USING STEM PRINCIPLES FOR UNDERSTANDING SMART TEXTILES’ SOLUTIONS – THE SLOVENIAN EXPERIENCE

The contribution gives an overview of the Erasmus+ project Smart textiles for STEM training – Skills4Smartex, funded by the European Commission. Presented are main objectives, aims and expected results, focused on experiences, gained through the first year’s project activities’ in Slovenia. The project aims to improve the knowledge, skills and employability of students in the fields, related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) by providing appropriate training tools to understand multidisciplinary work through smart textiles. The main objectives of the project are: (1) Creating a Guide on smart practices meant for supporting innovation in textile enterprises; (2) Creating a Course in smart textiles, meant for multidisciplinary thinking; (3) Creating a dedicated e-learning instrument, meant for channeling the interest of VET students for "serious games"; (4) Improving the skills of students by means of practical work in constructing smart textile prototypes. The project activities began with a survey on smart/technical textiles completed by 63 textile companies at the EU level; 10 of them were from Slovenia. The aim was to identify existing opportunities for producing smart textiles in enterprises and forecasting expected occupations and work profiles for young trainees. The results will be published in a guide meant for transferring smart practices from enterprises to Vocational Education and Training (VET) schools and young students.