STUDY VISITS
Patricia Marino
Technical Coordinator of the SEDA Project
Study visit to the '4th International Conference on Natural Fibres', to the University of Minho and to the FIBRENAMICS Group, in Porto and Guimarães, to deepen knowledge about innovative and sustainable textile processes and products
Description of the visit:
It is of great importance for the project to monitor the latest technologies developed for the processing of fibres, and also to make contact with several R&D institutions in the world and with the suppliers of the various technologies. To this end, a visit to the Fibrous Materials Research Group - School of Engineering of the University of Minho-Portugal was held, and technology centres with textile research groups were visited. On the other hand, the project participated in the 4th International Conference on Natural Fibres "Intelligent Sustainable Solutions" (ICNF) in Porto.
Learning objective:
- Technological update on innovative and sustainable textile processes and products that can be applied to the SEDA project and transferred to its members.
- To link actors from the academic world and suppliers with members of the project.
- To provide dissemination and visibility on the project's characteristics and actors to the world of fibres and textile processes.
Institutions visited:
- School of Engineering of the University of Minho, Fibrenamics research team, Portugal
- CITEVE Technology Centre, Portugal
- CENTI Technology Centre, Portugal
Attended events:
4th International Conference on Natural Fibres "Intelligent Sustainable Solutions" (ICNF) in Porto (1,2,3 July)
Main products:
- Reports on the state of the art in textile technology
- Publication of the "Contribution to the Reduction of Poverty in the LAC Region through Sericulture with a Sustainable and Local Added Value Approach" Project EuropeAid/150248/DH/ACT/AlC" Paper in the annual report of the 4th ICNF.
- Recommendations regarding contacts and lines of work of interest. The University of Minho joining the project as a partner.
- Presentation of experiences at the training exchange meeting held in Buenos Aires on 4 September with representatives of the project's groups and at the third meeting of the reference groups to be held in Maringá (Brazil) in March 2020
- Reports of each of the activities described.
Assessments:
The visits carried out in Portugal allowed us to make contact with scientific and technical institutions that will be very valuable for the project members, as it happened with the Fibrenamics group of the University of Minho joining the Project as a partner entity. The foundations were laid for future collaborative work linked to textile innovation and new applications of natural fibres. Forms of technological assistance to the production environment and transfer of innovation to the industry were shared. Growth prospects for the garment sector in Latin America were analysed, comparing Portugal's business models with those of the region. The participation in the International Congress of Natural Fibres (ICFN) gave visibility to the project and allowed contact to be made with international references in textile engineering. The meetings with key actors allowed the incorporation of new centres and research groups to the network with whom to exchange ideas and create collaborative alliances on issues related to natural fibres, new textile applications, R&D, sustainability and growth of the textile and clothing sector.
