ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITÀ DI BOLOGNA

Digital Technologies in Creativity & Creative Industries: AI and Extended Reality in Fashion

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Questo MOOC è stato prodotto nell’ambito del progetto Edvance - Digital Education Hub per la Cultura Digitale Avanzata. Il progetto è finanziato dall’Unione europea - Next Generation EU, Componente 1, Investimento 3.4 “Didattica e competenze universitarie avanzate".

About this course

The MOOC explores how digital technologies are reshaping creative practices and cultural/creative industries, with particular attention to Artificial Intelligence and Extended Reality applied to fashion. Through definitions, examples, and case studies, the course presents tools, processes, and impacts on experience, business models, and governance (copyright, bias, privacy, transparency).
The course is organized into 4 weeks offering a progressive path through digital creativity, AI and Extended Reality, with applications and case studies in fashion and the creative industries.

Week 1 – Foundations: virtual/augmented reality and early examples of generative AI in communication
Week 2 – Digital technologies in the creative industries: value chains, platforms, governance, and case studies
Week 3 – Artificial Intelligence in fashion: tasks (recognition, forecasting, recommendation, generation) and applications
Week 4 – Extended Reality in fashion: virtual try-on, immersive stores/experiences, and brand experimentation

Each week includes lessons made up of videos, texts/resources, and assessment quizzes.

Target

Primary: undergraduate and master’s students (design, fashion, communication, media).
Secondary: lecturers, researchers, and professionals.

Outcomes

Expected learning outcomes:

The student will be able to describe what is meant by creative industries and how digitalization affects ideation, production, and distribution.
The student will be able to recognize the main areas where digital technologies are used in creativity (3D, platforms, data, and recommendation systems).
The student will be able to explain, in basic terms, how Artificial Intelligence is used in fashion (visual recognition, forecasting, recommendations, content generation).
The student will be able to distinguish the main use cases of Extended Reality in fashion and their communication or commercial goals.
The student will be able to identify recurring critical issues (intellectual property protection, content provenance, bias, privacy, transparency).
The student will be able to present a brief, clear, and structured summary/commentary of course materials and case studies.

Requirements

No formal prerequisites; basic familiarity with digital tools and an interest in creativity, media, and fashion are recommended.

Activities

Weekly video lessons; readings/further resources; guided case study analysis; self-assessment quizzes for each week.
Passing the quizzes: answer at least 60% of the questions in each quiz correctly.

Open Badge

Participants who complete the course will be awarded an Open Badge from BESTR. Participants who log in to the platform with University of Bologna, EDUGAIN, CIE or Spid authentication and answer correctly at least 60% of the questions in total, will receive an email with instructions to download their Open Badge from the BESTR website.

Subtitles

English subtitles available.

For better understanding, subtitles are available for each video and can be activated or not. If you want to revise some crucial passages you can move through the video content and click on the attached text.

EQF level

ISCED-F

0212 Fashion, interior and industrial design

SDGS

4 - Quality Education
9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
12 - Responsible Consumption and Production

FAQ

For further information, see FAQ page.

Course Professors

Gustavo Marfia

Gustavo Marfia is a Full Professor of Informatics at the University of Bologna’s Department of the Arts, where he also serves as Delegate for Research. His research sits at the intersection of human‑centric computing, extended reality (VR/AR/MR), and distributed and mobile systems, with a focus on designing immersive experiences that connect technology with culture, heritage, and creative industries. He founded VARLab (Virtual and Augmented Reality Lab), an interdepartmental initiative developing XR environments and applications ranging from cultural heritage and education to fashion communication and x‑commerce. Marfia earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Across his academic activity, he combines applied research with teaching and curriculum development in areas such as immersive technologies, data-driven fashion systems, and digital innovation in creative contexts.