Latest DU course teaches the art, and science of making perfume

Pulsating aromas and a wide array of notes, from sweet to spicy and balmy to effluvious, greet one upon stepping into this studio at the heart of Delhi University’s Hindu College. This classroom-like set-up, however, has rows of essential oils instead of books, with students experimenting to recreate or mimic smells of their favourite perfumes.

Step into the Sanganeria Olfactory Studio—a space that resembles a cleanroom but works more like a potions classroom from the popular fiction series Harry Potter.

The studio is the centre of the college’s latest certificate course, “Sustainable perfumery: the art of crafting fragrances and nurturing careers”, introduced under the New Education Policy, 2020. It is the first-of-its-kind course in the country, says Benu Arora, a faculty member associated with the course.

The idea for the course was perceived in 2022 when the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF-2022) was implemented in DU, but it could only be introduced in January 2025. The course lasts 11 months.

“We saw there was a big opportunity in this sector, as there are no such organised courses in the country focusing on how to make perfumes. The implementation, however, took time because once the curriculum was framed, it was sent to experts and our knowledge partners to perfect it,” said Anju Srivastava, principal, Hindu College.

College vice-principal Rina Jain, who is the coordinator for the course, said it teaches students how to ideate new fragrances, create them, bottle them effectively and conduct quality control, alongside market analysis. The course is open to all graduate students who have studied science in their higher secondary class or its equivalent. The first batch has 31 students, ranging from postgraduates to working professionals.

Naren Katta, a 24-year-old gym coach from Jodhpur, Rajasthan, was brimming with excitement alongside his teammates to perfect their newest creation. Offering a bottle of fragrance to his peers, he said, “Our aim today was to create a fragrance that had a cool, minty, marine and fresh feel.”

Katta, however, admits he is not new to the world of fragrances. “My mother has a small skincare business. While making soaps and other things, she would always call me and say ‘kaunsa khusboo acha lag raha hain?’ (which fragrance seems right?). She used to like my insights and eventually, I developed a knack for it. When my mother saw an Instagram post for this course, we both initially thought it was a scam,” Katta said, laughing.

He said his mother intends to sign up for the next batch, which is expected to commence in July or August.

Vice-principal Jain said: “A big selling point of the course is the internships that will be offered to students at April-end. This is a 11-month course, with 13-14 weeks of classes in each semester and an internship sandwiched in between. We have a good number of industry partners... every industry has need for this skill, whether it is perfumery or detergent.” He said that job placements will be figured out as the course progresses.

Jain said that almost 80% of the course fee for each student is sponsored by industry partners, making the course more accessible. The total fees for the course, according to Jain, is ₹1,27,500. However, students are required to pay only ₹27,500.

Students will be periodically evaluated through practicals and assessments, along with an evaluation test at the end of each semester. Small project works given to the students will also be counted in their final evaluation, the vice-principal said.

Some of the knowledge partners of the course, who helped Hindu College perfect and sharpen the course curriculum, are the Sant Sanganeria Foundation for Health and Education (SSFHE), The International Fragrance Association (IFRA), CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), International Society of Perfume-Creators (ISPC) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Their industry partners include Ultra International Limited, Takasago, Givaudan, Robertet, ITC, Norex, Vimal Life Sciences, and Eternis.

Jain said, “There is a gap in the market that we hope to fulfil. However, this is an intense process needing expertise. A master perfumer from the Grasse Institute of Perfumery, France, visited for a week to teach the students.”

The practical sessions focus on teaching students all the processes that go into making perfumes, from extracting essential oils to blending and creating unique fragrances. During HT’s visit last Tuesday, students were seen labouring to extract pure forms of essential oils from rose, lemongrass and cinnamon sticks.

“This is called the hydro distillation process. Initially, students were given synthetic essential oils to use, but now we are also teaching them extraction,” said Arora.

In another corner, a second group of students fought over the quantities of compounds to use in their newest creation. Racks after racks of essential oils were lined up on the table, while a designated person meticulously noted down the exact measurements of the components.

Twenty-three-year-old Shahrukh (who goes by his first name), meanwhile, was scribbling away in an isolated space. “I am writing a research paper that tries to find out what notes are preferable according to age, gender and personality. Amazingly, I have found that your preference actually also changes depending on whether you are an introvert or extrovert,” he said.

“I think this is going to be huge in the sense there is not a lot of market analysis like this. Maybe, industries would be even interested to take a look at it in the future,” Shahrukh said.

Students engage in intense theory and practical sessions as part of the course, for at least three days a week, experimenting with the three perfume notes — top, heart and base.

“The top note is the immediate smell you get when you apply a perfume. This persists for one to two hours. Then the next smell you get is called the heart note, which persists for five to six hours. The base note is very interesting, and it comes out after several hours of wearing a perfume. That can sometimes persist throughout the day,” a faculty member said.

This interdisciplinary course, promising an avenue into entrepreneurship, has already started attracting a lot of attention, Jain said.

Some even dream of carrying on their family legacy, with more scientific knowledge to infuse into their art.

Hilal Khan is one such student from Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh. “My family has a business of creating perfumes. I want to learn more, so I can take the business to newer levels,” he said, describing a chance to create a new fragrance in a lab as a “dream come true”.