“It's a challenging experience but very rewarding. You make most of the time you have in each place and you quickly realise that textile research is a community that you quickly become a part of. We make lots of contacts and your understanding of breadth of the subject increases with each term,” says Magdalena.

Sahar agrees, adding that “sometimes you feel isolated because it is difficult to become part of student life in such a short time. But on the other hand, we get an education that is always up-to-date and is given by the very best in the field. E-TEAM gives us access to a completely different type of network with teachers, researchers, and students from all over the world.”

The programme is part of the EU project AUTEX and is given at a number of institutions with textile engineering programmes. One advantage of the fact that universities share the Master’s programme is that students benefit from each institution's specialties and unique offerings.

Vincent Nierstraz, Professor of Textile Engineering at the Swedish School of Textiles, has been part of AUTEX and E-TEAM since 1999.

“The E-TEAM concept is that students get a chance to become part of the university where they are. They have a limited yet intense experience. Each instructor they have is specially chosen for their specific course, which means that students always get the most up-to-date instruction in each field. In addition, they can take advantage of each institution's specific strengths,” says Vincent.

E-TEAM is not always given at the same higher education institutions and at regular intervals it rotates among the AUTEX members. The instructors and researchers who give lectures are selected by AUTEX to give students the best opportunities to gain specialised knowledge.

“As we are such a small group of students, we get to have a close dialogue with the researchers. Our feedback is truly taken into consideration and we can influence our education in a way that few other students can do during their Master’s studies,” says Magdalena.

"It's not a normal Master’s programme but it gives so much," she concludes, checking the clock. In an hour, the train leaves for Copenhagen. Yet another country, yet another city, and yet another landmark. 

Facts:

AUTEX stands for the Association of Universities for Textiles and is a network of universities and colleges in Europe with a focus on textiles. The network was founded in 1994 and has a mission to facilitate cooperation on textile research and textile education between members.