The University of Manchester’s William Lee Innovation Centre has secured £4 million to launch a new project aimed at helping the UK textile industry regain its competitive edge over foreign markets.

The Knowledge 4 Innovation (K4I) project will seek to address the structural and economic impact of high-volume production overseas through technology and innovation.

K4I will focus on equipping small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the skills and knowledge needed to help them utilise new technologies and develop a host of niche textile technologies for use in the medical, automotive and sports industries.

K4I will also develop training micro-modules and a digital web portal of multidisciplinary material which will act as a knowledge bank for textile companies. The project will also support textile SMEs by mentoring them through the technology innovation process.

K4I’s work will be highlighted at the ‘Technical Textiles: The Innovative Approach’ conference at the Manchester Conference Centre (UK) on April 24-25.The project is funded by the European Union’s European Social Fund.