AWET is extending its educational investments to include Fashion Design Students
In 2016 the Australian Wool Education Trust funded a pilot project for Fashion Design Students. This project will provide funding for students to purchase wool fabrics for their final year collections.
For the pilot project the criteria for administering and directing the grants are:
- AWET will support a fixed number of grants for Fashion Design Institute students to a maximum cost of $50,000 per annum.
- The grants will be available to final year students from 3 and/or 4-year Degrees.
- The quantum will be fixed at $1,500 for a final year student in a 3-year degree and $2,000 for a final year student in a 4-year degree.
- The scholarships are intended to assist successful candidates in sourcing and purchasing wool fabric for inclusion in their final year looks/outfits/ranges.
- Each grant is contingent on having 80% wool content in the base fabric.
- AWET will decide how many grants are to be available for each Institute, using enrolment numbers as a basis, and it will not be involved in administration.
- Each Institute will be responsible for advertising the grants and selecting candidates, based on the following criteria:
- academic achievement or other related performance measures used by the institute;
- commitment to producing a final year range incorporating the minimum percentage of wool required, with other fibres able to be used in conjunction with the wool component, within garments and/or in separate garments; and
- the names and contact details being sent to AWET, as soon as possible after selection of successful candidates.
- Once completed, each Institute will arrange for AWET to receive a digitised version of their students’ designs/story boards, together with a description of the selected fabrics, plus an invoice for the total grants awarded.
- AWET will pay the funds to each Institute for distribution to their candidates.
- Upon completion of their looks/outfits, students will send digital images to AWET that may be published on AWET’s website and shared with AWI.
Initially 25 grants were provided for 2016, allocated to RMIT, Whitehouse Design, UTS, QUT, TAFE SA and Curtin University.
Following a review of the pilot program the Trustees decided to extend it into 2017, with the same number of grants and the same institutions.
The work of some of the grant recipients can be seen here.