DesignSmart aims to promote new professional skills and to foster digitalisation and sustainability

Leather Cluster Barcelona takes a step forward in its international profile by coordinating the European project DesignSmart, funded by the Erasmus+ KA220 programme. This consolidates the cluster as an active player in the development of European projects geared towards innovation, training and the transformation of the leather sector.

Coordinating an Erasmus+ KA220 project involves creating a collaborative proposal between institutions in order to develop, transfer and implement innovative practices and tangible results (such as educational resources or new methodologies) that address needs identified in the sector, structuring it into Work Packages, defining clear milestones and a budget, and focusing on objectives such as inclusion, digitalisation or sustainability, aligned with the priorities of the European Union, always seeking transnational cooperation and the exchange of experiences.

On 18 and 19 December, our project manager, Carla Vélez, travelled to the Italian city of Padua to lead the project's Kick-off Meeting with all the participating European partners. The meeting was held at the Politecnico Calzaturiero, a leading centre in the footwear sector.

During the meeting, the general objectives of the project were presented, the various Work Packages were examined in detail, roles and responsibilities were defined and the next stages of the work schedule were established.

DesignSmart aims to promote new professional skills, to foster digitalisation and sustainability, and to strengthen collaboration between companies, training centres and European bodies in the leather and footwear sector.

These collaborative, cross-cutting projects help to position Leather Cluster Barcelona as an indispensable platform for the innovation, internationalisation and sustainability of the Catalan leather sector.

Leadership of the DesignSmart project is perfectly aligned with the three main strategic lines of the Leather Cluster Barcelona Master Plan for the 2025-2030 period: the cluster's economic self-sufficiency, the building of prestige and European positioning, and the generation of real impact for member companies.

Leather Cluster Barcelona is an environment of competitive cooperation for promoting cross-cutting, transformative strategic projects with the aim of driving forward the ecosystem of the Catalan leather sector within the framework of Shared Value policies. The cluster is an accredited entity within the Catalonia Clusters programme and has the support of Acció.