One of the most popular events at the Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology at Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) is the presentation of the creative project assignments from the 5th semester. This year, twelve teams tackled the tasks set by the predominantly external topic contributors. The teams, which were taught in both German and English, were put together on an interdisciplinary basis from the faculty's various Bachelor's degree programs and assigned to the project topics of the topic contributors. The aim was to develop innovative, sustainable and resource-saving solutions.
Team 11 emerged as the clear winner. It impressed the audience in the lecture hall above all with a successful Oscar-style presentation. Nine students developed five different textile shackle prototypes in collaboration with Gleitstein GmbH, a leading traditional company in the rope industry. The existing textile shackles made of Dyneema® high-performance fibers, with a load capacity of ten tons, offer a lightweight, modern and robust alternative to conventional metal shackles. The team used creative solutions to add a required second safety device to prevent unintentional loosening of the connection.
Team 4, consisting of ten students, designed a smart vest that not only keeps you warm but also increases your visibility in traffic. Together with the theme exhibitor, Gebrüder Jaeger GmbH from Wuppertal, the students developed a stylish, safe and intelligent vest that can be used for various outdoor and indoor activities. The highlight: luminous electroluminescent wire was woven into the narrow textile developed.
What might the clothing industry look like in 25 years' time in terms of ecological and social factors? Eight students from Team 8 worked on this question in collaboration with the non-profit association Femnet e.V. from Bonn to develop educational materials on possible future scenarios for the clothing industry. The aim was to sensitize young people between the ages of 12 and 18 to the global interrelationships of the economy. The team worked out the results of their research visually and created two digital hidden object pictures and two collages, for each of which a story was also written in storytelling format. A written handbook with background information complemented the work.
To the music of Lady Gaga's hit "Born this Way", models presented Team 10's diverse merchandise collection: T-shirts, hoodies and cotton bags: The ten students designed new items of clothing and accessories for The Hochschule Niederrhein's campus store. They received inspiration for the collection from interviews in which students shared their experiences with diversity and inclusion at HSNR. They used sustainable materials, contemporary cuts and versatile fits for the collection. A highlight is the flexible design options that allow the wearers to express their individuality and creativity. The students submitted the theme themselves in order to make diversity on campus more visible and actively promote it.
Team 9 went to Austria: they developed an innovative sustainability concept for the Salzburg Festival, focusing in particular on the sustainable design of the costumes. The guidelines drawn up for this included sustainable materials, methods for process optimization and innovative finishing techniques. The nine students recorded their haptic results in a modular "construction kit". They also used their guidelines to design a sustainable costume for the "Screaming Mouths", which will play a key role in the upcoming Whitsun production "Hotel Metamorphosis".
Team 5 was given the task by Sonepar Deutschland GmbH to design specialized workwear for the electrical trade that both meets safety requirements and impresses with its innovative design. The result was a functional pair of dungarees with integrated LED lights. The LEDs can be operated by voice control and support the wearer when working in poorly lit areas.
The "Projects" course has been running for almost 20 years. Students acquire and advance important skills such as teamwork, communication, creativity, intercultural competence and methodological skills.
