A delegation from the Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTEX) was a guest at Hof University of Applied Sciences on 07.06.2023. A total of seven representatives from BUTEX, including deans and heads of institutes, came to the event.
The visit focused on talks about further cooperation within the framework of the “HELD” project (“Higher Education and Leadership Development for Sustainable Textiles in Bangladesh”), which has linked Hof University of Applied Sciences and BUTEX since the end of 2021. In addition, the guests were able to get to know the two locations Hof and Münchberg. Afterwards, the Bangladeshi delegation accompanied by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Rauch, Professor of Process Engineering for Textile Finishing and Head of the Sustainable Textiles Master’s program, visited ITMA 2023 in Milan. The ITMA (Textile & Garment Technology Exhibition) is the world’s largest trade fair for textile and garment technology. There, BUTEX representatives learned about the latest sustainable textile production processes and methods.
University president Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Jürgen Lehmann first welcomed the international guests to the Hof campus. Dean Prof. Dr.-Ing. Anke Müller presented the Faculty of Engineering with its Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs and a total of around 650 students. Before the cooperation talks, the delegation also had the opportunity to get to know the Hof campus with its excellent facilities and equipment such as the Maker Space. In the early afternoon, the delegation visited the Münchberg Campus. Here, too, the guests were particularly impressed by the opportunities for teachers and students at the campus and toured the core facilities of textile technology education and research, such as the pilot plant with a focus on textile technology and air conditioning, the machine hall, or the laboratories for textile chemistry.
About the HELD project
The bilateral project “Higher Education and Leadership Development for Sustainable Textiles in Bangladesh” (HELD) is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). With a total budget of around €8.0 million, the project promotes, among other things, the exchange of experience in application-oriented teaching, such as here specifically the multi-year cooperation between BUTEX and Hof University of Applied Sciences for the development of bachelor’s and master’s degree courses in the field of sustainable textiles.
The Hof University of Applied Sciences with its Münchberg campus has an excellent reputation in Asia with regard to its competence in the textile sector. In particular, Münchberg lecturers and students in the Bachelor Innovative Textiles and Master Sustainable Textiles are sought-after discussion partners when it comes to developing classic textile production towards sustainable and ecological production.
Double degree as a goal
Plans are already underway to establish a master’s degree program at BUTEX in Bangladesh analogous to the Sustainable Textiles master’s program at Hof University of Applied Sciences. “Under certain circumstances, this could also take the form of a double degree,” explains Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rauch. Such “double degree programs” enable students to spend a fixed number of semesters abroad and have their additionally acquired degrees recognized by each other.
Following the project, a cooperative doctoral program (Hof University of Applied Sciences – BUTEX) is also to be introduced in the medium to long term, enabling students from both universities to earn a doctorate. This would enable Hof University of Applied Sciences to offer a continuous study program in the field of textiles – from the bachelor’s degree to the doctorate – at the Münchberg campus in the future.
