News

Distributing PU30 reusable face masks to protect community

Hundreds of local schools in Hong Kong reopened on 27 May 2020 after months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To help students protect themselves against the spread of this coronavirus, Prof Kan Chi-wai, Professor of ITC, and Dr Joanne Yip, Associate Professor of ITC, visited Sheng Kung Hui Holy Spirit Primary School on 19 June 2020 to donate nearly a thousand PU30TM face masks. Developed by a research team led by Prof. Kan and Dr Yip, PU30TM is an antiviral, washable and reusable mask. The mask has been in-vitro shown to inhibit tested strains of influenza virus (H1N1) and the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) upon contact with the surface of the face mask. However, correlation between the in-vitro testing results and any clinical event has yet to be established. Related news: Quick response research to COVID-19 – Development of face mask

Prof. Xiaoming Tao leads Research Team to Produce Novel Green Anti-pathogenic Agent and Textiles

A multidisciplinary team led by Prof. Xiaoming Tao, Chair Professor of ITC, has made the novel discovery of the application of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) oligomer as an outstanding wide-spectrum anti-pathogenic agent against viruses, fungi, disease causing agents like mice, bacteria and drug-resistant bacteria. The PHB oligomer synthesized in the ITC laboratory demonstrates excellent efficacy against influenza viruses H1N1 and H3N2. Its inactivation rate exceeds 99.99% or in other words, the inactivation index is 4.24 and 4.40 for H1N1 and H3N2, respectively. An anti-pathogenic agent is found in a fiber-forming biopolymer, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), that is produced through the fermentation of starch or sugar. Thus the use of PHBV/ poly(lactic acid) (PLA) fibers in a range of textile manufacturing processes including fiber spinning, filament yarn texturing, yarn spinning, weaving, knitting, coloring and nonwoven processing, has been extensively studied by the team. As a result, high-quality fibers have been commercially produced and used to fabricate a wide range of commercial anti-pathogenic products, including face-masks, undergarments, gowns, socks as well as beddings by a number of industrial companies in Hong Kong and Mainland China. The resultant textiles maintain their anti-pathogenic properties after 50 machine wash cycles. Compared to most anti-pathogenic agents and anti-bacteria textiles currently found in the market, the new agent and textiles not only are highly effective, but also have other outstanding properties, such as non-toxicity and anti-allergic properties. Yet another advantage is their environmental friendliness. Unlike other types of organic or inorganic agents, they are fully degradable into carbon dioxide and water, without any harmful residual matter left for the landfill. PolyU, ITF/HKRITA, eight industrial companies and two NGOs have supported five consecutive research projects during the last 6 years. In the ongoing projects, the anti-pathogenic agent and textile products are being investigated for the prevention and reduction of viral and microbial infections in nursing homes, hospitals as well as other public venues. Ma LL, Zhang ZH, Li J, Yang XX, Fei B, Leung P, Tao XM*, 2019. A new antimicrobial agent: poly (3-hydroxybutyric acid) oligomer, Macromolecular Bioscience, 19(5), 1970014. Zhang ZH, Li J, Ma LL, Liu SR, Leung P, Tao XM*, Green wide-spectrum anti-pathogenic agents and its personal protective devices, Infectious Diseases Virtual 2020, June 14, 2020. (Invited paper)

Dr Patrick Hui and Prof. Chi-wai Kan publish in Carbohydrate Polymers

Dr Patrick Hui, Associate Professor of ITC and Prof Kan Chi-wai, Professor of ITC, recently coauthored a paper published in Carbohydrate Polymers (Top 5% journal in the categories of Polymer Science, Chemistry (Organic) and Chemistry (Applied) according to Journal Citation Reports 2019 (JCR 2019), Web of Science), which is a top-tier Elsevier journal with an impact factor of 7.182.  Their paper, "Drug delivery system of dual-responsive PF-127 hydrogel with polysaccharide-based nano-conjugate for textile-based transdermal therapy", discusses the development of a Pluronic F-127 based dual-responsive (pH/temperature) hydrogel drug delivery system that involves a polysaccharide-based nano-conjugate of hyaluronic acid and chitosan oligosaccharide lactate. The system is applied to load a traditional Chinese medicine called Cortex Moutan to treat eczema. The study immensely contributes to the literature on drug delivery with the use of herbal medicine. S. Chatterjee, P.C.L. Hui*, E. Wat, C.W. Kan, P.C. Leung, and Wenyi Wang, “Drug delivery system of dual-responsive PF-127 hydrogel with polysaccharide-based nano-conjugate for textile-based transdermal therapy”, Carbohydrate Polymers, 2020, 236, 116074; DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116074

「國家教育部2020年度高等學校科學研究優秀成果獎(科學技術)」提名公示

Prof. Jason Choi publishes in Production and Operations Management journal

ITC congratulates Prof. Jason Choi for the recent publication of his paper in Production and Operations Management, a premier business journal that is listed in all major business school journal lists (for example, The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) journal list, Financial Times Top 50 Journals list, Business Week list, etc.). The paper is based on research on supply chain management with risk considerations, which is an important research area that is especially relevant to supply chains that produce and sell short-life fashion products. In the literature, the classical newsvendor model is often used to explore inventory management problems in supply chains that sell short-life fashionable and seasonal products. The standard newsvendor problem seeks to minimize the expected inventory cost or maximize the expected profit. However, optimizing an expected value alone does not fully capture the stochastic nature of the newsvendor problem. Inspired by the Nobel prize winning mean-variance theory in economic sciences and the higher-moment analyses explored in the finance literature, Professor Choi and his co-authors theoretically conduct a mean-variance-skewness-kurtosis (MVSK) analysis for the newsvendor problem. They first derive the analytical expressions for the mean, variance, skewness, and kurtosis of profit in a standard newsvendor setting and reveal their structural properties. They then establish various MVSK optimization problems and find the solution to each of them. They show that kurtosis aversion always causes the newsvendor to order less, while skewness seeking can cause the newsvendor to order either more or less depending on the specific structure of the profit’s skewness, which is affected by the symmetric and asymmetric properties of the demand distribution. Finally, they address the challenges of supply chain coordination based on the Pareto optimality concept. They reveal that considering the MVSK preferences of supply chain agents will significantly affect the achievability of supply chain coordination and flexibility of the coordinating contract. Zhang, J., S.P. Sethi, T.M. Choi*, T.C.E. Cheng. 2020. Supply Chains Involving a Mean-Variance-Skewness-Kurtosis Newsvendor: Analysis and Coordination. Production and Operations Management 29(6), 1397-1430. https://doi.org/10.1111/poms.13159

New ITC tagline – Pioneering Fashion and Textile Education and Research

ITC is introducing a new tagline in our efforts to enhance the awareness and understanding of PolyU staff, students, alumni, and industrial and education partners on the essence of our brand and uniqueness - Pioneering Fashion and Textile Education and Research 創意時尚 編織未來. We are proud of our history and achievements at ITC. The new  tagline perfectly conveys a powerful message to the community which will increase rapport with our friends and earn their support in achieving our vision and missions.

Dr Chloe Ki publishes top downloaded paper

ITC is pleased to announce that a paper written by Dr Chloe Ki and published in Psychology and Marketing has been recognized by Wiley-Blackwell as the one of the top most downloaded papers among work published between January 2018 and December 2019.  According to the March 2018 issue of the Association of Business Schools Academic Journal Quality Guide, Psychology and Marketing is one of the most highly regarded journals in the field. In recognition of Dr. Ki’s research entitled “The mechanism by which social media influencers persuade consumers: The role of consumers’ desire to mimic”, she received a certificate of achievement from Wiley-Blackwell which was also given to recognize that her research has had immediate impacts and helped to increase the visibility of Psychology and Marketing. In this study, Dr. Ki and Dr. Kim investigated the mechanism through which social media influencers (SMIs) persuade consumers to adopt certain brands. Their research provided empirical evidence after analyzing the responses of 395 U.S. consumers on how the process of influence by SMIs occurs in four principal stages: (1) the attempts of SMIs to influence (showcasing H1: attractive; H2: prestigious; H3 and H4: expert; H5: informative; and H6: interactive Instagram contents); (2) the attitudinal response of the target consumers to the influence exercised (evaluating the SMI as a H7: taste and H8: opinion leader); which, in turn, affects (3) the desire of the targets to comply (the desire to mimic); and ultimately (4) their favorable behavioral outcomes (H9: social media word‐of‐mouth and H10: purchase intentions). The empirical findings provide important insights for the current SMI literature as follows. First, the research work has identified the principal traits — i.e., specific qualities of the social media contents of SMIs (e.g., attractiveness, prestige, expertise, information and interaction)—that enable SMIs to appeal to peer consumers and amass followers. Second, the research indicates that it is both the taste and opinion leadership of SMIs that serve as equally important criteria in the evaluations of consumers of them. Third, the research provides initial insight for the literature by indicating that the desire of consumers to mimic SMIs plays a critical mediating role in translating the positive attitudes of consumers (i.e., viewing SMIs as taste and opinion leaders) into favorable behavioral outcomes (i.e., sharing the posts of SMIs or purchasing the same products, services or brands endorsed by the SMIs).

ITC students are Fashion Future Challenge Award 2019 Champion

The Fashion Future Challenge Award is a student fashion competition for universities and tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Aside from the two teams of ITC students who took part and were selected as finalists in the 2019 competition, the other competing teams included students from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The University of Hong Kong. One of the teams of ITC students with BA Years 3 and 4 students, including Leung Wai-chi Vincci, Lo Ching-yin Michelle, Ng Hoi-kei Kylah and Yu Ying-wa Sophos, received Champion for their proposal “Sustainable Dyes”.  The second PolyU team selected as a finalist included BA Year 3 students Ma Hoi-Yan Phyllis and Wong Lok-tin Jackson. The winning team proposed to reduce the amount of chemical pollution that results from the production of garments and give new life to the food waste produced by the community by turning food and other yard waste like flowers and leaves into sustainable organic dyes. At the same time, they proposed to increase the life span of each piece of fabric to reduce local textiles and clothing waste. They were awarded an internship opportunity at the Nan Fung Group and a cash prize of $15,000 sponsored by The Mills Fabrica. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the finalists submitted their video presentations for final assessment to a panel of judges, who included the Hon. Felix Chung Kwok-pan, Mr Alexander Chan of The Mills Fabrica, Prof. Philip Yeung of the Clothing Industry Training Authority, Ms Kay Liu of Redress, Ms Karen Ho of WWF-Hong Kong and Mr Kelvin Cheuk of American & Efird (HK) Ltd. About the Summit and the Award The Fashion Summit (Hong Kong) is an event that focuses on "Sustainable Development In Fashion". The event brings together leading academics, key players from the fashion industry, NGOs, the media, decision makers and leaders to achieve sustainable fashion in Asia. The Summit was held successfully on 5 and 6 September in 2019. The Fashion Summit is a platform for the next generation to brew, exchange and share their creative ideas that help to tackle future fashion challenges in the next 5 to 10 years. One of the highlights of the Summit, the Fashion Future Challenge Award, aims to help students propose solutions to the fashion industry towards future challenges; enhance their creativity as well as critical thinking, problem-solving and presentation skills; and exchange ideas with specialists/professionals from the industries. The judging criteria for the proposals focused on the four following areas: Innovativeness: Demonstrate insight into the industries and capability to meet industry needs Feasibility: Viability of application of proposed solutions in the industries Sustainability: Balance among economic, social and environmental performances Content Comprehensiveness: Application of acquired skills and theoretical knowledge to provide innovative and practical business solutions

ITC Summer Internship Programme 2019/20 - Learning beyond the classroom

Since 2016, ITC has been committed to cultivating well-rounded graduates with vision and a global outlook, a sense of social responsibility, and critical and creative thinking abilities by organising an annual summer programme for our BA students. Students will appreciate that this Summer Internship allows them to apply classroom theory in the workplace to meet the needs of the industry and society at large. They also receive real-life work experience while applying their knowledge and problem solving skills to address and manage actual problems at work. Employers also benefit by finding the right candidates to meet their company needs. Prof Kan Chi-wai, Chairman of the Internship and Career Services Taskforce explained, “This year, a total of 15 companies in the fashion and textiles industry are offering over 40 intern positions, both locally and overseas, to ITC students in the summer. Selected students will be working in the companies for seven weeks during their summer semester.” Over 160 BA students have submitted their application to compete for the very limited number of internship positions.

Online teaching at ITC

Face-to-face teaching and hands-on laboratory and studio sessions have been suspended since the end of the Chinese New Year holiday on 3 February 2020 in response to the challenge of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. ITC senior management has closely monitored the situation, devised prevention and control measures, as well as coordinated and facilitated online teaching resources with various parties in their efforts to help students continue with their learning. Nearly 60 online classes were smoothly conducted via MS Teams in the past five weeks. Subject lecturers, and local and overseas students interacted with each other in an online environment. The lecturers share some of their thoughts. Fashion Visual Merchandising - Dr Eunsoo Baek, Assistant Professor Running a class without the physical presence of more than 80 students was challenging at first, but I find that there are always positive sides of a new attempt. Advanced technologies allow us to communicate in digital settings almost without constraints and sometimes better with the digital natives like our students. For the tutorial sessions that include lots of hands-on activities, I’ve transformed them into online activities. The most useful toolkit is an online survey platform that can contain diverse formats of contents such as images and videos and different types of questions ranging from multiple choice to open-ended essays. Promoting group discussion was the most tricky part but soon solved by selecting a facilitator for each group. To encourage and manage the participation of students in their group activities, they had to submit the name list of the “attended” group members in the worksheet. Fashion Design and Knitwear Design - Dr Joe Au and Dr C.P. Ho, Associate Professor To carry out the online teaching of design subjects, we modified the teaching format and delivered the theory-based materials first. We also encouraged students to participate and maintained interaction by asking related questions through online ‘chat’. A Q & A session was scheduled near the end of the lecture and students were able to easily review the teaching materials. In general, the design students were quite positive about the online teaching arrangement for the essential theory-based materials found in fashion and textile design practices. Colouration and Finishing for Knitwear - Dr Nuruzzaman Noor, Research Assistant Professor As we transitioned into the use of digital technologies to reproduce the lecture experience, the excellent infrastructure and technical support at PolyU has helped my students and I stay connected and engaged, so as to maintain student learning outcomes. Successful distance-learning has required self-discipline, organisation of easy access to course materials and most importantly, the support and active involvement of students. My experiences show online instruction as a streamlined lecture delivery method that allows interaction with students in a fluid, interactive manner. This includes the use of online tests, crossword puzzles, modular lecture sections, live chats with students, etc. Whilst the online lecture delivery method is unlikely to make physical, in-class lectures obsolete any time soon, the value of incorporating digital technologies and remote learning principles has been an extremely valuable, if unexpected, experience that will likely play a larger role in all aspects of my teaching in the future. Advanced Apparel Technology - Dr Roger Ng, Senior Teaching Fellow I redesigned and reworded the course contents into a story that involved product development activity to simulate the request of quotations between buyer / fashion designer. Besides, style information is discussed interactively among groups of students via Google document. All of the groups can share their ideas with each other as well as other groups. “I became a DJ of a radio programme, and the students became my fans. We shared stories about product development processes, and played games to guess the consequences of making silly or careless mistakes. It was fun,” Dr Ng said. Bra Construction; Introduction to Intimate Apparel and Activewear Design; Intimate Apparel Design Project - Ms Nico Liu, Instructor Videos of bra sewing steps with clear subtitle and labeling are produced. Students are encouraged to watch the videos in advance and raise questions during the online class. To enhance the learning experience, a mobile app is being developed to create augmented reality (AR) table-top learning environment. It integrates the real environment with virtual learning scenarios in a student-friendly and engaging manner.