Yoobee builds bridges for higher education research in New Zealand

Leveraging higher education research to address local and global challenges, Yoobee College of Creative Innovation was represented at the 2023 International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes (IFFTI) Conference.

Held in New Zealand for the first time, educators were eager to attend this year’s conference following two cancelled events as a result of closed borders.

Tertiary institution representatives from 28 countries attended; including, China, India, Germany, USA, UK, and Australia.

The conference was an opportunity for Yoobee to bolster relationships with leading higher education providers to contribute to global research, expand student learning opportunities, and contribute to high level conversations about the future of the creative industries.

The latest economic research from NZIER showed New Zealand’s creative sector contributed $17.5 billion to its annual GDP.[1]

As New Zealand’s largest specialist creative and technology college, Yoobee is committed to helping students and creative industries prepare for the future of work.

To train the workforce New Zealand needs to maximise its potential, over the last decade Yoobee has expanded its delivery from vocational education and training to in-demand Bachelor level degrees.

“The natural next step for us is to develop our research capacity, culture and expertise,” says Dr Kathryn A. Hardy Bernal, Head of Research and Postgraduate Studies at Yoobee.

Yoobee is playing an active role in building bridges with international institutions. By sharing knowledge and strengthening the quality and credibility of higher education research in New Zealand, Yoobee is able contribute to the global development of the creative industries.

Dr Kathryn A. Hardy Bernal was selected by an expert panel to present her research paper at the IFFTI conference: In Memoriam, In Praesentia: La Calavera Catrina and Embodiment through a Mexican Aesthetic Expression of a Subcultural Gothic Fashion Style.

The paper forms part of ‘Ara Honohono | Connecting pathways,’ a collection of academic proceedings that analyses fashion’s past and future through culture, people, place and practice.

The academic proceedings encourage the sector to rethink the responsibilities of designers, educators and consumers within the wider creative industries eco-system to advocate for a sustainable and inclusive future.

As one of the 38 academics selected as a contributor (out of 180 international submissions) Dr Kathryn A. Hardy Bernal shows Yoobee academics have the knowledge and skills to contribute meaningful ideas to the development of the creative industries on a world scale.

Conference delegations include: Victoria University of Wellington, Auckland University of Technology (New Zealand), University of Technology Sydney (Australia), Kent State University (USA), University of Manchester, Nottingham Trent University, and Falmouth University (UK), University of Borås (Sweden), Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology (China), National Institute of Fashion Technology (India), Bunka Gakuen (Japan), Ewha Womans University (South Korea), Amsterdam Fashion Institute (Netherlands), College of Fashion and Textiles (Taiwan).

[1] ‘The Evolution of Innovation’ – The NZ Institute of Economic Research, 2016.