The I+AD Chair in Textile Quality & Innovation is created at INTEXTER

The I+AD Chair in Textile Quality & Innovation is created at INTEXTER

On October 14, the I+AD Chair in Textile Quality & Innovation was established at INTEXTER of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia - BarcelonaTech (UPC) . The signing ceremony of the agreement was attended by the executive president of Adolfo Domínguez, Adriana Domínguez ; the vice-rector for Transfer, Innovation and Entrepreneurship of the UPC, Jordi Berenguer ; the director of INTEXTER, Diana Cayuela ; the professors of the Escola Superior d'Enginyeries Industrial, Aerospace and Audiovisual de Terrassa (ESEIAAT) Mònica Ardanuy and Enric Carrera , co-directors of the Chair by the UPC, and the co-director appointed by Adolfo Domínguez and director of the Adolfo Domínguez Foundation, Antonio Roade . 

Training, researching, transferring and disseminating research results in the areas of quality, sustainability and innovation in the fashion industry are the main activities that will be jointly launched by the Adolfo Domínguez company and the INTEXTER of the UPC with the constitution of the I+AD Chair in Textile Quality & Innovation, the first of its kind in this industrial field in Spain and the first that the company signs with a university.

Among the training and talent detection activities that the new Chair will organize are collaboration in the training plans of companies in the fashion sector, particularly the Adolfo Domínguez group, the call for awards to highlight and encourage good sustainability practices, the organization of seminars and conferences, the promotion of internships in companies  and the joint tutoring of final degree and master's theses, or participation in company forums to attract talent .

Regarding R&D&I and technology transfer actions , INTEXTER and Adolfo Domínguez have agreed to develop joint research lines ; to launch consulting and technological advice actions in innovation and improvement processes; the reciprocal availability of technological equipment and scientific resources; the joint organization of sectoral meetings, both national and international, and the joint presentation of research projects. The Chair also aims to study environmental problems or encourage the valorization of research results.

In addition, the I+AD Chair in Textile Quality & Innovation will promote the organization of technology dissemination conferences on innovative topics, and the collaboration and promotion of technical and scientific events on topics of interest and their publication. Adriana Domínguez, executive president of Adolfo Domínguez and president of his Foundation, emphasizes that “the I+AD Chair in Textile Quality & Innovation reaffirms Adolfo Domínguez's commitment to durability and sustainability, placing it at the center”, and adds: “It is motivating to collaborate with the UPC, one of the most prestigious universities in our country, and its INTEXTER institute, key in the textile industrial hub that is Spain”.

The director of INTEXTER, Diana Cayuela, states: “I am convinced that the collaboration between a research institute with more than 60 years of experience in the textile sector, such as INTEXTER, and a leading company in the field of fashion such as Adolfo Domínguez will be very beneficial not only for both parties, but for the entire fashion industry in Spain. This, at least, is our great objective: to contribute to the transformation of the sector with scientific rigor, with innovation and with a firm commitment to quality and sustainability ."

Professor Mònica Ardanuy, co-director of the Chair, states: "Our main focus is to help the fashion industry from scientific rigor to create garments that, from the point of view not only of design, but also of textile technology, are conceived to be functional, sustainable and of quality . And this connects fully with the philosophy that we share with Adolfo Domínguez: putting durability, respect for the environment and the value of well-made things at the center of creation."