TEX4.0 – Enabling Industry 4.0 Skills in Textile SMEs
Summary of the project
Textile is a sector with major economic importance in Europe, employing more than 1,5 million people in more than 120.000 companies. However, SMEs in the textile ecosystem are being held back by a lack of skilled employees, particularly in terms of digitalisation and new technologies, while the global textile industry is on the way to gradually adopting Industry 4.0, due to which a wide range of possibilities have emerged to use various technologies in its production and supply chain.
Thus, the TEX4.0, a 24-month Erasmus+ project, is designed aiming to equip the current textile workforce, as well as NEETs, with the necessary skills to address the lack of digital knowledge in the textile sector through the promotion of Industry 4.0-related knowledge, in order to keep up with the rapid technological advances of the sector and to increase their employability opportunities.
TARGET GROUPS
- VET learners, i.e., current textile workforce as well as NEETs for whom the textile sector is an opportunity to enter the labour market
- VET trainers, VET centers, institutes, lifelong learning centers
- Textile sector stakeholders, including Chambers of Commerce, SME owners, managers of the textile sector
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The TEX4.0 project objectives are:
- to identify the needs of VET trainers and learners in the field of Industry 4.0 technologies training
- to develop a curriculum on Industry 4.0 skills in the Textile sector for VET Trainers
- to equip VET trainers, learners and textile stakeholders with the necessary knowledge and tools through an innovative training package on Industry 4.0-related skills
- to provide an e-learning format with attractive and dynamic functions where all material will be integrated
- to implement engaging training activities using participatory approaches in order to test the results and upskill the target groups
- to disseminate the project results through partners and project’s networks and enhance their impact across EU.
TEX4.0 Project Results
The TEX4.0 Report will be a result of a wide survey among VET trainers, learners, and textile stakeholders that will cover a spectrum of Textile 4.0 technologies and practices to better understand what Textile 4.0 and its underlying technologies are and how they can be exploited in their daily work. Part of its work is to explore and consider the type of content (e.g., notes, case studies, PPTs, factsheets) that should be offered for different relevant topics to maximize effective knowledge transfer. The TEX 4.0 Curriculum will be developed based on this survey.
The TEX4.0 Training Suite will be a three-faceted platform consisting of the e-learning environment addressing VET learners, the trainer’s Toolkit with training modules and trainer’s notes, addressing VET trainers and relevant textile stakeholders, and the Textile4All space with educational and informative material to be used by all target groups/beneficiaries of the project.
The TEX4.0 National pilotings will be 3 rounds of either online or offsite piloting activities per country for each of the target groups to reach 30 beneficiaries. They will be based on the material developed under the WP3 TEX4.0 Training Suite and adjusted according to the training needs. Their completion will lead to the creation of 6 national reports to include the learning process, outcomes, lessons learned and suggestions for optimisation of the material.
The My TEXperience will be a transnational activity, organised in Larissa, Greece, involving 18 participants and aiming to bring together trainers, learners, textile stakeholders, and Industry 4.0 experts, exchange knowledge, and use the materials developed for the piloting activities along with extra activities such as debates, Q&A session with experts in the technology and/or textile sector, and study visits. Its completion will lead to the development of the My TEXperience Booklet including the methodologies used, expectations-fears-contributions, outcomes, and photos of the activity.
The Partnership
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET DRESDEN – coordinator, Germany
Technische Universität Dresden (TUD) is one of eleven German universities that were identified by the German government as ‘Universities of Excellence’ and are thus entitled to receive permanent funding within the framework of the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Governments. TUD is one of the largest technical universities in Germany and is among the country’s leading and most dynamic universities. With 17 faculties in five Schools, TUD offers a broad variety of degree courses and covers a wide research spectrum. Having been committed to sciences and the engineering before the reunification of Germany, it has nowadays become a university that unites the natural and engineering sciences with the humanities and social sciences as well as medicine. TUD is the largest university in Saxony today and it is embedded in the DRESDEN – concept network. TUD is backed by a long history of cooperation projects in research and education, many of these projects are being funded by the European Commission. Some of the most important projects “The Chair Development and Assembly Technology for Textile Products”. The TUD has also being involved in the clothing pattern development and many more. .
Infinitivity Design Labs – partner, France
IDL is an SME Design & Research studio based in the rural area of the French region of Auvergne, focusing on designing sustainable, meaningful, and intrinsically motivating learning experiences, placing education and training in the spotlight of its core mission. The studio is also a French state-registered VET organization, compliant with official onboarding, delivery, and evaluation training standards. IDL focuses on the following key activities: (a) Game-Based Learning, (b) Training & E-learning, (c) User Experience & Multimedia Content production and (d) Artificial Intelligence. The studio provides consulting services around a variety of educational games for mobile devices, desktop computers, motion sensor controls, AR/VR technologies as well as interactive tabletops and surfaces. IDL also specializes in narrative worldbuilding for the Metaverse, focuses on instructional design by designing and developing Learning Management Systems (LMS) and educational content, wants to create accessible user experiences..
KAINOTOMIA & SIA EE – partner, Greece
“KAINOTOMIA” is a Lifelong Learning Centre in Greece, which is active in the field of Vocational Education and Training. KAINOTOMIA has implemented more than 60 continuing vocational training programmes for unemployed people, teachers of all levels of education, higher education students, employees/self-employed and vulnerable social groups, for the development of professional opportunities and their promotion and integration into the labour market and society in general, through innovative programmes. “KAINOTOMIA” provides consultancy services to enterprises and support and advisory services to trainees to facilitate their (re)entry into the labour market. “KAINOTOMIA” has participated in several national projects, offering a high degree of expertise in training in modern fields, combining them with those that are in high demand in the labour market in order to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes of trainees for their integration into the labour market. Furthermore, “KAINOTOMIA” participates in co-funded national programmes called “local development and entrepreneurship projects for unemployed people based on specific local needs and development potential”.
UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI – partner, Romania
The University Politehnica of Bucharest (UPB) is Romania’s largest Technical University, fostering innovation in Technical Engineering and contributing significantly to higher education with over 2500 staff and 30,000 students. UPB’s expertise spans AI application in manufacturing, especially in image processing and industrial inspection. Within its Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Robotics, UPB-CAMIS focuses on Industry 4.0 technologies like additive manufacturing, robotics, CAD-CAM, and virtual/augmented reality.
Students graduate with comprehensive knowledge in Industry 4.0 technologies, digital manufacturing, and additive manufacturing. The CAMIS RDI center boasts vast EU project experience in Industry 4.0, developing innovative applications and curricula across different technical levels. Recognized by the National Qualification Authority, UPB offers continuous education, including VET courses. Additionally, UPB-CAMIS excels in e-learning, VET, and adult education, having enhanced these capabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their strengths also lie in project quality assurance through internal and external evaluations of activities and outcomes.
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Lottozero società cooperativa sociale – partner, Italy
Lottozero is an international centre for textile design, art and culture based in the historic textile district of Prato, operating both as a consultancy studio and creative hub, divided into a gallery/exhibition space, a shared studio/workshop space and a fully equipped textile laboratory for production, experimentation and research. Established in 2014 and fully operational since 2017 with a team of 4 people working full time alongside the organisation’s art curator. Our mission is to provide a fertile environment for creativity and an international base for networking in the textile sector. Proximity and relevance to the textile sector is the hallmark of the organisation. Lottozero brings together talented, motivated, young European designers in Prato and initiates an exchange between traditional textile companies, showing them new means for creative innovation, and young designers, bringing them in contact with companies that have the necessary technical know-how to produce their creations.
CHAMBRE OFFICIELLE DE COMMERCE D’ESPAGNE EN BELGIQUE ET AU LUXEMBOURG – partner, Belgium
The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg is a non-profit association and plays an important role in trade and economic relations between Spain, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Its main objective is the development of trade and investments between Spain and the states within its territorial jurisdiction. It provides essential information about the different markets in Spain, Belgium, and Luxembourg as well as professional contacts in its business area community. The Chamber is publicly recognized as one of the most prestigious dialogue tribunes between companies and European Institutions, based in Brussels and Luxembourg. The Chamber is part of the Federation of Spanish Chambers of Commerce in Europe-Africa-Asia-Oceania (FEDECOM) and maintains a permanent link with the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Services and Navigation, which provides members the ability to benefit from the Official Chambers network around the world. The Chamber is supported by the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness of the Spanish Government and collaborates in the Internationalization of Spanish economy Plan.
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Co-funded by the European Union
