Developing digital skills: a fashion business masterclass in virtual 3D prototyping with Style3D

ABSTRACT

This research investigated the potential of a short industry-facilitated masterclass in virtual product development to inform future curriculum development and teaching and learning approaches within the context of Higher Education. An action research approach was adopted with fashion business student participants (n = 22). A pre-class survey, field notes, discussions, and reflections during the four-day masterclass provided data for the study. This study actively engaged student participants to inform curriculum development to advance the digital transformation of the industry. The fashion business students reported the experience as helpful to understand the potential of 3D or ‘virtual’ technologies within more sustainable product development processes, and to understand their roles as fashion marketing and/or management professionals within the emerging Design/Present/Sell/Produce-model. This study contributes to the literature on how to advance digital skills in higher education.

KEYWORDS:

• 3D technology
• digital skills
• masterclass
• virtual prototyping
• Style3D

1. Introduction

The ever-changing fashion business and textile manufacturing landscape is being continually augmented by technology. In the late 1990s, three-dimensional (3D) virtual prototyping technology was introduced to the fashion industry as a tentative solution to reduce product development lead times and physical material waste (Lee, 2022). Within the past ten years, driven by increasing competition, e-commerce market growth and accelerated production windows, fashion organisations have been rapidly investing in 3D technology to aid the production processes, eliminate inefficiencies and streamli`1ne supply chains (Choi, 2022; Hodges, Watchravesringkan, Min, Lee, & Seo, 2020). In addition, investment in 3D digital product creation is becoming an attractive and viable business opportunity for retailers (Kalypso, 2020). 3D technology has the potential to support greener and leaner business practices (Sayem, 2021) and potentially break down internal organisational silo behaviour which impedes communication between designers, merchandisers, manufacturers, marketers, and data teams (Särmäkari, 2023). However, despite increasing demands for 3D prototyping technology in the fashion industry (Hodges et al., 2020), fashion organisations are aware that the adoption and realisation of value from technology can be challenging amid advanced digital skill shortages. With virtual technologies becoming the standard in the fashion industry, it is expected that graduates of fashion programmes will possess the necessary skills to effectively utilise these technologies to optimise efficiency, reduce costs and waste.

The aim of this research was to work with an industry partner (Style 3D) in a teaching-focused University-Industry collaboration (UIC) to provide a short practical masterclass to evaluate the usability of 3D virtual product prototype development and to assess the value of this type of skill building for fashion business students. Whilst traditionally it is not common practice for non-design students to create fashion products in analogue form, in an accelerated market environment in which speed to market is crucial, the fashion industry’s readiness for a virtual future will be dependent on the convergence of separate fashion processes into one cross-functional business model (Choi, 2022). The advancements in 3D software have created opportunities to digitise and virtualise traditional fashion processes and environments (Särmäkari, 2023). 3D Prototyping has transformed how the global fashion industry communicates, designs, samples, and produces and retails apparel. Fashion organisations, adapting to the ‘new normal’ with end-to-end digital product development, communication, virtual retail, marketing, and management, will require greater digital skillsets from all stakeholders within the business value chain (Lee, 2022).

The industry-facilitated masterclass aimed to provide a learning opportunity for students to develop new 3D virtual prototyping skills, while promoting an in-depth understanding of the effective management of digital technologies in contemporary fashion product development and its role in creating products of commercial value. This masterclass was outside of the delivered curricula of a UK higher education institute (HEI) and extended the digital product creation learning experience to fashion business students. As future stakeholders and decision makers students need to understand the potential of 3D software technologies within more sustainable product development processes. Digital technologies now interconnect operational functions throughout the fashion value chain and fashion products can also be viewed as experimental virtual garments and animated fashion experiences (Särmäkari, 2023) thereby disrupting the traditional Design/Make/Sell-model with the Design/Present/Sell/Produce-model. The study aimed to assess the usability (ease of learning, efficiency, and satisfaction of use) of 3D virtual prototyping software for students during the masterclass, and to evaluate the value of this type of learning experience for fashion business students.

This intervention acknowledges the pressure on universities to respond to industry needs and thereby improve employment outcomes of graduates with specific work-relevant skills and competencies (Clarke, 2018) whilst balancing the costs that such hardware and software entail (Papachristou, Kyratsis, & Bilalis, 2019). As technology continues to advance, the practices in the fashion business also evolve, leading to concerns about a skills gap within the workforce. This situation puts pressure on higher education institutions to bridge these gaps, supporting the industry and ensuring the employability of graduates (Picatoste, Pérez-Ortiz, & Ruesga-Benito, 2018). However, graduates need more than technical proficiency with virtual technologies. This study recognises that as adoption scales, industry practices will evolve requiring an understanding of the potential of new technologies as an enabler of change by all stakeholders. This study adds to the limited pedagogical research in this field exploring the advantages and possible obstacles of incorporating 3D technologies into the fashion design and merchandising curriculum (Hodges et al., 2020; Starkey et al., 2020). This study aimed to provide fashion business students with an insight into the processes of creating and managing digital assets through the value chain. This study actively engaged student participants to inform curriculum development towards the advancement of the digital transformation of the industry and offers valuable pedagogical insights to facilitate the integration of virtual prototyping technologies into the fashion business curriculum. By doing so, it promotes interdisciplinary practices and enhances comprehension of the capabilities of 3D software technologies.

2. Literature review

2.1. 3D virtual prototyping technology

Computer-aided design (CAD) was a pioneering digital technology with adoption in the clothing industry dating back to the 1990s and upgraded 3D virtual prototyping systems have the potential to make the fashion industry more sustainable and leaner (Papahristou & Bilalis, 2016; Sayem, 2021) as these 3D CAD programmes reduce the number of physical prototypes, enable rapid virtual adjustments with supply chain partners that reduce costs and material waste (McKinsey, 2022). However, the technology is not yet well embraced by the industry (Sayem, 2021) with working practices and tools being found to need to adapt to Industry 4.0 (Wang & Ha-Brookshire, 2018). Virtualisation is a major component of the transition towards the ‘smart factory’ concept within Fashion 4.0 (Bertola & Teunissen, 2018). Digital product creation was a technology success story of the pandemic era where existing investment supported ongoing operations, pilot investments were rapidly scaled, and further investment has followed. Digital product development and 3D product design were top investment areas identified in market research indicating a significant increase in expected future maturity (Kalypso, 2020). The lack of trained staff is a barrier of Industry 4.0 adoption and implementation in the textile and clothing industry (Majumdar, Garg, & Jain, 2021). To tackle this challenge, higher education fashion institutions should establish closer collaborations with the industry to explore methods of incorporating the digital tools used in the industry into the curriculum.

2.2. About 3D virtual CAD systems

Digital prototypes are now frequently used as an essential tool to streamline the design and production of fashion apparel. However, although digital design and e-prototyping can yield greater sustainability and efficiencies within the fashion industry (Sayem, 2022), but the practice in industry is not yet fully mature (Tepe & Koohnavard, 2022). The following 3D systems are the best-known commercial 3D solutions available (in alphabetical order) Accumark3D (Gerber) CLO3D, Modaris 3D (Lectra), Optitex3D, Style3D, V-Stitcher (Browzwear), Tukatech (Papachristou & Anastassiu, 2022). Digital product creation (DPC) is an umbrella term that captures everything from material digitisation and 3D pattern simulation to the use of 3D assets in eCommerce and other customer-facing experiences. Typical applications within these systems are digital textile and fashion design, pattern generation to custom-design clothing, fitting evaluation, style editing, and virtual try-on. Each application contributes to increased design concept evaluations and closer collaboration with the supply chain without the need for physical samples. To date, practice has yet to fully integrate 3D product creation into broader enterprise technology ecosystems to enable connectivity between 3D design assets with supporting data to manufacturing and sales. Digital twins, virtual fashion shows and retail spaces in the Metaverse, all represent exciting new potential business models for virtual fashion products. The Metaverse has emerged as a holistic next step in the development of the internet, interweaving the digital and physical worlds into one seamless reality and enabling interactive exchanges to happen within a spatial 3D digital environment, thereby altering the intrinsic and inherent value of physical fashion goods (Ryan, 2020). In a post Covid-19 pandemic fashion and textile ecosystem, the need for complete digital conversion is imperative for long term business viability (McKinsey, 2022). Fashion is transforming at such an accelerated pace that taught components in academia are struggling to adapt quickly and adopt new technical competencies within set curriculums (Clarke, 2018). In today’s hyper-digitalised fashion environment there is a significant knowledge and skills gap. Although fashion schools are now adding digital courses to their curriculum, further consideration of how to embrace software skills and diversify fashion provision is required (Bain, 2022).

2.3. Curriculum development in HE

In the realm of fashion education, institutions are adapting their programmes to meet the exigencies of a swiftly transforming industry that necessitates graduates to possess a diverse repertoire of competencies which transcends the immediate confines of core proficiencies. There are increasing demands for curriculum expansion and redesign to maintain the currency of fashion education programmes, including the rate of introduction of new knowledge, Industry 4.0, sustainability, decolonisation, inclusivity and interdisciplinarity. This can lead to ad hoc curriculum development without a clear agreed agenda. Developing curricula is an important and complex task of balancing the theoretical, conceptual (academic rigour) and practical elements (industrial relevance) (Guile, 2010). A way forward in fashion curriculum development is offered by the thematic curriculum redesign work of Brandewie and Kim (2019) who established four core pillars: sustainability, interdisciplinary design research, technology, and practice as foundations to build upon. Such thematic units can then provide the focal point for a ‘big ideas’ curriculum (Taguma & Barrera, 2019) and coherence in associated core concepts, principles, theories, and processes. The planned curriculum can then be made relevant to specific contexts and expressed in the form of intended learning outcomes of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values in unit specifications. While fashion-specific proficiencies serve to furnish students with foundational knowledge, the inclusion of generic skills concurrently complements and amplifies the professional expertise of fashion students. Notably, generic skills such as creative and innovative thinking empower fashion students to challenge conventional boundaries, explore nascent aesthetics, and forge distinctive design and marketing concepts that resonate with discerning consumers (Vijayalakshmi & Kanchana, 2020). By situating generic skills within the context of the fashion domain, academic institutions adeptly equip students for careers that extend beyond mere technical mastery. Graduates, thus endowed with a combination of discipline-specific and generic competencies, have a heightened preparedness to negotiate the intricacies of the fashion industry, engender informed decision-making, and contribute substantively to its sustainable and pioneering advancement (Oraison, Konjarski, & Howe, 2019). The delivered curriculum can therefore be contextualised through interdisciplinary collaboration with industry to create transformative learning experiences, whilst also supporting staff development (Muukkonen et al., 2020).

2.4. Bridging the gap through teaching focused UIC

Teaching focused University-Industry collaborations (UIC) offer the opportunity to develop better employability competencies particularly those that are industry specific through cooperation for curriculum development, training of staff and students, (Borah, Malik, & Massini, 2021) and co-creation of learning activities and assessment tasks (Orr & Shreeve, 2018). There are various tools and strategies associated with this type of teaching-focused collaboration; typical examples include workplace internships and placements, office tours, guest lectures, membership of advisory boards, and live assessment briefs. This type of interaction typically benefits all involved: students, instructors, and apparel industry professionals but requires a considerable time investment (Borah et al., 2021), appropriate consideration of how active learning is experienced in multicultural learning environments (Riebe, Sibson, Roepen, & Meakins, 2013) and clear alignment to academic studies (Pantzos, Gumaelius, Buckley, & Pears, 2022). Some reticence to engage in this type of activity may result from when scholarship activities are not valued as highly as academic research in terms of recognition for promotion (Borah et al., 2021). Equally, whilst it is important to acknowledge the growing importance of digital technologies in business and society, the curricula within higher education must achieve longevity and conceptual depth rather than technical proficiency. A too narrow focus on industry needs may result in an over-emphasis of technical proficiency rather than the broader educational needs of students. Given technology does not fill knowledge gaps (King, McKim, Raven, & Pauley, 2019), educators must emphasise pedagogic considerations to design learning activities and create an environment for people to develop knowledge through interaction with others and designed activities. The deliberate coupling of theory and practice is supportive of a longer-term perspective beyond technical proficiency (Wheelahan, 2012). Despite these caveats, industry collaboration can result in new learning experiences that may offer the opportunity to personalise learning and achieve an alignment of the curriculum with business needs (Plewa, Galán-Muros, & Davey, 2015) that align well with the post-pandemic blended learning approach. Self-study resources developed in collaboration with industry offer the opportunity for students to personalise their learning and access it flexibly.

3. Methodology

Action research is a form of qualitative research to solve an immediate problem in practice; it is motivated by a desire to effect a change for the better in a certain context and to understand why this is an improvement rather than to generate knowledge in a detached way. Action research offers an alternative approach to ‘bottom-up’ change through collaborative relationships (Somekh, 2007); it is also a pervasive approach in pedagogical and curriculum theory research. The masterclass evolved from post-event discussions about DPC and changing industry practice with the industry guest speakers at an event organised at the university. This teaching focused UIC provided an opportunity to investigate this issue by the rapid development of a learning experience to explore and evaluate virtual prototyping between students, educators, and industry. The industry-facilitated masterclass represents a cycle of action with integrated evaluation and reflection rather than a full evaluation of 3D fashion software. The four-day masterclass equipped students (n = 22) with sufficient understanding and competence with the 3D design software to modify a block pattern. During the interactive masterclass, the participants, with minimal technical expertise, used Style3D virtual modelling software for the process of 2D-to-3D design, product visualisation, simulation, and marketing of virtual fashion products. The method workflow consisted of three main steps where students worked collaboratively to 1. Select and amend a fabric, 2. Modify a T-shirt block pattern, 3. Select and modify a 3D avatar for product rendering and virtual catwalk of the masterclass garments and 4. (optional) Investigate the potential of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT). Academic staff supported the masterclass by answering questions, prompting connections and encouraging discussions. A pre-class survey, field notes, discussions, and reflections during the four-day masterclass provided data for the study. The five-part survey (table 1) adopted the characteristics of ‘meaningful interaction’ (Wang & Knobloch, 2018) to organise the sections of the survey; section four was informed by the Framework for twenty-first Century Learning (P21 framework) which has been applied in higher education literature to investigate digital skills requirements (Kivunja, 2015; Wang & Ha-Brookshire, 2018). With regard to ethical considerations, the research aims and objectives of the study were explained in detail to participants. No personally identifiable information was collected. The research data was collected and stored according to both Universities’ ethical policies and data management plans. The findings are presented without participant names to preserve anonymity.

Table 1. The focus and purpose of the five-part survey.

Section	Focus	Purpose
1	Content and practice of digital fashion	To assess the students base understanding and experience of the topic
2	Technology as an integrator	To assess the base knowledge of the technologies associated with the digital transformation of the industry
3	Digital product creation (process or product)	To assess the extent of previous experience with digital product creation (DPC) or DPC processes
4	twenty-first century skills	To assess level of skills using 4Cs – creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication from P21 framework
5	Problem solving in an authentic context	To assess the level of prior work experiences and level of engagement with industry news / innovations

The participants responded to an open call to join the 4-day non-credit bearing masterclass to be held after the summer examination period in June. Style3D endorsed a digital certificate of participation in the masterclass to evidence development of virtual product development skills. This type of micro-credential can be used to demonstrate skills to employers (Varadarajan, Koh, & Daniel, 2023). Due to the timing, the masterclass participants were expected to be predominantly students on postgraduate taught programmes (PGT) but the event cohort was quite balanced over undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate with 9 UG (two first years, six second years and one final year) 12 PGT students, 1 PhD student. There was one home student and 21 international students. Most students had limited practical experience in pattern making or garment construction; one PGT and one PhD had prior garment technology experience. All students were non-design students but had basic CAD skills of Adobe Photoshop and InDesign.

Teaching new and emerging technologies represents a change to teaching and learning curricular. The theoretical framework of Rogers’ diffusion of innovation theory has been employed to investigate the adoption of technology in higher education and educational environments (King et al., 2019). The masterclass recognised that ideas spread from innovators and early adopters and so deliberately focussed on this group to capture their experiences and recommendations to inform subsequent curriculum development to scale to reach the majority of students in later implementation stages.

The participants were classed as innovators and early adopters having exhibited a high level of agency in responding promptly to the call for participants and their commitment to undertake a four-day non-credit bearing masterclass.

4. Findings

4.1. Starting points of participants

Students were keen to expand their knowledge with an opportunity to gain applied industry knowledge and insight into emerging industry practice to enhance their future employability. All students said they would look for future opportunities to develop 3D skills. The qualitative responses given as their reasons for participation are summarised in Table 2.

Table 2. Student rationale for participation.

Theme	Student rationale for participation
Employability in the future	‘The potential jobs in [the] future would need it’. ‘It’s the future focus of the industry. So, I want to equip myself with this skill’. ‘This is a new trend and who wouldn't want an additional industry-related skill?’
Emerging topic of the Metaverse	‘Taken an interest in metaverse technologies and virtual clothing and would like to develop skills in 3D design’. ‘Meta-Universe and 3D technology are often mentioned in industry news, and there is a lack of talent in related work’.
Expand fashion knowledge	‘I want to learn more about fashion’. ‘I’m openminded and I want to learn more about what I don’t know. Also, this technology has massive potential in the future’. ‘I will know more knowledge about fashion industry’.
Practical Knowledge supplementing theoretical knowledge	‘It will support my theoretical understanding with an understanding of industry practice’. ‘This is my topic of dissertation’. ‘My dissertation is in the area of virtual products’.

Insights were sought from the participants into how this topic could be expanded to other students. The qualitative responses given as the reasons that other students would be interested in this topic (Table 3) also included enhancing their future employability but also the novelty and potential of DPC and an opportunity to be creative and gain an appreciation of the design role.

Table 3. Student views on interest in learning virtual product development software.

Theme	Rationale why other students would be interested
Novelty	‘It is an innovation in the fashion industry’. ‘3D will be a big trend in the future and will be used in many industries’. ‘It’s a new field’. ‘Want to learn something new’.
Skill development	‘It has a lot of potential and will be a vital skill in the future’. ‘I think students will be interested in this topic because digital skills are essential to thrive in the field’. ‘Digital skills are needed in the latest fashion market’. ‘It would impress the potential employer’. ‘It can improve employability’.
Creative expression	‘3D virtual design tools can be interactive and fun’. ‘It is helpful to express themselves’. ‘Opportunity to develop design skills’.

4.2. Technology as an enabler

Students were asked to list three ways in which 3D product creation could advance industry practice. The qualitative responses were across the following three thematic areas: business process improvement (BPI), sustainability and new applications/opportunities. Given these are fashion business students the first two themes are not particularly surprising but do demonstrate that a connection to wider industry practices had been made. Advanced future thinking through the suggestion of virtual testing is noteworthy given digital twins are not well established in fashion practice or the curriculum; equally, the removal of creative limits in the Metaverse to ‘create without the limitations of time and space’ rather than simply recreating current reality virtually. Table 4.

Table 4. Student understanding of how 3D product creation could advance industry practice.

Theme	Rationale why other students would be interested
Business process improvement (both in production and marketing management)	‘Being more effective, saving money, saving time’. ‘Minimise production costs, more efficient and decrease errors/failures in products’. ‘Connect with social media platforms, [virtual] runway, promotion e.g. magazine’.
Sustainability	‘Reduction in waste is clearly connected to concerns to save resources’. ‘Efficient and sustainable design’. ‘Remove unnecessary waste and thereby contribute to environmental concerns’.
New applications/opportunities to advance current practice	‘Game, NFT, exhibition’. ‘Create without the limitations of time and space’. ‘Possibility for made to measure’. ‘Virtual testing, analysis, and simulation of digital models’. ‘Predicting the performance of products’.

4.3. Creation of digital product

Although the students had a generally good level of theoretical knowledge of digital technologies, their practical knowledge before the masterclass was low. The masterclass proved to be highly effective, enabling all students to successfully modify the T-shirt pattern within just three training sessions. Additionally, students were able to utilise online resources to develop various other pattern templates. In comparison to Adobe Creative Cloud software, students expressed that they found the 3D software much easier to learn. This resulted in a strong sense of accomplishment and a feeling of significant progress in a relatively short period. The students estimated that they could attain mastery in using the software within two to four weeks of further self-study. However, efforts to animate their designs on avatars encountered a setback due to the inadequate graphics card or specifications of the computers being used, preventing the rendering of the animation. This highlights the critical need for compatibility between the 3D software and the technical infrastructure, including the graphics cards, to fully realise the potential of the software and enable the seamless execution of complex tasks such as rendering animations. Figure 1.

Figure 1. Digital output adapted from student’s top using basic t-shirt and skirt block.

4.4. On teaching and learning the topic of 3D virtual product creation

4.4.1. Benefits of learning 3D virtual prototyping

Student responses were categorised thematically into five main benefits: holism, business process improvement (BPI), understanding the means of production, the opportunity to be creative and use design tools and developing confidence in skills for competitive job markets and are summarised in Table 5 with an exemplar quote for each theme.

Table 5. Themed student responses of learning benefits.

Benefit	Exemplar quote
Holism	‘Understand the process of design and production, whilst also helping them to understand the potential these technologies hold for the future’
Business Process Improvement	‘Understand the business in a new way and be innovative’
The means of production	‘Enhance their supply chain knowledge and under standing of industry practice’
Design skills for non-designers	‘To be creative and help them visualise their fashion idea in a digital way’
Broader skills	‘To know more and get more confidence to promote their related skills and be competitive in the market’

4.4.2. Student recommendations for teaching 3D virtual prototyping

During the masterclass the complexities of balancing academic concepts and practical elements and curriculum overload during curriculum development were frequently discussed with the student participants. They provided insight and recommendations. They proposed the creation of a structured mixed media resource bank to help students work through different tasks and situations to understand the topic whilst developing their skills. They were open to a blended self-study approach to the topic appreciating that this provides flexibility, but they recognised this required self-management, motivation, and tenacity. The need to explicitly emphasise self-directed learning and interdependent learning as important skills for future work in the highly dynamic and collaborative fashion industry was highlighted. They suggested a proficiency test or qualifying task before each new level with the opportunity to gain ‘level badges’ (micro-credentials) at each milestone. The students enjoyed ‘learning by doing’, collaboration and experimentation. Some students commented that some of the practical details and technical terms of fashion design, pattern construction and apparel making were difficult to understand or recall for those without practical experience in these areas. The students were able to help each other and enjoyed learning more about these topics but highlighted that these knowledge gaps needed to be addressed in the planned resources with clear links to the taught content of the curriculum and provide students with opportunities to excel in assessed tasks. They highlighted that they would appreciate support with arrangements to work interdependently in small groups and regular ‘drop-in’ sessions for help. Finally, they commented that the subject of 3D product creation should be presented as an advanced topic and the opportunity to join an industry-facilitated masterclass (following completion of proficiency tests) was seen as a highly motivating incentive to engage with self-study.

In summary, students saw many advantages in participating in this non-credit-bearing masterclass and made rapid progress and were able to evidence their new skills with digital assets and a certificate of participation. They reported that the masterclass helped to make connections between existing knowledge and ideas, but further support in the area of garment and pattern construction was needed. This provides an opportunity for educators to revitalise interest and appreciation of the topics of pattern creation and raw materials by leveraging the interest in new technologies. Their ideas and insights into teaching and learning made a vital contribution to the planning of the next stage of the project.

5. Discussion

The masterclass with Style3D provided an opportunity to explore the integration of virtual prototyping in the fashion business curriculum and investigate its teaching and learning benefits. It served as a model for how other digital technologies could be rapidly evaluated through collaboration with the industry, leading to the creation of innovative learning experiences. Conducting a short masterclass before implementing longer-term curriculum changes allowed educators to gain valuable insights and access to resources.

Through collaborative discussions with industry partners, academic colleagues, and students, important perspectives were gathered. The student participants played a significant role in identifying ways to combine existing best practices with relevant pedagogy, address learning and motivational barriers, and develop approaches and incentives to scale the integration of virtual prototyping to a broader range of students. Recognising that graduates become decision-makers in the industry, these educational experiences are crucial in preparing them as change agents and shaping their approach and vision for working with innovative technologies.

An introduction to the topic and three classes totalling approximately nine hours of experimentation were sufficient for non-design students to select and adapt fabrics and patterns in 2D/3D environments. This allowed consumer-facing marketing and management students to make connections to the supply chain and raw materials, reinforcing the importance of a broad knowledge base in fashion and textiles. In line with Di Lodovico (2019), student participants were free to experiment as the masterclass was non-credit bearing and the software was available for 30 days after the class. Alongside the development of essential digital skills, discussions of how technology can optimise existing fashion design processes, and support the move towards a more inclusive, sustainable, and interactive fashion ecosystem were encouraged. The practical application of 3D modelling techniques facilitated the understanding of non-design fashion business students regarding the potential of digital technologies.

University-Industry Collaborations within the context of fashion business education can bring various benefits, such as industry relevance, real-world applications, and enhanced employability for students. However, there are potential challenges to consider from a pedagogical perspective. One challenge is the potential misalignment between the academic goals and the industry's needs and priorities (Oraison et al., 2019). The focus on immediate industry demands may overshadow the broader educational objectives, limiting the exploration of theoretical concepts and critical thinking skills (Sellars et al., 2018) Additionally, the fast-paced nature of industry collaborations may lead to a prioritisation of practical skills over deep conceptual understanding (Joynes, Rossignoli, & Fenyiwa Amonoo-Kuofi, 2019). There is also a risk of overemphasis on short-term outcomes, such as employability, at the expense of fostering lifelong learning and holistic development. Maintaining a balance between industry relevance and academic rigour, ensuring clear learning objectives, and providing adequate support for students’ critical reflection and contextualisation of their experiences are crucial to mitigate these potential pitfalls and maximise the educational value of university-industry collaborations. In addition, whilst the masterclass enabled the more rapid evaluation of the compatibility between innovative digital technologies and the educational imperative, the presence of inadequate IT systems within the institution hinders compatibility with the industry’s advancing digital technologies. Experiential challenges served as a point of reflection for improvement in subsequent iterations. Solutions to the challenges (Table 6) included conducting a full onsite IT test to address processing capacity and graphics card specifications, providing a pre-class orientation exercise for familiarisation, and creating a resource bank of garment technology and pattern construction terms to enhance foundational knowledge.

Table 6. Summary of solutions to challenges that emerged during the masterclass.

Solution to emerging challenges	Purpose
A full onsite IT test of processing capacity and specification of the graphics cards	Pre-test allows time to resolve any issues in functionality
Pre-class orientation exercise	Provides familiarisation with keyboard shortcuts, technical terms, and online help resources
Resource bank of garment technology and pattern construction terms	This foundational knowledge allows students to focus on developing the tactic skills

The next stage will build on this foundation with further student participation and evaluation following the approval of a business case to support formalising the partnership. As part of a summer internship, three students will review, evaluate, and curate the digital resources from the external partner to produce an online multi-level self-study resource with accompanying certificates (micro-credentials). The next stage will also address the IT limitations to enable full rendering of animated avatars and experimentation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). A multi-level self-study resource with accompanying certificates (micro-credentials) from the external partner is planned. Although the advanced user interface supported rapid progress with the technology, this emerging technical proficiency needs to relate to the core curriculum to ensure the potential and role of technology is understood as an enabler of strategic and operational change. The idea of the technology pillar (Brandewie & Kim, 2019) as a ‘big idea’ has been useful to explore how to align the software with the curriculum. Curriculum development in this regard will require concurrent staff development to effectively integrate the software with the curriculum.

6. Conclusion

This article reviewed a UIC masterclass as a mechanism to leverage industry support to provide a learning experience of new digital technologies specifically those of virtual product development. Rogers’ diffusion tool has been applied to underpin this study. This educational intervention led to important teaching and learning insights. By engaging student participants, educators were able to rapidly evaluate the new digital technologies, specifically virtual product development, and assess their learning benefits. This evaluation process allowed educators to make informed decisions about further curriculum development. The UIC masterclass emerged as a powerful mechanism for curriculum development, enabling the rapid integration of innovative technologies into the educational framework to enable the development of a curriculum more concurrent with industry needs.

Although the findings of this study are based on qualitative and interpretative data, they offer valuable insights and serve as a source of encouragement for future endeavours. While the results cannot be generalised beyond the sample used in the study, the theoretical saturation of responses indicates a comprehensive understanding of the topic. This encourages further exploration and development in this area. To build upon the success of the UIC masterclass, formalising the educational partnership between academia and industry becomes crucial. This formalisation will allow for more extensive testing and scaling of the approach, particularly in exploring virtual prototyping with non-design students. Additionally, future educational research should aim to better understand the barriers that later adopters may face in adopting these technologies. Cultural preferences in terms of teaching and learning tools should also be investigated, and efforts made to incentivise participation.

Overall, the UIC masterclass serves as an example of action learning, where real-world industry collaboration is integrated into the educational setting. This approach not only enhances students’ learning experiences but also prepares them for the demands of the professional world. By continuing to explore and refine this approach, educators can bridge the gap between academia and industry, fostering the development of subject-specific skills and knowledge, in addition to the acquisition of holistic and generic skills among students.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).