The Numerical Textile Campus (CD-Rom, Internet network) will propose practical animations, simulations, work in the form of films and of virtual handling. The follow-up of the training is ensured by academic and industrial tutors. The project is currently beginning [6]. A phase of observation is essential. In order to know the environment as well as possible, it is necessary to stick initially to what does exist.
In a first time, a fine interpretation of the data collected by the Advottex network will be undertaken [1]. This training project was supported by the European Commission. It concerned the analysis of the training needs in the European Textile and Clothing Industry, more specifically concerning the Information and Communication Technologies. This 18- month project (1.12.2000 - 31.05.2002) was managed by EURATEX and by the Department of Textiles of the Ghent University (as AUTEX secretariat), together with ETUF: TCL, AITEX and ITALINK.
In a second time, a survey, made in collaboration with CNED, will be send to about 2500 small and medium-sized companies. The study of needs will allow the project to pose assumptions on companies' needs in textile training and also on the amount of resources companies are ready to invest for this training. In the same time, working groups start working on different themes. The legal part had to start rapidly. The consortium, composed of the CNED, seven different schools of engineers, a professional organization, training and research centers in textile will not be easy to build (each partner will obtain different benefits of the Numerical Textile Campus).
Some of them bring skills and time, others bring only good ideas, some others bring financial elements, others will allow the campus to use their networks. The main difficulties will be to build an equitable consortium, emphasizing the true participation of each member. The second mission of the juridical group is to be aware of the writers' rights. How to transfer your contents from "traditional" training on line at a reasonable cost? It is a question of method... Indeed, good e-training sessions depends upon several factors: sound technological contents, teaching skill, and efficiency in realization.
The true question is initially to know if the teachers themselves will put on line their courses or if this will be done by an external service provider. The choice depends on the real implications of the teachers: have they enough time, are they ready to work with a provider? It depends on the equipment too. The choice has been made, for the Numerical Textile Campus to work in cooperation with Enic Telecom Lille: the "Département d'ingénierie pédagogique innovante" (Department of innovating teaching engineering, an 8-person team), builds e-learning modules for about ten years. The technical part mustn't be forgotten. The choice of the platform is one of the most important choices. WebCT, Docent, Sheba... Some platforms are more advertised than others. Are they the best? Are they powerful, adapted to needs?
According to the observations in the first part, it's important not to forget the international role of French textile. The Textile Numerical Campus will initially be proposed to the French-speaking countries then the project will be available in English and Spanish. Large difficulties appear: learning and teaching textile are not the same in England and in Thailand. Through that view, the organizers of the project are searching for international cooperation.