Starting in 2021, Kyoto Institute of Technology will participate in the WE-TEAM (International Master of Science in Textile Engineering), an international master’s degree program in the field of textiles, through a consortium of five universities in five European countries, coordinated by Ghent University (Belgium).

　This program was selected in 2020 under the framework of the “Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees”, implemented as part of the European Commission’s “Erasmus+ Programme” that supports international mobility of people. This is a multiple-degree program, and the first batch of students will start the program in September 2021.

　During the two-year master’s program, students have the opportunity to stay at three (or four) universities and study textiles through different stages, from materials to manufacturing, and applications, from the world’s top lecturers in their respective fields, while participating in cross-disciplinary collaborations. In addition, international mobility, which is incorporated in the program, allows students to acquire a global perspective and build a highly specialized global-scale network. Over a period of five years this program is expected to produce about 90 industry-ready textile engineers who can contribute to textile-related industries all over the world.

　Kyoto Institute of Technology, which has part of its roots in an educational institution for human resource development for the textile industry, has been engaged for more than 120 years in a wide range of textile-related education and research from upstream to downstream, and has collaborated with universities in Japan and overseas. Based on these achievements, KIT is the only non-European university of this consortium to participate in this program as a full member.

• Program details: WE-TEAM official website: https://we-team.education/

• Full Members of the Consortium:
  – Ghent University, Belgium (Coordination university)
  – Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan
  – University of Haute-Alsace, France
  – University of Boras, Sweden
  – University of West Attica, Greece
  – Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain