University of the Arts London Innovation Lab (UALIL)
The University of the Arts London Innovation Lab (UALIL) was established in June 2023 between partners University of the Arts London and TWI with the aim of expanding the field of design and STEM research and innovation in textiles and fibre-based materials.
The Innovation Lab will focus on delivering new technologies, applications, tools and processes that will advance the knowledge and expertise of partners and ,importantly, contribute to wider sustainable development across industries that use fibres within their supply chain. The combination of scientific, technical and design expertise will establish UALIL as a centre of excellence for novel, sustainable solutions for the 21st century.
Kate Goldsworthy, Laser Line, 2017 (courtesy of University of the Arts London)
Objectives
- Be world-leading and industrially relevant in the research and development (R&D) of circular and sustainable practices for textiles and material innovation enabled by design and STEM collaboration
- Undertake joint research programmes and secure a portfolio of research funding from external sponsors
- Create a successful collaborative environment between a creative arts institution and research and technology organisation with substantial impact and adoption by industry (HEI-RTO-Industry)
- Develop the next generation of transdisciplinary design researchers
Core areas
- Circular and bio-inspired design
- Material and environmental sciences
- Creative computing and data analytics
- Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies
- Robotics and machine learning
- Industry 5.0 and circular economies
- Transdisciplinary and collaborative methodologies
Images top of page courtesy of University of the Arts London: 1) Red coloured image – Adriana Cabrera, Bioinspired Textiles, 2022 (1), and 2) Green coloured image – Kate Goldsworthy, Man-made Re-made, 2017