University of Borås in a new initiative to support the transformation of the textile industry
2026-10-28
The University of Borås is the only university among the 11 Swedish universities awarded funding through the initiative.
The project Transformation of the textile industry with sustainable fibres and AI tools – beyond fossil-based materials builds on the university’s textile research and brings together expertise from several different research fields. The project will explore how AI can improve fibre separation and textile recycling, as well as predict textile properties.
“We are ranked as one of the world’s leading higher education institutions in textile education and research. Through this initiative, we are strengthening our research at the intersection of textiles and AI. Many higher education institutions are strong in either AI or textiles, but here we combine both fields,” said Nawar Kadi, Professor at the Department of Textile Technology.
Encompassing the entire textile value chain
The project at the University of Borås encompasses the entire textile value chain. The aim is to develop methods that can contribute to better decision-making throughout all the different parts of the textile loop through the collection, management, and analysis of large amounts of data.
“This is as significant as when the textile industry began its digitalisation journey 40 years ago. We now need to embrace new technology once again. The textile loop is highly complex, but we work across the entire textile value chain. What we develop can contribute to decision-making in every part of the value chain,” said Niina Hernández, co-researcher and Head of Department at the Department of Textile Technology.
Several research fields engaged
The project will be carried out in parallel with the ongoing TexAI research initiative at the university. The work will bring together expertise from several fields and be conducted in close collaboration with both industry and the wider society.
“We bring in expertise from different fields and not only from the textile sector. We also collaborate with both the wider society and industry,” said Nawar Kadi.
An important part of the project involves developing methods for using data in transformation efforts.
“The connection to AI is about developing methods for collecting data, managing large datasets, and then generating relevant information,” explained Niina Hernández.
According to Nawar Kadi, one of the strengths of the initiative is that the research encompasses both method development and practical application.
“We develop new methods while at the same time working together with academia, industry, and the business sector to put them into practice,” he said.
As part of the initiative, the Swedish School of Textiles has appointed an Assistant Senior Lecturer, Hossein Rajabinejad. He will build the infrastructure required to implement the project at the university. He most recently worked at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, where he conducted research on textiles and AI. He has also previously participated as a doctoral student in the EU project SMDTex, in which the Swedish School of Textiles was one of the partners.
Read more
The project is led by Professor Nawar Kadi, Junchun Yu, Docent, Niina Hernández, Senior Lecturer and Hossein Rajaminejad, Assistant Senior Lecturer.
Mistra Environmental Research Leaders, an initiative within Mistra Environmental Research Leaders.
Solveig Klug
Solveig Klug