Software tools for textile creatives Erasmus Project

Project Title

Software tools for textile creatives

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Research and innovation; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

OPTIMTEX Project Summary

Manufacturing productivity is ever increasing due to support of software technologies, while digital skills are highly needed for the 21st century technical specialist. The gap between the need and the offer of digital skilled personnel is increasing on a global level and this is why European future strategy envisages supporting digitization in all areas, including education and training. The textile field is strongly requiring textile personnel with digital skills, such as knitting machines programmers or garments designers.
In correlation with these facts, the OptimTex project is focused on improving knowledge and skills in the field of software applications for students of Higher Education, as well as their employability within textile enterprises, by providing the adequate training instruments for their profession. For this a project will be submitted within the Program Erasmus+, KA2 – Strategic Partnership for Higher Education (Call 2020)
OptimTex has the following specific objectives:
Objective 1: Building novel educational content by creating a course on up-to-date textile software applications.
Objective 2: Improving employability of textile creatives within industry & research by means of adequate instruments.
Objective 3: Fostering digital skills uptake by implementing e-learning instruments, platform and glossary of modern textile terms.
Objective 4: Creating educational synergies by enabling student mobility.
The consortium of the project tackling these objectives, reflects a very well-balanced distribution of activities and responsibilities. There is one research institute in textiles (INCDTP = coordinator), four universities (UGent, Uni Maribor, TU Iasi, University West Bohemia), and one training / technology transfer center (TecMinho), from 5 countries with great importance for the textile industry in Europe: Belgium, Czech Republic, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia.
This innovation strategic partnership HEI project of type flexible learning pathways has the following main activities:
(O1) Elaborating the Course of textile software applications, providing educational materials needed for training the target group in a practice to theory approach.
(O2) Elaborating the Instruments for applying software solutions within textile enterprises, offering adequate tools for improving uptake of textile modelling and simulation software within textile enterprises.
(O3) Implementing the Tools for multi-lingual support and organization of intensive study programs.
(C1-C3) Organization of an Intensive study programs by three Universities (UGent, UMaribor and TUIASI), with participation of students of every partner.
Target group: textile creatives – students of HEIs in technical fields.
(C4-C6) Organizing Invited lecturers for the intensive study programs.
Target group: Lecturers on behalf of each partner for the educational content.
(E1-E13) Workshops to disseminate the Intellectual Outputs of the project.
Target group: project’s stakeholders – young professionals from the industry.
The methodology intended to be applied in the project envisages the guidance of the project accordingly to several plans:
1. The Work plan
2. The Quality Management Plan (QMP)
3. The Dissemination plan
4. The Sustainability plan
Main Results:
– one online course with 5 modules (software for design of weaving, knitting, garments, embroidery textile products, including software for design of experiments) in 6 national languages;
– one module for applying software solutions within textile enterprises in 6 national languages;
– one e-learning instrument with a practice to theory approach, based on the accomplished educational content;
– one online Glossary of modern textile terms in 6 national languages;
– multi-media content for quick and direct approach of the textile creatives (videos, interviews);
– 36 textile creatives prepared within intensive study programs by 15 lecturers;
– 180 young professionals counseled within Multiplier Events.
Project’s activities will lead to following impact:
– Orienting knowledge and skills of young textile professionals and HEI students towards digitization (design of e-textiles by means of software applications);
– Preparing textile creatives for the world-of-work;
– Ensuring synergies of preparation within various textile fields by intensive study programs.
The main sustainable output of OptimTex, the e-learning platform, will be hosted on the INCDTP server even after project’s end and will further support the textile world-of-work in improving innovation and uptake of digital skills.

Project Website

http://www.optimtex.eu

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 196724 Eur

Project Coordinator

INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU TEXTILE SI PIELARIE & Country: RO

Project Partners

• ASSOCIACAO UNIVERSIDADE EMPRESA PARA DESENVOLVIMENTO TECMINHO
• UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICA GHEORGHE ASACHI DIN IASI
• UNIVERZA V MARIBORU
• ZAPADOCESKA UNIVERZITA V PLZNI
• UNIVERSITEIT GENT