Preface
“Interwoven Europe“ is a two-year project of European Union named “Unpick Your History, Weave Your Future“ running from September 2016 to August2018. There are 4 participating schools :
Instituto di Instruzione Superiore Galileo Galilei, Jesi, Italy
SOU, Orde Chopela, Prilep, Macedonia
IES David Bujan, Cambre, Spain
Gymnázium, Česká 64, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
It is a project targetted at the promotion of STEM subjects (science, maths, technologies) as the developing companies call for technically skilled professionals able to think critically and apply science and technologies in practice. Not only computer literacy, analytical skills but even a good language command appears to be crucial in EU but indeed worldwide. This is the reason the communication language in this project is English, which highly motivates students to advance their language skills.
We focussed on textile industry as a result of the fact that Italy, Spain and Macedonia have ever been famous for their textile production and until 1990 the textile industry had played an important role even in previous Czechoslovakia and new revitalising processes have already started using the latest advances.
The project itself as the name implies traces the history, presence and future of textile industry. The students involved studied its different aspects, including their impact on socioeconomy and environment. Last but not least they have acquired awareness about the latest technological advances such as e.g.nanotechnologies are and their applications in textile of the future.
During international mobilities the students visited a scale of textile enterprises, scientific workplaces but even museums and places of interest in each particular country. They took part in plentiful workskops not only in laboratories to study chemical and physical properties of different materials but also creative workshops to experience how to create “smart textile“ or recycled material art.
Teamwork was required internationally as well as locally when this book was originating. Pararelly the teams were working on other educative materials which alongside with this book can be used in the proces of teaching.
This book comprises three chapters, “History of Textile Industry“ “Pollutants in Textile Industry“ and “ Workshops“, which can become a good guidance how to make STEM or Art lessons intersting and innovative.
The first two chapters were made by students themselves just being conducted by their teachers, chapter 3 compiles workshop manuals including useful worksheets made by particular science and art teachers.
Photographies illustrating the workshops were taken right in the laboratories during each particular mobility.