Recap: The second SmartX IoT hackathon (Stuttgart)
For the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic, SmartX partners were able to get together in person. The occasion was our second IoT Hackathon, hosted on October 28-29, 2021 at DITF (German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research) in Denkendorf, a tranquil forested area outside Stuttgart, Germany.
SmartX partners, smart textile coaches, and SMEs invited to participate in the coaching programme, posing together during a break outside of DITF in Denkendorf, Germany.
The event brought together our partners, coaches, and nine SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) from six EU and associated countries, whose promising smart textile projects had been selected for the SmartX coaching programme.
After opening remarks from our host and presentations by the SmartX team, which included an overview of the completed three calls for funding, it was time for the SMEs and coaches to introduce themselves and explain what they bring to the table.
[Related: View SmartX funded projects in our Showcase Room]
The two days in Stuttgart provided numerous opportunities for the participating SMEs to get their questions answered by SmartX experts and decide what type of coaching would be most beneficial to the development of their projects.
As the programme coordinator Lutz Walter of Textile ETP remarked, “What is great about textile innovation is that it’s multidisciplinary. We tried to reflect that in the choice of our internal and external coaches.”
The group and individual coaching sessions that followed addressed issues such as: IoT and textile connectivity, design and system integration, the road from prototype to manufacturing, smart textile business development and data valorisation, plus cascade funding opportunities for the SMEs. The coaches stressed the importance of considering the user angle and market need when developing smart textile solutions.
The two-day event began with presentations by the SmartX team.
Program Coordinator Lutz Walter (Textile ETP), addressing SMEs in the smart textile coaching programme
Several small-group coaching sessions connected mentors with SMEs to discuss their promising smart textile prototypes.
The SmartX partners present at the hackathon included: Textile ETP (programme coordinator, Belgium), EuraMaterials (France), Texfor (Portugal), Smart Textiles (Sweden), Pointex – Città Studi Biella (Italy), Citeve (Portugal), CITC – IoT Cluster (France), DITF (Germany), Centexbel (Belgium), Steinbeis Europa Zentrum (Germany), Institut Français de la Mode (France), and DSP Valley (Belgium).
Coffee breaks provided plenty of time for networking, exchanging ideas, and sharing a few laughs!
The event was a joyous one, with plenty of time for networking during coffee breaks and at dinnertime. Some of the attendees met face-to-face for the first time, having communicated online for weeks or months. It was great to see everyone!
Our special thanks go to DITF for the hospitality and an informative tour of their facility.
Hackathon participants were invited to tour the DITF facilities.
Watch this short video below to see what our SMEs thought of the event.
We look forward to the final SmartX conference, scheduled to take place on April 20-21, 2022 in Brussels, home of the programme coordinator Textile ETP. Detailed information to come on our website and social media channels. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to be notified and join the SmartX community to connect with over 800 smart textile professionals in Europe. The community will continue beyond 2022.
Join the SmartX community to connect with over 800 European smart textile professionals.