUMULUS Executive Board (2022–2028), representing India and the Global South, and chaired the global working groups on Women in Design and Fashion & Textiles. A TEDx speaker and international thought leader, she has delivered keynote addresses worldwide, including at Xiamen University, China.
Archana is the visionary behind initiatives such as the International Student Talent Camp, Fashion Colloquium, and Design Culture – Pink City Design Confluence, fostering design-led innovation, sustainability, and global collaboration.
She serves on leading academic and industry bodies, including the CBSE Skills Committee, University of Rajasthan Committee of Courses, CII National Committee on Design, TiE Rajasthan, and FICCI FLO. She also represents ARCH on international platforms including CUMULUS, IFFTI, and WDO, and national bodies such as FDCI, IIID, IGBC, CII, FLO, TPF, and TiE Rajasthan.
Committed to nurturing creative entrepreneurship, she founded the Women Mentors Forum (WMF), mentoring over 1,500 women entrepreneurs, and established the HUBIN Design Business Incubator at ARCH to support student-led innovation and startups.
A US State Department and Rotary Foundation Alumnus, Vital Voices Lead Fellow, and Fortune Mentee, Archana has received several honours for her contributions to design education, entrepreneurship, and social impact, including the YUVA ICON Award presented by former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.