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Filling the gap in the field of robotics applied to fashion, which also emerged in recent days at an Anitec-Assinform conference in which the White Paper Fashion 4.0 was presented. The document indicates the fashion sector as a pioneer in e-commerce and in the integration of distribution channels, committed to improving traceability and transparency, but still behind in the use of robots and intelligent technologies.
The training path in detail
With this objective, the master’s degree in Fashion Hi-tech designed by the Modartech Institute of Pontedera (Pisa) with the Biorobotics Institute of the Sant’Anna high school in Pisa, one of the most advanced laboratories in the field of intelligent technologies, will debut in 2024. The collaboration was favored by being neighbors, given that the two institutes are both based in the Piaggio town.
The training course, which lasts nine months, is recognized by the Ministry of Education as a first level master’s degree (access with a three-year degree), and will allow you to develop outfits and fashion accessories thanks to the use of sensors, innovative materials and production processes advanced, such as those that characterize wearable technologies (smartwatches, activity trackers for measuring sports activities, gloves, glasses, clothing and accessories made with materials capable of interacting with the body and measuring its parameters, tools to reduce the risk of injuries) .
The role of fashion companies
The master is aimed at students from the fashion sector but also from other academic sectors (engineering, design, architecture or biomedical and sports fields) who want to acquire multidisciplinary skills and create wearable and intelligent, attractive, functional and high-tech products . The lessons will be held by teachers from Modartech and the Sant’Anna Biorobotics Institute and will take place in person in the laboratories of the two institutes in Pontedera. At the end of the course of study, an internship is planned in Italian or foreign companies thanks to the Erasmus+ programme. The academic title will be awarded by the Modartech Institute. The technical-scientific committee will include leading companies in the fashion industry, including Herno and Gruppo Pattern.
The new training project – Modartech says – has already attracted the interest and collaboration of international luxury brands, industrial platforms in the textile-fashion and accessories sector and system associations. The first open day will be held on 16 February 2024. «With this master’s degree we begin a path of very high level of training which presents characteristics of absolute uniqueness in fashion teaching at an international level – explains Alessandro Bertini, director of Modartech – by bringing together different research subjects , education and the entrepreneurial world, to train professional figures capable of finding highly qualified work in multiple sectoral fields. And we do this thanks to a close link between the public and private world in the Pontedera area, which has always been a cutting-edge district for attracting investments, research and innovation.”