Associate Professor Tarun Panwar
Details
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Department: Fashion & Textiles
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Campus: Brunswick Australia
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tarun.panwar@rmit.edu.au
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ORCID:
0000-0002-6980-7326
Open to
- Masters Research or PhD student supervision
- Industry Projects
- Collaborative projects
- Join a web conference as a panellist or speaker
- Membership of an advisory committee
- Mentoring (short-term)
About
Associate Professor Tarun Panwar is Associate Dean, Fashion Enterprise & Technology, in the School of Fashion & Textiles at RMIT University. He is multiple award‑winning academic leader, honoured with national and international recognition for outstanding contributions to teaching and academic excellence. With over 30 years’ experience in fashion and textiles, he is renowned for pioneering sustainable innovation in global fashion education and for advancing Fashion Enterprise through impactful research, curriculum development and deep industry partnerships.
Tarun leads RMIT’s enterprise‑ and sustainability‑focused fashion portfolio, including the Bachelor of Fashion Enterprise, the Bachelor of Fashion Sustainability and the Master of Fashion (Entrepreneurship). He has conceived, designed and delivered globally recognised, innovative and award‑winning programs that shape the future of fashion enterprise education in Australia and internationally. Internationally acknowledged for new program designs and his research into sustainable fashion value chains, business models and pedagogy, A/Prof. Panwar’s thought leadership has influenced best practice across the sector, particularly through his focus on sustainability, circularity and transformative pedagogy in fashion supply chains, fashion marketing and industry‑partnered learning.
Tarun has received multiple prestigious teaching and engagement awards recognising his leadership and sustained commitment to student learning and industry‑partnered education. His research and scholarly work have been widely disseminated through peer‑reviewed and invited international forums, including 12 invited presentations at the global leading annual conferences of the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes (IFFTI), helping to shape contemporary thinking in fashion enterprise, sustainability and circular fashion value chains.
Awards
- 2025 – Winner – RMIT University: Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence
- 2025 – 4th Place – Global Triple E Awards: SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Impact Award
- 2023 – Winner -Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT): National Teaching Award – Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
- 2022 – Winner – RMIT University: Teaching Award for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning – Industry Partnered Learning
- 2022 – Finalist – Australian Financial Review Higher Education Awards: Teaching & Learning Excellence Award
- 2020- Winner -RMIT School of Fashion & Textiles Award for Learning & Teaching – Contemporary Industry Practices – Integrating Industry in Teaching & Learning Practice
Research fields
- 330315 Textile and fashion design
- 390199 Curriculum and pedagogy not elsewhere classified
- 330314 Sustainable design
UN sustainable development goals
- 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
- 4 Quality Education
Supervisor projects
- Enhancing Social Sustainability through Aligned Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategies in the Circular Economy
- 21 Nov 2024
- RECYCLING OF CLOTHING AND HOME TEXTILES HOW SUSTAINABLE IS THIS APPROACH TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE REUSE AND CONSUMPTION OF TEXTILES?
- 21 Nov 2023
- A Study of Vertical Integration Trend in Textile and Garment Industry in Vietnam
- 1 Dec 2022
- An Empirical Investigation of the Antecedents and Outcomes of the Customer Experience for Consumers Purchasing Fashion Products from Social Commerce Platforms in China
- 21 Aug 2019
- Consumers’ Purchasing Intentions for Environmentally Sustainable Fashion in Saudi Arabia
- 3 Jul 2017
Research interests
Fashion Enterprise, Sustainable Fashion Supply Chains, Fashion Marketing & Consumer behaviour, Curriculum Deasign, Innovative Pedagogy, Learning & Teaching
