Pedagogy and Professional Development

AI Avatars as Virtual Mentors in Fashion Entrepreneurship Education

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Abstract

Entrepreneurship competencies are increasingly essential, yet fashion students often lack access to mentors and practical frameworks. This proceeding proposes a six-module, AI-supported curriculum for fashion freshmen in which AI avatars serve as virtual mentors. Anchored in experiential learning and social cognitive theory, diverse avatars model entrepreneurial pathways, guide activities, and provide adaptive feedback during instruction and interactive exercises. Modules address innovation in fashion, opportunity recognition, ideation and creativity, Business Model Canvas fundamentals, venture development, and pitching with reflection. Avatar mentors are produced with a virtual-avatar platform and paired with curated narratives to support inclusive engagement while attending to transparency, bias, and content accuracy. Effectiveness will be assessed through pre/post surveys of knowledge retention, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and digital engagement, supplemented by qualitative reflections and interaction analytics within an iterative design-based research cycle. The model offers a scalable approach to mentorship and soft-skill development in digitally mediated fashion entrepreneurship education.

Keywords: AI avatar mentors, entrepreneurship curriculum, inclusive online classroom

How to Cite:

Jiang, L., Lopez Llantuy, N. & Sanders, E. A., (2025) “AI Avatars as Virtual Mentors in Fashion Entrepreneurship Education”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 82(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.21858