News

Li & Fung supports ITC students in international retail competition

Li & Fung will support four ITC students to participate in the Future Retail Challenge student competition in Rome, Italy in October 2020. The competition has become a popular component of the World Retail Congress, which promotes future talent in the retail industry worldwide. Li & Fung has been an ardent supporter of ITC for this competition during the past 12 years. During the preparation for the competition, Li & Fung senior management members judged the auditions to select the ITC finalists. They not only provided mentorship to develop creative ideas but also resources to actualize the idea into a deliverable outcome. Students had the opportunity to visit the firm to conduct a presentation to the board members and receive feedback. In addition, Li & Fung will provide all of the financial support for students to participate in the Future Retail Challenge student competition, including registration fees, travelling expenses, and accommodations. Often they offer industry connections in the nearby cities of the event so that students and faculty can embark on an industry tour. ITC teams have won champion five times and 1st runner-up twice in the past 12 years. ITC would like to take this opportunity to extend its sincere appreciation to Li & Fung for its ongoing support. The invaluable opportunity and mentorship have become one of the highlights of our undergraduate programs, and subsequently attracted high calibre fashion business students. ITC is sending its best wishes to the new ITC team and hope that they will be recognized for their talent and hard work in the largest conference event for retail industries.

Long term ITC scholarship sponsors: The Woolmark Company and Flinders Merino

The Woolmark Company and Flinders Merino have recently confirmed that they will continue to sponsor the Flinders Merino Award towards a study tour scholarship for the PolyU Fashion Show 2020. Young design talents in Hong Kong can learn more about the natural benefits of Australian Merino wool and are encouraged to use the wool. The two companies have been generously offering this scholarship to ITC since 2009. The sponsored prize will be a trip to Australia to receive training about Merino wool. The prize-winning designer will meet with woolgrowers to learn firsthand about the Merino wool properties, origins of Australia and the Australian wool farm, as well as the wool industry visit a AWEX or AWTA wool auction, and exchange ideas with local fashion designers. The award recipient will embark on a 10-day visit to the wool-growing properties of Flinders Merino and fashion-related institutes/organizations. A wool production experience at an Australia Merino farm is part of the visit so that the student designer can learn more about Australian Merino wool and develop a greater appreciation for the farm to fashion journey to draw inspiration from the natural and beautiful environment where Australian Merino sheep are reared. The designer also gets to try his/her hand at shearing and feeding sheep, which is a once in a lifetime opportunity that is not available in Hong Kong. The award recipient will learn first-hand about the origins of Australia and the Australian wool farm, as well as the wool industry. ITC would like to thank The Woolmark Company and Flinders Merino for their continuous nurturing of our next generation of fashion design talents. For details of the study tour, please click here.

The Fashion Gallery website – glimpse of finest fashion arts & creativity

ITC is excited to announce the launch of the brand-new website of The Fashion Gallery with learning features at www.fashiongallery.hk. The most updated information and latest fashion and textile exhibitions can be accessed with a click of a mouse. The latest on the gallery is highlighted on the homepage. More than 80 exhibitions, including the annual exhibitions organised by ITC (ITC Graduation Exhibition, PolyU MA Fashion & Textile Design Exhibition, and PolyU Intimate Fashion Exhibition) and international exhibitions that have been held by the gallery in the past decade can be accessed and viewed under the Exhibitions tab. Viewers can browse through photos, videos and details. Upcoming and past seminars and published books are also available under the Seminars and Publications tabs respectively. What’s more, artists, designers and professionals in the fashion industry can submit an application to exhibit their work by clicking on Exhibition Application under the Join & Support tab and review the exhibition schedule and download the application documents. The application will then be assessed by the Review Board. The website serves as an informational and educational platform for PolyU staff members, students, and professionals in the fashion and textiles industry. The website will increase the visibility of fashion and textiles exhibitions so that the public at large can enjoy the designs while locally and internationally promoting ITC. Article and photos are provided by Peng Qingxin and Yuki Cheng.

Prof. Jintu Fan judges fashion, science & tech competition

Our ITC academics are often in demand for their expertise and professional opinions. This is again reinforced when Prof JT Fan, Head and Chair Professor of ITC, co-chaired the jury committee of the 3rd Upstyle Award: International Competition for Fashion, Science and Technology (Upstyle Award) with iconic Chinese industrial designer, Prof. Liu Guanzhong of Tsinghua University. This is an international competition organized by the Organizing Committee of the Upstyle Award and Upstyle Fashion & Cultural Innovation (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and held at Bellagio Shanghai on 9 January 2020. The aim of the Upstyle Award is to gather global knowledge, promote fashion design, and create and share technological achievements. The competition targets those who are passionate about innovative research, as an exclusive platform is offered that supports excellent design and creativity, and promotes market transformation and the development of scientific and technological innovations in the fashion industry. The competition started in 2017 and is held annually.

Prof. Zijian Zheng delivers keynotes at ICONN2020

Prof. Zijian Zheng, Professor of ITC, delivered two keynotes at the 8th International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICONN2020), the largest biennial Australian conference series in the field of nanoscience which attracts over 1000 attendees. The event was held from 9 to 13 February 2020 in Brisbane, Australia. Prof. Zheng shared details of his research work on wearable electronics with “Fiber-enable Wearable Energy Storage Devices” in the Nano Energy & Environment symposium and “Polymer-Assisted Metal Deposition (PAMD): An Interface Approach for Soft Metal Electrodes” in the Nano Electronics symposium. Since its inaugural conference in Brisbane in 2006, ICONN has been successfully held in cities across Australia, including Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and Wollongong.

Dr Joanne Yip secures Champion at 4th Hong Kong Innovation Day

We’re very proud of Dr Joanne Yip, Associate Professor of ITC as her ITC research project, A Flexible Brace with Artificial Hinge, recently secured Champion at an event organised by the School of Nursing of PolyU, PolyU and Good Seed - the 4th Hong Kong Innovation Day (HKIA). A Flexible Brace with Artificial Hinge is good news for adolescent scoliosis sufferers. The project  merges clinical practice, material science and textile technology to create an innovative flexible brace specially designed for scoliosis. The artificial hinge used in this functional garment applies strategic corrective forces to the spine. This not only gives adequate support to the spine but also controls the progression of spinal deformity more effectively. The brace is comfortable to wear so patient compliance would increase and in the end, reduces the potential need for surgery. The aim of the HKIA is to stimulate innovative ideas and concepts that bring immediate benefits to patients, clinicians as well as the healthcare industry. Outstanding teams selected by the jury at the HKIA will take part in The Global Healthcare Innovation Academy which will be held in Toronto, Canada on June 22 and 23, 2020 to compete for the Innovation for Health Award of Excellence.  To see the article on Dr Yip, visit https://www.ghiaevent.com/biomedical-innovations.         

Prof. Kinor Jiang recipient of Leonardo da Vinci International Award

ITC academics are often recognized for the high calibre of their work and their creative talent. Recently, Prof. Kinor Jiang, Professor of ITC, was awarded the “Leonardo da Vinci” International Award for Design (2nd prize in the Fashion & Jewellery Design Category) at the 12th Florence Biennale which took place from 18 to 27 October 2019. The winning design is called “Watch” which is a dialogue between tangible and intangible elements, highlighted with black and white in abstract lattices of dots and shapes . The focus is on the abstract texture rather than concreteness when one approaches the design for a closer view. In doing so, the viewer will gain an awareness of lapses in time and changes in space. The “Leonardo da Vinci” International Award for Design is conferred to the best exhibiting designers for their works on show in each category including: Architecture & Town Design, Industrial & Product Design, Interior Design, Fashion & Jewellery Design, Communication & Graphic Design, Technology & Game Design.  Florence Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition in Florence, Italy, and regarded as an outstanding showcase of international contemporary art production.  Since its establishment, the Florence Biennale has been a free, independent, and innovative ‘platform’ for contemporary art. Thousands of artists from over a hundred countries have exhibited their works at Florence Biennale, which have defined the main art forms and disciplines.

Prof. Kinor Jiang and Ms Nico Liu funded to enhance student learning experiences

Good news for fashion and textile design students who want the opportunity to work with enterprises and design products. Prof. Kinor Jiang, Professor of ITC, recently obtained a Teaching Development Grant of HK$200,000 for 2019-22. The project is called “Building an interactive platform for practical design project between students and industries” which intends to build a sustainable multidimensional online platform so that both students and enterprises can collaborate on practical projects in fashion and textile design. Participating students can look forward to improving their learning capabilities and providing resources to the global market by working with different corporates to design products during their study period. This project can also enhance their communication and collaboration skills with the industries,  and the knowledge that the students gain will truly align with the needs of the enterprises and the market. Participating students will obtain the skills to learn in new environments and adapt to them, which means that they will emerge as more independent, effective and adaptive learners. Ms Nico Liu, Instructor of ITC, received internal funding of HK$100,000 for 2018-19 from the Strategic Plan Initiatives of PolyU for a project titled “Make the Best Use of the Contact Hours by Implementing Visual Learning Scenarios and Peer Learning Groups” which aims to enhance student learning experiences through the use of interactive pedagogies.  The aim of the project is to enhance student learning experiences, promote independent and collaborative learning, make best use of contact hours, as well as provide a supportive environment for students to monitor and reflect on their learning based on the implementation of interactive pedagogies by using AR and peer learning as teaching tools. Additional digital learning resources are offered so that students can understand the different events before traditional face to face lessons take place. The use of AR and peer learning tools also facilitates the interest of students to learn about the subject that is taught, as the teaching materials are presented in a more appealing way in comparison to traditional unidirectional methods.

The Vincent & Lily Woo Trust pledged scholarship support

The Vincent & Lily Woo Trust, an ardent supporter of PolyU and ITC, has pledged their support for a newly proposed programme at ITC - the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Digital Fashion. The proposed BSc (Hons) in Digital Fashion is designed to fit the developmental needs of the fashion industry in the digital era. This 2-year full-time progamme is characterized by the 3is: iFashion, iMedia and iConnect, and integrated into two capstone projects. The aim is to provide students with advanced digital skills for fashion creation (iFashion) and media communication (iMedia) as well as enable them to merge fashion and textile processes with emerging technologies for product and business innovation (iConnect). The capstone projects also enable students to apply their learned skills to solve real business problems in the fashion industry. Students with an Associate Degree or Higher Diploma in fashion, business, media communication, engineering or information technology related fields of study are encouraged to enroll in this new programme. Moreover, students with outstanding academic performance will be awarded the Vincent & Lily Woo Entrance Scholarship sponsored by The Vincent & Lily Woo Trust. About The Vincent & Lily Woo Trust Mr Vincent V.C. Woo (1910 – 1981), a successful entrepreneur and highly respected philanthropist, was the founder of Central Textiles (HK) Limited. He served twice as Chairman of the Hong Kong Cotton Spinners Association. The Woo family founded The Vincent & Lily Woo Trust. Over the years, the Trust has made generous donations to PolyU and ITC for the development of the local fashion and textile industries and education. In the period of 2009/10 and 2011/12, nine undergraduate students and four research students have been awarded sponsorships to support their overseas exchange experience and research postgraduate studies respectively. In 2009, PolyU named a conference room as “Mr and Mrs Vincent V.C Woo Conference Room” as an appreciation of generous donation. In 2014, the “Vincent and Lily Woo Endowed Professorship in Textiles Technology” was established, with Prof. Xiao-ming Tao, Chair Professor of Textile Technology of ITC as the Endowed Professor.

Prof. Jason Choi produces top cited papers in a premier journal

We are proud to announce that Prof. Jason Choi has been recognized by Wiley-Blackwell Publishers for two top cited papers in the Production and Operations Management journal, which is a “UTD-listed FT50” premier business journal of the Production and Operations Management Society in the United States. Prof. Choi has received a certificate of achievement from Wiley-Blackwell in recognition of his work. Wiley-Blackwell stated that “amongst articles published between January 2018 and December 2019, these two articles received some of the highest count of citations”, which means that the “articles generated immediate impact and helped to raise the visibility of Production and Operations Management”. The first paper focuses on luxury fashion business operations with discussions on optimal advertising decisions. The Nobel prize winning mean-variance theory in finance is applied to generate managerial insights, which include scenarios and formats of optimal budget allocation plans for advertisements of luxury fashion that would take social influences between different consumer groups into account. One interesting implication is that luxury fashion brands should focus on a single consumer group (e.g., the fashion leader) if their goal is to maximize profits. Moreover, luxury fashion companies should not penalize their marketing managers if they are underspending their allocated budget because “over-advertising” can have negative effects in luxury fashion. The second paper discusses how big data can be used in business operations by examining different techniques and strategies for big data analytics. Several big data architectures have been developed for companies to consider when they make plans to implement big data analytics.  Real world cases on big data applications, including those from fashion brands such as LV and Nike, are reported. The findings provide important guidance to companies, including fashion enterprises, on the proper use of big data analytics for their operations analyses. These two top cited research papers (corresponding author*) are: Chiu, C.H., T.M. Choi*, X. Dai, B. Shen, J.H. Zheng. Optimal Advertising Budget Allocation in Luxury Fashion Markets with Social Influences: A Mean-Variance Analysis. Production and Operations Management, 27 (8), 1611-1629, 2018. Choi, T.M.*, S.W. Wallace, Y. Wang. Big Data Analytics in Operations Management. Production and Operations Management, 27 (10), 1868-1883, 2018.