Ignite Lab: Designing Circular Systems - Textiles

Date: 15th September 2022

Time: 09.30 – 16.00

Venue: AMRC Factory 2050, Sheffield Business Park, Europa Avenue, Sheffield, S9 1ZA (Satnav: please use “S9 1XZ”)

The Design Innovation Network is charged with bringing together challenge holders and insightful design to solve complex innovation problems. Sustainability, circularity and regenerative design are top of our agenda.

The UK has some of the world’s top design capabilities and a world-leading research and innovation community. In order to bring these groups together and catalyse some new activities and breakthroughs, we are hosting a series of Ignite Lab events.

Ignite Labs

Ignite Labs is a new initiative from Innovate UK – a series of themed programs of activity during which participants will be immersed in a particular aspect of the future economy, to help businesses understand challenges, identify valuable innovation opportunities and plan effective design activities to exploit them.

The first Ignite Lab is focused on ‘Sustainable Textiles & Circular Systems’ and it will be launched at the first Design Open Day, hosted by the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) on Thursday 15 September 2022, from 9:30 am – 4pm.

The purpose is to provoke in-depth conversations and new insights around the opportunities for design to help stimulate new thinking around new business models, circular systems, and servitisation across the UK textile industry.

A full agenda at the AMRC Design Open Day will set participants up for a series of Ignite Labs activities over the following 8 weeks across the North of England, concluding at the Design for Planet festival in Newcastle 8-9 November.

The two month programme will comprise curated events, including presentations and workshops from subject experts, provocations and cutting-edge thought leadership, and a series of inspirational and informative site visits, seminars and learning experiences. The full series schedule is currently being finalised.

The University of Sheffield AMRC

The AMRC have outstanding engineering product design capability but are also keen to build relationships with and learn from wider design disciplines. Specifically, non-technical design disciplines, service designers, communication designers, systems designers and ecosystems designers. We are interested in engaging with designers, across disciplines, with a passion for inclusion, sustainability and systems thinking.

Outline agenda

09:30 – Coffee and networking
10:00 – Welcome and context for the Ignite Lab
10:15 – UK textiles innovation context
10:45 – Circularity in textiles
11:15 – Provocations
11:45 – Morning reflections
12:00 – Lunch & Factory 2050 tour
13:00 – Regenerative Design
13:30 – Behaviour change
14:00 – Circular Systems infrastructure approaches
14:30 – Servitisation and circular business models
15:00 – Comfort Break
15:15 – Discussion and reflection on provocations
15:45 – Next steps and close

Who is this event for?

Established businesses and challenge holders in the UK textiles sector who are interested in exploring their opportunities from diverse perspectives and identifying and exploiting new innovation opportunities around new circular systems.

What will you gain?

Ignite Labs aims to provide fast-tracked contextual understanding, clearly defined opportunities and project plans for early-stage design studies. Participants will also benefit from co-learning and potential collaboration with like-minded motivated selected cohorts, and access to expertise from diverse industry leaders.

We are particularly interested in hearing from non-technical design disciplines, service designers, communication designers, systems designers and ecosystems designers in the community. 

There are a limited number of tickets for this event and therefore, this event will be invite-only.

If you are interested in attending this event, please email design@iuk.ktn-uk.org explaining why you are interested in attending.

Outcomes from the day will be published in a follow up report and the pre-workshop talks will be recorded.

The Design Innovation Network also welcomes enquiries from UK research technology organisations, innovation centres and businesses who might be interested in sponsoring or hosting future events. To discuss this further, please get in touch here.