Engineers from Reichenbach in the Vogtland Region are in great demand. Not only regional enterprises, but also enterprises from all around Germany active in diverse industrial branches value their expertise in the field of textile and leather technology. In addition to obtaining profound theoretical knowledge, these student engineers also get lots of hands-on, practical experience during their studies.
The distinctive brick building of the Institute of Textile and Leather Engineering, which has been an outpost of the West Saxon University of Applied Sciences of Zwickau (WHZ) since 1994, houses comprehensive and spacious technical facilities in addition to traditional classrooms and test labs. Students get the requisite skills and expertise in stitching, spinning, knitting, weaving, clothing manufacture, textile finishing, and – unique throughout Germany – leather engineering in order to familiarize themselves with all the relevant processes and procedures of the branch. This will not only be of great help in their later professional careers, but already at the point when they complete their introductory level studies and head for their internship semester. For a period of six months, the prospective engineers familiarize themselves with the various activities in a company. This will have a profound impact on their studies. "Students returning from their internship semesters have changed; once the internships are over, they are eager to learn many things in more detail," Professor Silke Heßberg, the Director of the Institute, describes what she has experienced time and time again. Such a sojourn of several months is a great benefit to both the company and the student.
Dorothea Bauer, a student in the sixth semester, completed her industrial internship at the automotive supplier Faurecia in the Bavarian city of Neuburg on the Donau River. She participated in the development of seats for Audi. "That was both very exciting and challenging work," the 30-year old notes as she looks back on her fifth semester. She has always been very happy that she decided to focus on studying automobile interiors. "I will continue to work in this field and want to submit my application for my diploma thesis at Faurecia as well."
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While the textile industry was essentially only associated with clothing and home textiles in the past, that has changed completely today. "42 percent of the textile production in all of Germany can be applied to technical textiles," explains Silke Heßberg. This proportion will increase even further over the next few years. Which is why the academic program in Reichenbach has been adapted to meet that transformation. In 2003, technical textiles/leather was introduced as an area of specialization, followed by textile-based automobile interiors in 2006. Prior to that, the professors had obtained information from automobile manufacturers as to what knowledge graduates should bring with them. That is why this area of specialization not only focuses on just textile products; even the design of automobile interiors is included in the instructions.
"Both areas of specialization are a great plus for this location," Dorothea Bauer and her fellow student Birgit Wolf believe. The two students are also very pleased with the Institute's neighborhood. "It surprises us again and again that so many Vogtland companies produce innovative niche products for the global market, notes Birgit Wolf. Many of them, she got to know already personally during her studies. The class schedule includes regular excursions which are actually quite different from everyday life at the university. "During your studies, you often only focus on some details of a machine. But in companies, you get to see the entire production process," Birgit Wolf describes her impressions. After all, a 16 meter wide weaving mill in action is much more imposing than the machines used for instructions.
Parallel to the lectures and internships, professors and students are also active in various research projects. Fiber composite materials play a key role in this because they permit the production of hard components that save mass while also possessing the same properties as or even better properties than the original objects. Participation in such projects also helps the future textile engineers gain a foothold for their professional careers – whether it be with automobile manufacturers or automotive suppliers, leather processing firms, or classic textile enterprises which have entered new business sectors manufacturing flame-resistant protective textiles, functional underwear, and/or seat covers for the aviation industry.
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