Guided tour of ITA’s technical centre, source: Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen
2026 General Meeting of the Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen – proRWTH e. V. – at Institut für Textiltechnik der RWTH Aachen
Aachen, Germany, 12 June 2026 – The Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen e. V. (proRWTH) looked back on a successful year of support at their 2026 general meeting. The meeting took place at Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen and was combined with a joint session of the Executive Board and the Administrative Board.
Before the general meeting began, participants were given a guided tour of ITA, providing them with fascinating insights into current research and development topics in textile engineering. The tour was hosted by the Head of the Institute, Professor Dr Thomas Gries. ITA conducts research into future-oriented topics such as textile recycling and the transition of the textile value chain from petroleum-based to bio-based textiles, as well as oil filtration using bionic textiles and much more besides. It is involved in large-scale projects such as Textilfabrik 7.0 – the textile production facility of the future in Mönchengladbach, Germany.
“Support for academia, research and students at RWTH Aachen University is only possible thanks to the ongoing commitment of our members and benefactors. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks for this,” emphasised the Chair of proRWTH, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h. c. (PSACEA) Bernd Markert.
Last year, the Friends’ Association was once again able to support numerous projects and initiatives at RWTH Aachen University. Among other things, funding was provided for academic projects run by the faculties, student initiatives, Germany Scholarships, and prestigious awards such as the Springorum Medal and the Borchers Plaque. Furthermore, proRWTH is deeply committed to fostering exchange between the university, industry, alumni and society.
proRWTH sees itself as a bridge between the university, industry and society. For many decades, the association has been supporting academic projects, fostering talented students and helping to raise the profile of excellent research and teaching at RWTH Aachen University.
About Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen University
The core of ITA Group International Centre for Sustainable Textiles is the research and teaching institution, Institut für Textiltechnik of (ITA) RWTH Aachen University. ITA Group International Centre for Sustainable Textiles focuses its core competence on the goal of ensuring the holistic biotransformation of textile technology and thus the use of biological principles for small-scale value-added processes. ITA Group International Centre for Sustainable Textiles is an international research and training service provider for fibre-based high-performance materials, textile semi-finished products and their manufacturing processes with about 400 employees.
The projects at ITA are mostly carried out in close cooperation with the industry. The majority of the projects are designed to be multidisciplinary. For this purpose, we cooperate with other faculties of RWTH Aachen University and with a number of research institutes at other universities and organisations.
