In this increasingly digital age, the learning and teaching of traditional skills and manual processes remains of paramount importance to undergraduate textile design education in the United Kingdom (UK). Previous research has evidenced that ‘…hand use, tactile skills and making by hand…’ by practitioners impacts upon digital tool use (Treadaway 2006: 117). In the majority of instances digital technologies have not replaced the traditional or manual, but have been added to and integrated in to the curriculum, facilitating opportunities for enhancement, innovation and the development of hybrid practices.

This paper will examine the role of culture related to the structure of UK textile design education and more specifically student utilisation of digital technologies. It will evidence that location and access, whether physical or virtual, are key aspects in integrating digital technologies. It will evidence that location and access, whether physical or virtual, are key aspects in integrating digital technologies into education and practice. The Centre for Advanced Textiles (CAT) at the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) will be used as an example to demonstrate how both physical location and virtual access are vital to promote the further exploration of utilising digital technologies by practitioners from a multitude of different creative disciplines. Activities undertaken at the Centre provide mechanisms for knowledge transfer between industry and education, facilitating a new culture for textile design education and the next generation of designers.