Industry Placement for Fashion and Textile Design

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• realise your ideas to an intermediate level through the evaluation and selection of appropriate media and techniques
• generate ideas through enquiry, analysis and critical reflection
• apply methods of enquiry and reflection which will enable you to critically evaluate the qualities in your work in order to relate your ideas to an intended context
• inform your practice by analysing and critically reflecting on contemporary issues
• develop your ideas by applying thinking and concepts informed by a context of recent approaches to the practice and theory of your discipline
• make independent critical judgments in the selection and use of ideas, materials, techniques and processes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• use effectively subject specific, library and digital resources, including the internet
• work effectively as part of a team
• present yourself appropriately in a professional context
• independently identify appropriate aims for professional practice and employability
• communicate ideas effectively in a variety of verbal, written, technological and visual formats to an intermediate level
• reflect on your own work and learn from experience.
• study independently and produce work to set deadlines
• demonstrate relevant interpersonal skills whilst working with others
• manage your time effectively, work to deadlines
• generate ideas and solve problems independently and in an industry placement setting
• identify, select and draw upon a wide range of subject specific, printed and electronic sources to inform and challenge your thinking

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• gather and organise information to inform and challenge the practical development of your work and practice to an intermediate level
• explore and exploit subject specific materials, techniques and processes, including digital technologies
• solve practical problems independently in response to set briefs and self-initiated projects to a basic level
• Printed Textiles & Woven Textiles - realise and communicate an individual approach to textile design through applying your knowledge of materials and a range of design processes and techniques within constructed textiles (weave) and surface pattern (print), using a combination of digital and manual manufacture
• work and use machines and equipment safely in the placement environment
• apply practical skills effectively in the making of your work
• Fashion Design & Knitwear for Fashion - select methods and techniques including digital technologies to communicate an individual approach to fashion and knitwear and through the production of a portfolio of work demonstrate knowledge of design and production for a professional context

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• contemporary issues in practice and theory of fashion and textiles in an industry context
• how to apply fashion and textile concepts, techniques, methods and processes, including the digital, in the realisation of your projects to an intermediate level
• innovative practices, concepts and debates and how the professional, cultural and technological changes taking place in this field impact on fashion, textiles and related practices to an intermediate level
• a research informed broad based appreciation of design practice, including the work of contemporary national and international practitioners and how they represent different professional, cultural and technological contexts to an intermediate level
• how to evaluate and utilise presentation skills effectively in relevant contexts to an intermediate level
• how to creatively integrate and exploit a variety of media, techniques, technologies and materials to realise your ideas to an intermediate level
• how to identify and apply the skills you will need to practice professionally in fashion, textiles or related creative industries to an intermediate level

For your work placement to be a success you need to play an active role in the company and take the initiative to harness all learning opportunities. For example, you can learn from both your successes and challenges, or you can ask to work-shadow a colleague whose work you find interesting and learn by observing them.

Prior to the placement you will attend appropriate sessions to help you prepare for the placement. You can undertake a placement in any area related to Fashion or Textiles, but it is anticipated that the majority of placements will be in the role of assisting designers, buyers, PR, sales teams or production teams, within a fashion or textiles studio or company.

Detailed guidance notes and learning materials are contained within the module handbook, which is available on Blackboard.

Teaching and learning methods

You will be allocated a Placement Advisor and an Academic Placement Tutor, usually prior to the start of the semester and notified of these by email. Your Placement Advisor, who will be your main point of contact for the duration of your placement, will offer advice with respect to your placement in general and your Academic Placement Tutor will guide you with regards to specific issues relating to the assessment of the module. Generally you can expect at least one visit from your Advisor or member of academic staff during your placement module and there may be some additional days on which all students are required to attend the University. More workplace visits may be possible in situations where students require additional support or advice. All visits must be negotiated directly with your tutor and the Placement Advisor. In addition to a scheduled visit, your Placement Advisor and Academic Placement Tutor will be available to offer you help, support and advice throughout your placement semester.

As part of your management of your placement, you will be expected to maintain regular contact with your Placement Advisor and to make arrangements for a placement visit if applicable.

When you start your placement, your employer will be asked to nominate someone to act as your Workplace Supervisor. Workplace Supervisors are usually line managers - the person who will be responsible for you on a day to day basis. Sometimes, the Workplace Supervisor will be someone different to your line manager: a team leader, perhaps. Also, it is not unusual to find that you are allocated both a Workplace Supervisor and a mentor. A Mentor is usually the person that you work with most often, or a recent graduate - someone who will be able to guide you through work problems and systems and who will offer you advice. If you are allocated a mentor as well as a Workplace Supervisor, or if your Workplace Supervisor and line manager is not the same person, you should ensure that both people are invited to meet and discuss your progress if/when your Academic Placement Tutor visits.

Reflective Learning will play an important part in your development during the period of work-based learning. It is easy to recall the really memorable events like a particular collection, design or report you worked with, or working with new technology, but many of the other aspects you experience may be forgotten. To make the most of your placement experience, you are asked to start a personal development form at the start of your placement, and then to update this throughout your placement semester. The form will help you to record your existing competencies, think about the skills you would like to develop, and ways to achieve those learning goals. The form will contribute to the overall assessment of your Illustrated Placement Report.

Teaching methods include

• Module briefing
• Tutorials
• Online support if face-to-face tutorials are not possible
• Workplace Supervisor feedback
• Mentor feedback

Learning activities include

• Tutorials
• Reflective learning
• Peer learning
• Self-evaluation

Relationship between the teaching, learning and assessment methods and the planned learning outcomes

In this module work-based learning activities focus on helping you to direct your exploration and investigation of your ideas. Activities led by practitioners and staff working at the company where you are located will increase your knowledge of the area you have chosen to explore and the contemporary context in which you are working. It will also help you develop confidence in your skills and ability to experiment with your discipline-specific ideas, challenge known solutions and encourage unexpected outcomes. Through work-based practical experience, you will gain valuable understanding of and proficiency in some areas of fashion and textiles. This should strengthen your own practice and career goals and lead to more solid personal work, shaped by analysis and reflection.

Resources & Reading list

General Resources

General. Preparatory and on-going reading list specific to your chosen company, location and project will enable you to gain an appreciation of the context in which you will be studying and help you situate your work within a contemporary framework of discipline-specific critical thinking. Advice on texts, references and designers relevant to your practice and project can be sought from your Academic Personal Tutor, Module Leader or Programme Leader, prior to your departure.

Assessment strategy

During your Placement Module you will be assessed both formatively and summatively. Your Employer and Academic Placement Tutor have an important and integral role to play in appraising your development and performance.

In terms of informal assessment, your day-to-day activities will undoubtedly be judged by your employer as to how well you are adapting to the organisation and how you are contributing. Each task you tackle will be viewed as how well you relate to others and how well you understand the expectations of the assigned task. Do you show initiative or wait to be told what to do? Do you start work on time? Do you work well within a team and do you understand the company’s culture? Do you understand instructions?

Your Workplace Supervisor will be required to provide an Employer Report, which will contribute to our overall assessment of your Illustrated Industry Placement Report and Creative Design Project. Your personal development form, which should demonstrate your development of transferable and subject-specific fashion and textiles competencies, will also contribute to the assessment of your Illustrated Placement Report.

Clear guidance on the assignments is included in the Placement Handbook and available on Blackboard and will be introduced in a lecture and seminar to students taking the module.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Coursework

• Assessment Type: Formative
• Feedback: Formative feedback is given during the module, which can be verbal or written, contributing to the written summative feedback given at the end of the module.
• Final Assessment: No
• Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External