The Alchemium building at Lodz University of Technology hosted the inaugural meeting of the AIdesignTEX project called Innovative IT Tools for a Closed-Loop Economy in the Textile Industry: Supporting Resource Sustainability and Efficiency. The university periodical, Życie Uczelni, has featured more details in the article Horizon Europe funds for sustainable textile design.
Lodz University of Technology representatives, prof. Łukasz Albrecht, Vice-Rector for Science, and prof. Katarzyna Grabowska, Dean of the Faculty of Material Technologies and Textile Design, who is coordinating the project, welcomed distinguished guests from the project partner universities. Also attending were Dr. Monika Malinowska-Olszowy, university professor and Deputy Dean for Education; dr hab. inż. Marcin Barburski, Deputy Dean for Development; dr inż. Anna Bacciarelli, the project’s administrative coordinator, and members of the faculty’s project team.
The project partners include universities from Belgium, Norway, and Spain. The kick-off meeting brought the following representatives to Lodz University of Technology:
• Prof. Karen De Clerck and Sofie Moorkens from the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Materials, Textiles, and Chemical Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium.
• Prof. Miguel Ángel Gutiérrez García and Dr. Ricardo Reier Forradellas from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, Catholic University of Ávila, Spain.
• Prof. R.M. Chandima Ratnayake from the Department of Mechanical and Structural Engineering and Materials Science, University of Stavanger, Norway.
The AIdesignTEX project is funded by the European Commission through the HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ACCESS-02 program. Its goal is to introduce innovative solutions that enhance sustainability and resource efficiency in the textile industry.
The first meeting was a great success, characterized by productive discussions, shared enthusiasm, and a strong commitment from all partners to collaborate on the implementation of this unique initiative.