The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) announced here Tuesday that it will introduce the city's first sportswear design subject to meet the rising demand for professional manpower brought about by the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

The brand-new subject, entitled "Sportswear Design and Manufacture", will be offered by the university's Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC) as an elective module for second-year students of the Bachelor's of Art Program in Fashion and Textile, starting from the 2007/2008 academic year.

The curriculum covers the global sportswear market; history of popular sports and sportswear; design concepts for sportswear; fabrics and materials for sportswear; machinery and manufacture of sportswear as well as their quality requirements.

In addition to inviting guest speakers from the industry to share their insights with budding designers; students will also visit factories in the Chinese mainland to gain an in-depth understanding of the industry's operation.

The university gained support from local sportswear industry and received a donation of 628,000 HK dollars (about 80,513 US dollars) from Win Hanverky Holdings Limited of Hong Kong for the development of the new initiative.

Speaking at the press briefing on Tuesday, Co-Founder and Chairman of Win Hanverky Li Kwok-tung said, "sportswear is not for merely athletes anymore but makes trendy outfit for mass consumers. For the industry to continue to thrive, we need more talents and professionals who can come up with creative design and are devoted to enhance competitiveness of the industry."

Associate Professor Dr. Allan Chan said this pioneering subject would enhance students' awareness of the highly sophisticated sportswear industry and provide additional opportunities for both industry and students.

Both Li and Dr. Chan were optimistic about the future development of the sportswear industry. They anticipated the hosting of the Olympic Games in Beijing would create an increasing awareness and demand for sportswear and other related accessories in the mainland market.

PolyU is the sole provider of fashion design education at the tertiary level in Hong Kong. Its ITC has earned a fast-growing international reputation as one of the world-class centers in the area of fashion technology.