Abstract:

Fashion-tech is an interdisciplinary field that intersects design, natural sciences, engineering, economics and management and defined as ‘technology that enables a fashion experience for the user wearing it or interacting with it’. Benchmarking research, conducted as part of the Education for Fashion-Tech (E4FT) project funded by Erasmus+, revealed that training at Master’s Level within this field is fragmented in terms of skills and knowledge required for business and product innovation. The aim of E4FT is to enhance the knowledge and skills of learners in the novel field of fashion-tech.

This study draws upon a hackathon model as a framework to assess master’s student competences in research, conceptual ideation, technical realisation and entrepreneurship in fashion tech design and product development. This paper evaluates the findings from the hackathon event to underpin the development of a bespoke MA level programme in fashion-tech design within the project.

A three day hackathon, designed to test the limits of participant knowledge in the design and development process of fashion-tech products, was carried out with a participant group of 23 MA level design and management students from University of Borås, University of the Arts London and Politecnico di Milano. Data on participant experience and perception of own knowledge and skills was collated via pre- and post-event surveys and analysed using statistical analysis. Findings revealed that perceived levels of competence in research, conceptual ideation, technical realisation and entrepreneurship increased by an average of 12,6% as a result of the hackathon. Furthermore, the participants found the hackathon approach a valuable and engaging learning method.

Keywords:

Fashion-Tech, Higher Education, Hackathon, Educational Experience, Competence Mapping.