Skills for Smart Textiles: Identification of required skills in the smart textile industry and development of online training content in two levels
▶Summary
The SMARTINNO project aimed to promote the smart textile industry and highlight the specific knowledge and skills needed to join it. It provides free, easy-to-use educational materials for various...
▶Objectives
The SMARTINNO project aimed to promote the smart textile industry and highlight the specific knowledge and skills needed to join it. It provides free, easy-to-use educational materials for various target groups, supporting both learning and the integration of smart textile topics into curricula where possible. These materials make industry knowledge accessible to educational institutions, students, and the wider public, regardless of digital skills or geographic location. Through live and online events tailored to different knowledge levels, SMARTINNO promoted smart textile topics and facilitated networking and knowledge exchange between participants. By fostering transnational collaboration between Belgium, Germany, and Slovenia, the project reached a broader audience, enhanced knowledge transfer between industry and education, and supported innovation. Ultimately, SMARTINNO equips learners with essential and advanced skills, strengthens interest in the field, and contributes to the long-term competitiveness of the European smart textile sector.
▶Activities
The SMARTINNO project performed multiple activities during its duration. These included the development of online training materials which were aligned with the industry need and current educational offerings. The materials were developed based on the concrete findings drawn from the online survey analysis. Additionally, the project fostered strong transnational collaboration through online webinars (in three levels), which always included participation of external experts coming from industry or education. Those webinars targeted different groups, from students to professionals. In this way, they promoted networking and knowledge exchange between industry and academia, as well as presented what are current activities of different institutions, active in the area of smart textiles. Additionally, presenting SMARTINNO project on multiple occasions helped consortia with the dissemination of project and its results. The project has enhanced awareness, created relevant content with an easy access and successfully worked on creating opportunities for network and knowledge exchange in the smart textile system across Europe.
▶Impact
During the project lifetime, consortia carried out multiple acvtivities and events: 1) Online Sruveys for identification of smart textile needs from the perspective of smart textile companies. and another for identification of current educational content on smart textiles in VAT/HEI. 3) Analysis of those surveys, gap identification, development of macrostructure for educational materials. 4) Development of educational materials in two levels. 5) A series of webinars in three levels (Introduction to Smart Textiles (online), Smart Textiles in Action (online), Smart Textile Market Trends (live). 6) A hybrid event titled Speed dates for work opportunities in Belgium at the HoGent University. 7) Final event of SMARTINNO project in Germany. 8) A project partner meeting in Belgium in early 2025 and a final project meeting during the final project event in Germany, May 2025.