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Online retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter Group is teaming up with SDA Bocconi University to prepare graduates for the increasingly digital fashion industry.
Announced concurrently with the launch of the 2017 edition of Bocconi’s Master in Fashion, Experience and Design Management (MAFED), YNAP will be working with the school to design a new course in digital strategy, marketing and ecommerce. This initiative follows other educational partnerships from YNAP, as the group works to ensure that it and other luxury companies can find the talent they need.
Ecommerce education
Bocconi launched its MAFED program in 2002 with luxury organization Fondazione Altagamma.
YNAP is now sharing its digital expertise with these graduate students.
Coursework will cover topics such as marketing, smart data, ecommerce and customer relations. Along with educating students on the basics, the course will also delve into strategy, giving them tools that will apply to work in the fashion, luxury and design industries.
YNAP managers will make appearances throughout the course, giving lectures or presenting case studies.
Screenshot of Yoox Web site
Providing students with real experience, a number of the participants will be placed in internships within YNAP after graduating. Some MAFED students will also have the opportunity to work on a field project supported by YNAP, with the chance to present the end results to the company.
“A growing portion of MAFED graduates go on to work in positions that require vision, skills and expertise in digital technologies,” said Emanuela Prandelli, director of MAFED, in a statement. “Our students are digital natives and companies expect them not only to be familiar with digital technologies in their day-to-day lives but also to be able to deploy digital skills and technologies in their businesses.
“That’s why we decided to instill MAFED with a renewed dual focus on analytical and Web skills, with a particular concentration on ecommerce, which now plays an increasingly important role at fashion and luxury companies,” she said. “The partnership with YNAP is a great way to strengthen the digital aspect of our program.”
Last year, Yoox Net-A-Porter Group partnered with Bologna Business School to launch a Center for Digital Business Education, combining their collective ecommerce expertise to help train managerial candidates for an increasingly digital world.
The first managerial education program focusing specifically on digital business will offer master's degree programs aimed at both new graduates and those with some years of on-the-job experience. Luxury brands have identified technology as a key area where finding qualified talent is especially hard, making this initiative a means to ensure that both Yoox Net-A-Porter and other business navigate the digital shift (see story).
“This important partnership with SDA Bocconi, which for many years has offered the most prestigious master’s in the fashion and luxury industry, further strengthens our commitment to digital education, a key way to accelerate transformation in the sector,” said Alex Alexander, chief information officer of Yoox Net-A-Porter Group.