The Sustainable Design Weeks

 

During these 2 weeks we will host multiple events all on the topic of sustainable design! Sustainability is becoming an ever more important topic. Students are closely related to this topic and play an important role in the future of sustainability. They need to be aware that sustainability will be a crucial factor and they need to be informed about this topic. Sustainability is also important in design and is taken into consideration more frequently nowadays. A lot of companies are already working on sustainability and a cooperation between students and companies can help to improve the future of sustainable design.

 

The Program

 

Here you can find the program for the weeks. We will give a short introduction on each activity!

The Grand Opening

On this day we will open the event weeks via a live stream! During this live stream we will quickly talk about sustainable design and how this impacts IDE. Next to that the StudIO will be decorated and there will be a live stream from the StudIO with some nice tunes!

 

Viskom Activity

During this activity you will encounter sustainable design in a creative way. How do you create new designs from thrash? How can you implement sustainability in a daily life? For more info check the event on the sign up page!

 

Release InDepth

On Friday a new InDepth will be released! This InDepth will be partially in the topic of sustainability. They will be available for pickup in the StudIO.

 

Lunch lecture from NVC

NVC(Nederlands Verpakkings Centrum) will talk about the PUMA Manifest. PUMA is a worldwide effort to end the pollution created by the packaging industry. They will talk about the plans and future of this manifest and why the current industry would be a problem for the future. More info:

https://www.nvc.nl/press/item/puma-manifest-interpack2020-nu-samen-op-weg-naar-einde-verpakking-als-milieuprobleem-wereldwijd/

Participants get a coupon for a free subway sandwich!

 

Waste Separation Theme Day

During the separation day the new separation bin will be revealed on a live stream! There will be fun games to play in and around the StudIO, when you quickly walk by to grab a coffee/tea. Next to this, there will also be the possibility to play online games!

 

Mastermind Activity

During this lecture Bjorn the Koeijer, professor at the University of Twente. Björn will talk about packaging and several statements regarding sustainability will be given and discussed about. Does your opinion change during this lecture and do you agree with him or not? Find out on the 25th of November! Sign up on the website!

 

Plastic Soup Theme Day

On this day you will get to know about the plastic soup floating around in the ocean, which is a very important issue nowadays. The StudIO will be decorated according to this theme and you can grab a free cup of plastic soup provided by the Omnomcom(no plastic is used during the production of the edible plastic soup).

 

Lunch Lecture PHD Students

Two PHD students from the faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering on the TU Delft will talk about designing with living materials!  People who sign up will receive a coupon for a free subway sandwich. Sign up on the website!

 

Sustainable Pubquiz

During this festive ending we will organize a pubquiz! What do you know about sustainable design, sustainability in general and the event weeks itself? Test yourself during the Pubquiz! If you paid enough attention to the socials of S.G. Daedalus you should know most facts by now.

 

Release Sustainable Podcast

In the near future an Icarus Idea podcast with Daan Roosengaarde will be released!

 

We hope to see you there!

Alumni Story: Samra Sabljic

Samra Sabljic is 24 years old and graduated in 2019. She studied Industrial Design Engineering for six years at the University of Twente. Currently she works for the Province of Utrecht, where she is doing a traineeship. As a trainee you have a regular job, enriched with a trainee-program. This way the focus is on learning and developing yourself more within the organization. For her, this is a great transition between the student and working life. Mainly because the trainees are seen as the innovators of the organization. She agreed to join for this interview as she did not know exactly what to do after her studies. She hopes by giving this interview she can provide some inspiration or give an example for current students.

Samra was really positive about her years as a student. The small scale of the study direction gave her a lot of flexibility during her student years. There are many possibilities for students, which enable you to gain a lot of experience in different fields. She was an active member of S.G. Daedalus and joined the Evaluation Committee and the Accom. As a chair of the Evacom she learned a lot about the educational system of the UT and about giving feedback in a positive way, she regularly wrote a piece for the InDepth. With the Accom she organized many fun activities like the ‘night in the red light’ party and the Valentine pub crawl!

 

During her master she joined the Study Tour to Japan and South Korea, Ukiro. Prior to the trip  she did a case with Gazelle, for which she designed a bike. This added something to her growing portfolio, which, she states, is really important for finding a fitting master thesis. After the bachelor she went on to follow the master Human Technology Relations. She really enjoyed courses like Graphic Language of Products, Product life cycle and Design History. She finished her bachelor by working on her thesis with an architectural firm in Rotterdam. This is where her interest in public spaces started to grow.

During her masters the interest for designing things in public spaces evolved even more. After focusing elective courses towards sustainability and/ or the public space, she also wanted to do a master thesis related to such topics. After meeting someone working for the Municipality of Amsterdam at the Bedrijvendagen fair, she sent her portfolio and CV to different departments of that huge organization. She got lucky and they got an assignment for her! She worked on the project of the Waterlooplein; a complicated project with a long history. It was her first experience within such a state organization. Her goal was to design something that would satisfy all parties. After a long process of almost a year she managed to design a compromise. This experience she got during her master thesis confirmed her interest in public spaces and was the foundation for the job she currently executes.

After a long-overdue summer break she started to look for a job. It really takes time and practice to get a hang of writing the perfect application letter and selling yourself in the best way. She found out there aren’t that many applications regarding a link between architecture and industrial design. As soon as she found this specific traineeship application for the Province of Utrecht, she knew that it was a perfect fit. The application process was quite intense, which is something that you do not encounter while studying. From the 350 applicants only 15 were selected. A tip when looking for a job: prepare yourself for the different kinds of assessments you need to go through.

 

She really recommends doing a traineeship after your studies as it is a nice transition from student to working life. A traineeship most often takes between one and two years. One day a week she follows the traineeship program: courses and trainings to broaden her knowledge of the organization, while the rest of the week she has a regular job. Her area of work is the “Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie”. This is the largest national monument of the Netherlands. The cultural heritage was once a defense line, used to keep the enemy away by flooding in case of war. It spreads through 5 provinces, but the largest part extends straight through the middle of the Province of Utrecht. She focuses on tourism in this area and also on sustainability. Samra really enjoys her current job. She is learning a lot on the job, while developing her personal skills in the trainee program as well. The most important skill she learned during her studies and which she still uses today is “design thinking”. She considers this mindset to be really important and the key for innovation, especially in the public sector.

 

Lastly she wants to give everyone the advice to find something you really like during your studies. This is the time to do so, as you have the possibilities and time to explore almost everything you want. She really recommends getting extra experiences outside of your studies like a study tour, extracurricular courses, internships etc.