After my Design Engineering Fashion Bachelor's degree at HSNR, the Textile Products - Apparel degree programme offered me the opportunity to discover new exciting areas for myself. This allowed me to dive even deeper into research and development and learn about both novel and specialized processes. I am particularly grateful for the constant support of the professors, who enable me to tailor my studies to my interests. This not only increases motivation and enjoyment of the studies, but also prepares me in the best possible way for my individual career path.

After completing my Bachelor's Degree programme, my goal was to focus on virtual product development, as I find this subject area and the rapidly growing possibilities incredibly exciting. For this reason, I decided to complete the Master Textile Products - Clothing at the Hochschule Niederrhein. The university offers an extensive and practical range of courses, where students can decide for themselves what they want to specialise in. Since the university has the licenses for various 3D software solutions, students have a wide range of learning opportunities in this area. Thanks to the practical apprenticeship at the university, I had no problem settling into my current job at Adidas in the "digital end-to-end" area.

After my very practical and multidisciplinary B.A Fashion Management with a focus on fashion design at a private university, I decided to do the M.Sc Textile Products with a specialisation in apparel at the Hochschule Niederrhein to complement my already creative skills with sound, technical and industry-related knowledge. Since my bachelor's degree was not congruent with that of the Hochschule Niederrhein, I am very grateful that it is possible to attend bachelor's courses as a master's student either out of pure interest or to fill gaps in my knowledge (without receiving credit points).
I found my degree programme pathway in the Bachelor to be very stringent and despite the compulsory optional courses, a lot was fixed.

After completing my Bachelor's degree in Clothing Technology with a specialisation in Product Development at the Hochschule Niederrhein, it was clear to me that I wanted to continue to use the diverse range of courses offered by the university for a Master's degree. If you want to deepen your knowledge of innovative product development processes in the apparel industry, the Master's in Textile Products is the right place for you. The area of specialisation in apparel imparts extensive and, above all, versatile knowledge on the entire product development process. Thanks to the excellently equipped laboratories, the knowledge gained can also be applied directly at the university and thus consolidated.

20 years after my first degree in engineering at The Hochschule Niederrhein, I returned to the university in 2008 to study for a master's degree. I was able to gain a wealth of professional experience in the PSA industry as a product manager. Refresh, i.e. lifelong learning was my motivation for a new start as a student of the Master's degree programme in textile products with specialisation in apparel, which I completed in 2011 with the title Master of Science. During my studies, I particularly liked the seminar character of many lectures, the sufficient time for in-depth learning, the good special lectures by industry partners and the intensive contact with professors and staff.

Virtualization 3D Pattern Designer at Hugo Boss Ticino SA - When I started my studies in Clothing Technology, I quickly became interested in new technologies in the apparel industry, so I decided to transfer to the Hochschule Niederrhein for the Master. The Master of Textile Products, with a specialisation in apparel, offers a diverse range of modules supported by the experience of the professors and university teachers / lecturers who are in direct contact with the industry. Students are proactively referred to industry and business. This allowed me to realize my master's thesis in combination with the advanced course in 3D visualization at Hugo Boss and since 2018 I am working as a Virtualization 3D Pattern Designer in Knitwear for Womenswear & Menswear.

Clothing is so much more than an exciting design. Technical know-how, material properties, cut design and an understanding of body proportions ensure the final product quality and determine whether a finished product is purchased or not.
During my studies, in addition to the theoretical and practical knowledge that an apparel engineer must have, I also gained insights into the production processes of the apparel industry and innovative topics ranging from 3D apparel simulation to body scanning technology. All of this ultimately reinforced my passion for body measurements, size system development as well as fit and paved my way into my current professional life.

The studies at the Hochschule Niederrhein were a wonderful foundation for my later projects and self-employment. The broad range of topics gave me the knowledge I needed to build on later. Especially in the area of product development, I was able to deepen many topics beyond the basics because there is a wide range of optional courses. You should definitely take advantage of this offer if your goal is not just a good diploma, but a comprehensive apprenticeship. It is also possible to gain a deeper insight into management, textile technology or design - provided you have the necessary interest.
If I had to decide again - my choice would be HSN again.

Marketing Director

The Hochschule Niederrhein and Assyst have been working together for many years, in particular with Prof. Michael Ernst from the Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology, who always seeks creative exchanges with industry and, with his profound specialist knowledge and many years of experience, helps to introduce new technologies to the market and establish them there. Particularly important in this context is the apprenticeship of the students, who should be familiarized with new technologies at an early stage, so that later in their professional careers they are up to date with the latest technology and can not only master the advantages of such technologies, such as working with 3D tools, and support the companies in the introduction to new processes but also act as a bridge between new IT solutions and the fashion industry. To support this, Assyst launched the Vidya Award, a competition for universities, back in 2013 for its 3D tool Vidya, in order to establish this technology, which was still very new at the time. Professor Ernst was one of the pioneers of this competition and has always actively supported us, especially when it came to finding suitable topics for the students so that they could also be implemented. Today, the Vidya Award has also expanded internationally and universities from several European countries are taking part. Designing garments in 3D has become an important part of the apprenticeship and is taught intensively by Prof. Michael Ernst in his faculty. We thank Prof. Ernst for his important commitment and for the excellent cooperation in the past years and look forward to many more joint projects.

HO Competence Center 2D & 3D

Founded in 1969, the s.Oliver Group has developed into one of Europe's leading fashion companies within just a few decades. Today, digital product development is taking on an increasingly important role in collection creation and is already indispensable. It is essential for us that digital product development is integrated into the curricula. The FH Niederrhein has been implementing this in an exemplary manner for a long time in order to prepare students for professional practice in the best possible way. In order to be able to offer practically oriented studies, cooperation between the UAS and industry is an elementary component.
Already in the last semester, we from s.Oliver were allowed to support and accompany the lecture "3D Product Development" and provide the students with styles including cuts for simulation.

CEO

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Ernst and his team at the HS Niederrhein VirtualLab are real experts and truly brilliant people. With his solid background and in-depth knowledge of the fashion industry, he plays an important role on envisioning, researching and applying modern technologies with meaningful results.
After years investing in 3D technologies, we realized that something was missing for designers: a tool that would allow them to express their creative potential. Hence, we created a patented technology (Audaces 4D) which explores a brand new field that nobody walked before us. It was amazing to count with his feedback since early stages.
Audaces is an Italian-Brazilian company, a world reference in technological innovation for the fashion industry 4.0, developing solutions for 30 years. Present in more than 70 countries, it is the market leader in Latin America, with a 70% market share. It is based in Brazil and Italy. Today, more than 60,000 fashion professionals use Audaces products daily in more than 15,000 companies. Audaces' mission is to innovate from the development of affordable solutions, ensuring the rapid deployment of technology for industry 4.0 in companies of all sizes.

Marketing Mgr. of TG3D Studio

Thanks to Prof. Dr. Michael Ernst for facilitating this project, TG3D Studio's body scanner, fabric scanner and 3D fashion design software are now available to all the students in Niederrhein University. We are so happy and honored to be part of the 3D virtual lab and we believe the future of fashion needs to start from where all the fashion professionals are shaped. We are hoping that the hands-on experience with all types of fashion technologies will really set the foundation for all the students and prepare their success for the industry. Thinking of TG3D Studio will be contributing one bit of force is really uplifting and exciting! We hope the students will enjoy the fun of exploring and innovating in the 3D virtual lab. Thanks again for getting all the support from Prof. Dr. Michael Ernst!
Simplifying your digital fashion evolution - digitizing bodies, fabrics, garments and shopping experiences all in one
TG3D Studio was founded with one goal and one goal only - to transform the way fashion industry operates and make it more sustainable and economically efficient.Through our Scanatic™ for Fashion platform, we help the industry digitally transform the development workflows and business models from start to finish. Scanatic™ for Fashion (S4F) is an all-in-one platform providing fully integrated, open and industry-compliant file interfaces, digital tools encompassing 3D body scanner, fabric scanner, 3D virtual prototyping software and retail solution modules. We can help any apparel businesses or professionals with growing needs to adopt 3D in their business operations on a painless and cost-efficient journey.

CLO is the market-leading 3D garment design software that allows apparel designers and brands to easily and accurately construct digital garments in real-time. Used by vendors, retailers, vertical brands, freelancers, academic institutions, and creative agencies, CLO continues to innovate the market through the introduction of groundbreaking features as part of each new release as well as cutting-edge integrations with industry leaders in order to provide apparel brands and users a seamless digital workflow. CLO continuously puts education at the forefront of its efforts, with the aim of educating the next generation of talent to acquire the needed knowledge and skill sets for success in a more innovative, sustainable, and agile future fashion industry. HS Niederrhein does an excellent job in preparing their students for the industry and we are proud to have two HS Niederrhein graduates working in our European office.

CEO / Founder

I must say the level of technical knowledge and integrated technology being taught at Niederrhein University is astounding! There are so many opportunities for students to get their hands on the same technology used by professionals every day. This is the only way to really prepare students for the fashion industry, no matter what role they play in their career.
Prof. Dr. Michael Ernst from HS Niederrhein and Tukatech started our relationship in 2014 with 2D and 3D systems and over the years added many more systems for design and 3D virtual Lab. We are so happy to even bring in one of the students to run our European office, great job done by faculty in developing students for this industry.

Sen. HO Product Development

3D and virtual product development are a challenging transformation for the apparel industry. We all have to take a step back and evaluate and master pioneer experiences, which turn into new standards. In 2021 Jack Wolfskin has started its own 3D journey and did already some prove of concepts enabled by the VirtualLab team of Niederrhein University. We are so happy to have an intensive exchange with the Virtual Lab. Professor Ernst has created an amazing dialogue between science and industry - between beginners and experienced people. The collaboration is a big win for us, as we can achieve scientific relevant prove on the challenges and decision this new technology brings with, while we feed business related insights into innovative education. We love working with students in our internship program and are happy, that already some valuable work relations result from this valuable cooperation.

Managing Director

Vizoo GmbH specializes in hardware and software solutions for the digitization of materials and surfaces. Vizoo technology is used worldwide in the apparel and footwear sectors as well as in the furniture and automotive industries.
The resulting data is used for the digital sales presentation of fabrics, as input for product development and for product visualization in webshops or online configurators.
Knowledge of 3D visualization in general, and with it an understanding of 3D materials, is now a basic requirement for young professionals in design or technical positions. The Hochschule Niederrhein recognized this trend early on and has been using 3D Technologies as well as our products for many years. We benefit from the active exchange with the Hochschule Niederrhein and are always pleased when we meet excellently trained graduates of the Hochschule Niederrhein at our customers.
You can find more information about material visualization on our homepage.