Enhancing the employability of fashion students through the use of 3D CAD

The textile and apparel industry has one of the longest and most intricate supply chains within manufacturing. Advancement in technology has facilitated its globalisation, enabling companies to span geographical borders. This has led to new methods of communication using electronic data formats. Throughout the latter part of the 20th Century, 2D CAD technology established itself as an invaluable tool within design and product development. More recently 3D virtual simulation software has made small but significant steps within this market. The technological revolution has opened significant opportunities for those forward thinking companies that are beginning to utilise 3D software. This advanced technology requires designers with unique skill sets. This paper investigates the skills required by fashion graduates from an industry perspective. To reflect current industrial working practices, it is essential for educational establishments to incorporate technologies that will enhance the employability of graduates. This study developed an adapted action research model based on the work of Kurt Lewin, which reviewed the learning and teaching of 3D CAD within higher education. It encompassed the selection of 3D CAD software development, analysis of industry requirements, and the implementation of 3D CAD into the learning and teaching of a selection of fashion students over a three year period. Six interviews were undertaken with industrial design and product development specialists to determine: current working practices, opinions of virtual 3D software and graduate skill requirements. It was found that the companies had similar working practices independent of the software utilised within their product development process. The companies which employed 3D CAD software considered further developments were required before the technology could be fully integrated. Further to this it was concluded that it was beneficial for graduates to be furnished with knowledge of emerging technologies which reflect industry and enhance their employability skills

Thinking outside the blocks

This paper outlines an ongoing PhD research with the aim to develop an alternative fashion design and garment construction process for the initial design stages, using a practice initiated in three dimensions. The paper was partly triggered by views that meanwhile, especially in design education, there is a need to underline more the practical aspects of the design and making process, for example pattern cutting skills. One industry commentator said: “We have often taken on ex-fashion students either as staff or for work experience, and the majority have never been taught pattern-cutting, yet expecting glittering careers in design” (Everett, 2008) The nature of this design practice research utilizes tacit knowledge. It was therefore necessary to find a method to express such tacit knowledge in a tangible form. Due to its exploratory nature and the need for substantial iterative practical work, the reflective, practice-oriented approach of Action Research was used as lead methodology

Knowledge and technology transfer from universities to industries: A case study approach from the built environment field

Enabling kowledge societies and knowledge based economies is a key policy in the UK. KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) scheme initiated by the Technology Strategy Board is a pathway for collaboration and partnerships between Higher Education institutions and companies to transfer innovative knowledge based solutions from universities to businesses in order to equip them with the leading edge knowledge and technology infrastructure for sustainable long term competitive advantages in both national and international market. The paper explains a KTP project between the University of Salford and John McCall Architects (JMA) in Liverpool in the UK that aimed to identify, map and re-engineer JMA’s strategic and operational change processes through Lean thinking and the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM), which is a foundational tool for implementing an efficient process and invariably leads to lean-orientated, team based approach to design and construction by enabling the intelligent interrogation of designs; provide a quicker and cheaper design production; better co-ordination of documentation; more effective change control; less repetition of processes; a better quality constructed product; and improved communication both for JMA and across the supply chain whereas it provided opportunity to increase business relevance of knowledge based research and teaching for the Higher Education. Case Study approach is employed in the paper and the KTP project is assessed for i) how it helped in improving JMA’s knowledge and technology capacity in conducting their practice, and, ii) how it helped the university in improving its knowledge based research and teaching

Benchmarking BIM Levels of Training and Education amongst Construction Management Practitioners

UK Government created a strategic deadline of 2016 for the adoption and use of Level 2 BIM on all centrally procured projects. A shift from Computer Aided Design (CAD) to Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been driven by the need to improve the way that the industry delivers projects. It is believed that BIM better facilitates opportunities for collaboration and project enhancement than traditional project information management processes. It is also thought that by improving the quality of information, and adopting a more collaborative approach through a model- based design industry such advancements can be made. The originality of this research is in developing an understanding of the current-status of BIM training and education amongst construction management practitioners. The present research uses a quantitative survey approach to investigate the current-status of BIM awareness, understanding, use, and perceptions towards readiness for the 2016 mandate. Results highlight that approximately half of the sample have received some kind of education or training although there were higher levels of BIM awareness, use and understanding. Investigations also reveal that the majority of training and education received by practitioners is self-sourced, but amongst those respondents who have not received any education or training there are expectations that employers should provide these

EU-China collaboration in design: research in Web-enabled collaborative design supported by the Asia-Link and Asia IT&C projects

The research of Web-enabled collaboration in total design supported by the European Union's Asia Link project [1] and Asia IT&C project is reported in this paper. The two projects both aim at enhancing research collaboration between the EU and China. The Virtual Research Institute (VRI) is described first, which is the platform for the collaboration for the Asia Link project and is established by utilizing the advanced Web techniques; and then, the framework for the collaboration and the Web techniques involved in the research are presented which represent the major research of the Asia IT&C project. The effective collaboration between the project partners and the impacts of the project outcome on the partnership are also discussed