She studied at the Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology from 2012 to 2019, first the Bachelor's degree programme "Design Engineer: Textile" and then the Master's degree programme "Textile Products: Textile." She already had an affinity for textiles when she was in school and initially envisioned studies in fashion design. However, based on a gut feeling, However, at the aptitude test, Prisca Holderied decided to study textiles and to this day she does not regret this decision. What was particularly valuable for her was the amount of practical work on the textile machines.
For her, being an engineer means "tinkering and trying things out, but also a lot of planning, structure, patience and teamwork until you end up with a functioning machine."
Her time at the university paved the way for her in many ways, as the engineer learned to think creatively, adaptively and solution-oriented, grew up, developed intensively professionally and she more or less met her current life partner through the university. "It's the university's fault," quips Holderied. A fellow student she met on a field trip in Paris persuaded her to join the university's Rock 'n Roll Dancing sport, where she met him.
During a semester abroad in Ljubljana, she lived with 17 international students and was able to gain important intercultural skills. For her, it was a very enjoyable and formative time "I would recommend a semester abroad to any student," says Holderied.
Through her studies, she also came into contact with the topic of sustainability for the first time. This is still very important to her today and her tip for everyone is: "Just don't buy anything, you don't need anything, you have everything!". To this day, she is active in the student initiative "fairquer", which deals with the topic of sustainability in the textile and clothing industry. Here, as a co-organizer, she is an old hand at the textile conference "Vernetz Dich."
In addition to all of these experiences, Holderied considers the friendships that have developed for life to be the most important thing from her time as a student.
Since her degree, she has consistently continued her path in the textile industry at the Hochschule Niederrhein in the Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology. Once as a research assistant in the project "DoubleFace", which is sponsored by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the EU to develop innovative knitwear, and in addition, she is simultaneously doing her doctorate at the university and the Université Haute-Alsace in Mulhouse, France.
The change in perspective from student to research assistant was special. "Being able to experience what else happens and is part of a university in addition to research and teaching was an exciting realization for me," explains the design engineer, who hopes to continue working at the university after her doctorate and wishes the university all the best:
"50 years of the Hochschule Niederrhein - here's to the next 50 years"!
