Circular economy in fibrous composites and technical textiles through the use of virtual laboratories - CircuTex

There is no doubt that the current consumption system is unsustainable. The textile sector, in particular, is one of the sectors with the greatest impact on this situation due to its consumption o...

Training at all levels is important for the transition to a circular economy, especially at university level, as well as awareness raising among companies and other stakeholders in the textile sector. The needs of textile companies in the transition towards the development of sustainable processes and the growing need to achieve a circular economy require specific training. Through the use of emerging training technologies, such as virtual reality, as well as the structuring of the new system of micro-credentials, the project aims to contribute to the provision of knowledge on the circular economy in the textile sector. Thanks to the great experience of the universities involved in the project, it has been possible to develop an online course on the circular economy in the technical textile sector, as well as the possibility of participating in virtual laboratories without to move to them, which are far away from the majority of the population, with specific equipment for the required learning.

The project achieved its 3 main outputs and all the activities initially planned. In the preparatory phase, research of good practices in the field of circular economy of fibrous composites and technical textiles was carried out, which served as a basis for the development of the online course curriculum and learning materials. The platform hosting the online course and the access to the virtual reality application with the 11 experiments was developed. For the virtual laboratory, specifications, experiments and the virtual environment were defined and programmed. In parallel and complementary to the main results, management, quality, dissemination and exploitation plans were established. The graphic identity of the project was designed and social media accounts were created. In the implementation phase, the course and experiments were tested with students and the quality assurance framework for micro-credentials was worked on. Dissemination activities were intensified and the quality of the course and experiments was evaluated. In the final phase, the results were adapted based on student feedback, published on the web and disseminated at events. A sustainability plan was developed to ensure the continuity to the project.

The project was developed in full accordance with the initial proposal. The three outputs of the project, the multiplier events, the learning activity and the dissemination activities were developed as planned. - IO1. The online course on circular economy for fibrous composites and technical textiles has been developed. Structured in five independent modules, it uses online assessment tools to identify student achievement of learning outcomes. - IO2. An environment has been created where the student can carry out virtual reality experiments related to the circular economy of fibrous composites and technical textiles. It includes virtual "digital twins" of real laboratory equipment. - IO3. A roadmap with policy recommendations for the implementation of micro-credentials in partner higher education institutions has been developed. This includes how to develop courses using the micro-credential concept and how to apply standard recognition procedures to them.