New internships will offer vital experience to textiles students

Fashion and textile students at the University of Huddersfield are set to benefit from new partnerships with key industry organisations in the UK.

The University has teamed up with the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT) for both the next edition of the Drapers’ x UKFT Bursary Programme and the UKFT MADE IT scheme.

The Drapers’ Programme will allow students to take up internships that may otherwise have been difficult to take up, giving them access to the UKFT’s network of contacts while gaining first-hand experience within the industry.

MADE IT is a scheme that responds to the industry’s need for graduates with a better knowledge of sourcing and production, offering them insight into technical and creative roles within the supply chain.

And in another link with the UKFT, the University will be making a key contribution to a forthcoming event that will look at improving sustainability with the textile industry.

Professor Parik Goswami, Head of the Department of Fashion and Textiles and Director of the University’s Technical Textiles Research Centre (TTRC), will be part of a panel discussion on how academia can help industry tackle sustainability goals at the UK Sustainability in Textiles conference on 12 May, co-hosted by UKFT and the Textile Livery Company.

“We have a long track record of maintaining strong and credible links with the textiles industry,” says Professor Goswami, who was the first academic to become a UKFT board member and was also recently made a Freeman of the City of London and the Worshipful Company of Woolmen.

“It is vital that our students can gain valuable knowledge of how the textile industry works in the UK and the global supply chain, as well as being able to develop a network of contacts while still in education. They will need that edge after graduating because it is such a competitive industry.

“But sustainability is also an issue that everyone connected to textiles needs to consider at every stage of the production cycle now. We have worked closely with the UKFT for some time now, and these exciting new initiatives can only be of benefit to Huddersfield’s fashion and textile students.”

Adam Mansell, CEO of UKFT, said, “Helping students gain ‘real life’ experience of working in the industry is vital – not only for the students but also for industry. There are a huge number of jobs in the fashion and textile industry, and finding the next generation of talent is key to ensuring the success of the sector.

“Through the MADE IT programme, students will hear from industry experts on production and sourcing and one student will also get the invaluable of experience of a fully paid placement with a UK manufacturer.”