-This project aims to pilot the introduction of design in traditional industries as it is an underused and little known skill in non-fashion textile says Razieh Hashemi Sanatgar, coordinator of the project and researcher at The Swedish School of Textiles.

DESTEX is a project where eight different partners together will create an educational programme to promote and cultivate innovative industrial design and creativity. The project will culminate in a handbook of best-practices and further challenges for educators and students, primarily in textile engineering courses throughout Europe. A book of lectures will be produced and tested in a summer course in Milan. The project will also develop an online platform for hackathons.

-          The end goal is not necessarily an important part of the project. What happens along the road is an important part of itself. We develop and test methods and ideas, and in the meantime, we discover new challenges and common grounds says Razieh Hashemi Sanatgar

Right now, the project is in an analytic phase to specify the needs. The analysis will give a unique overview of the state of knowledge and challenges in the textile industry, at least when it comes to creative solutions and new methodologies in manufacturing.

Next step in DESTEX is a designing phase. A virtual training programme with interactive content and lectures is to be developed during the coming six months.

The DESTEX-project will be concluded in spring 2022.

Text: Marc Hermansson