Fashion Beyond Borders: COIL consultancy projects embody boundary-breaking interdisciplinary collaboration
By Saran Davaajargal
Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is a dynamic form of virtual exchange that provides students with opportunities to connect with and learn from their peers around the world. For Rossie Kadiyska, professor and program coordinator of Humber’s Fashion Management postgraduate certificate program, COIL is an integral part of the curriculum and an opportunity to reimagine learning for students.
In 2020, the fashion management programs of Humber Polytechnic and Nottingham Trent University (NTU) embarked on a journey that redefined applied learning and innovation in the classroom. Over the years, more than 500 students studying fashion at Humber and NTU have participated in the COIL experience with international clients such as Nicholas Simon Tailoring, Folklore, Commonwealth Fashion Council and ReTuna. The goals of the COIL projects are to enhance cross-cultural collaboration, develop students’ professional skills, and address sustainability and innovation in fashion marketing while embedding systems thinking and industry engagement in the curriculum.
In the Winter 2024 semester, Kadiyska led a COIL consultancy project that embodied interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. In collaboration with NTU, the Humber team worked on a consultancy project for the Commonwealth Fashion Council (CFC), a not-for-profit organization that links together the 56 fashion industries of the Commonwealth and delivers initiatives in collaboration with the CFC Circle, partners, the private sector and governments.
Students formed consultancy-style teams simulating real-world agency dynamics. The client provided an industry brief that aligned with sustainability and innovation, and the student teams developed research-driven solutions and which they pitched directly to the client. Commonwealth Fashion Council selected the winning pitch based on the students’ creativity, feasibility and insight.
The winning team of students in Humber’s Fashion Management postgraduate certificate program—Tvisha Bawa, Avery Summers, and Lisa Jarwal—travelled to the UK and presented their project at the Visual Threads Conference hosted by NTU, which drew participants from various universities in the UK. The conference provided students with a unique opportunity to participate in knowledge sharing and dissemination. When the students returned to Humber, they were able to continue the project as a Work Integrated Learning component and further refine it.
“Building on my foundational knowledge in multi-channel commerce, branding, and management, the COIL project’s hands-on approach, combined with continual feedback from respected faculty and the Commonwealth Fashion Council, provided me with a detailed understanding of current fashion trends and systems,” says Tvisha Bawa who participated in the COIL project as a student in Humber’s fashion management certificate program.
A select group of NTU students who participated in the COIL project, along with their fashion management peers at Humber Polytechnic, also participated in a week-long research boot camp hosted by Humber’s Office of Research & Innovation as part of Humber’s Global Summer School in 2024.
Reflecting on the experience, Humber’s fashion management graduate Avery Summers, who participated in the boot camp, notes, “The various interactive sessions encouraged students to explore different facets of their personalities to develop meaningful research topics. We explored the many ways research can be conducted and diverse forms of dissemination beyond survey questions accompanied by a written research paper. The sessions challenged traditional beliefs about research and broadened attendees’ perspectives by introducing Humber’s polytechnic approach.”
Rossie Kadiyska notes that Humber students’ international trips have been made possible by support from Humber International Office, Longo Faculty of Business, Centre for Entrepreneurship, Centre for Teaching & Learning, Office of Research & Innovation, and the Work Integrated Learning team. Rossie Kadiyska and Mary-Ann Ball, a Course Leader of the MA Fashion Marketing program at Nottingham Trent University, presented this innovative learning experience at an International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes (IFFTI) conference with great success.
“While the COIL project is taking place in the classroom, it is dependent on the faculty leads and students who are making it happen. Once the COIL project is over, it will be the collaboration of the different departments that allows the project to bloom into its full potential and become a holistic learning experience for the students,” says Kadiyska.
As Humber continues to redefine polytechnic education for its learners, experiential learning experiences such as COIL projects are one of many avenues students are able to develop their skills and become career-ready citizens for the global workforce.