NCBR is kicking off INNOTEXTILE, a program tailored specifically to textile industry. The most innovative solutions can get PLN 60 M funding.
The National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) announced the first competition under INNOTEXTILE programme dedicated to the textile sector. Entrepreneurs and business consortia which will undertake to create new technologies and innovative designs for the clothing and textile industry may apply for funding in the competition worth PLN 60 million in total.
Innovativeness of the Polish economy should be based on co-operation between entrepreneurs and native scientists. We want to unlock the potential resulting from the co-operation of both communities. Thanks to sectoral programmes we create a common understanding with the business community and INNOTEXTILE is an example of such co-operation,” says Jarosław Gowin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Higher Education
INNOTEXTILE sectoral program was established on the basis of the feasibility study submitted by the Employers Association of the Textile and Clothing Industry “PIOT”. The first competition envisages PLN 60 million to co-fund projects. Eligible to apply are companies or consortia which will submit the best projects linked to the ambitious research agenda proposed by the industry.
“R&D is key to the development of innovative technologies, and these, in turn, determine the competitive advantage of the economy of any country,” said NCBR Deputy Director Prof. Jerzy Kątcki, “I am convinced that the resources invested in INNOTEXTILE will provide the home textile industry with constant access to innovative technologies and secure Poland’s place among the leaders of this industry worldwide,” adds Prof. Kątcki.
Sewing the Polish colours
Poland’s textiles and clothing sector brings together 17,000 companies, is responsible for 5% of Polish GDP and stands a chance to become one of the flagships Polish foreign expansion. Starting in 2013, the textile industry increased production by more than 10% and investment by 94%. More and more products constitute technologically advanced textile materials applicable in medicine, construction, agriculture and transport. Today more than half of the production is exported.
Seven main threads
The program focuses on seven research areas that can be funded on the basis of a dedicated programme. These include personalised clothing design, textiles design individualisation and bespoke manufacture for individual customers. Research will also concern the development of IT construction and clothing design systems, textile products with embedded systems for monitoring user physiological parameters as well as special textiles such as protective clothing against electromagnetic smog.
Implementation of innovative technologies in the textile industry will develop areas such as medicine, agriculture, construction, where textile sector products have a significant share. R&D activities in the textile sector will contribute to the growth of innovation in many consecutive branches of the Polish economy.
How, where, when?
Applications under the first INNOTEXTILE competition can be submitted to the NCBR from 15 April to 15 June 2016. The first competition envisages PLN 60 million to co-fund projects. INNOTEXTILE sectoral program for the textile industry is implemented under Measure 1.2 of the Operational Programme Smart Growth.
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