Glass half full or half empty …? Turning a negative into a positive, a constraint into an opportunity, is the essence of problem reframing emblematic of design thinking. From initial despondency about the loss of face-to-face education, it was refreshing to see how our colleagues and students took on the challenge of online teaching and learning. The ingenuity and adaptability of our students and teachers was remarkable. We had to very quickly rethink how we conduct human-centred design and research without direct physical sharing of space.
Design briefs with challenging themes of overcoming social isolation, crisis and emergency situations resulted in creative responses by students to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the usual way we live, work and study. Our graduating students created design solutions for people with learning disabilities, in partnership with the Centre for Disability Research and Policy and startup company Theratrak. Capstone research students quickly adapted to conducting research online and using digital modelling tools such as VR and computational design, instead of making and fabricating physical objects and installations. Pivoting from the traditional on-campus exhibition in public space, Pilot Lights is accessible through a novel bespoke interface, with students running their own digital galleries. Now you can interact directly through your own computer’s camera and mouse with digital artworks made on the Processing creative coding platform!
We all missed being physically present with each other on campus. Establishing social connection was one of the biggest challenges, especially for our newly commencing students, many of whom were scattered around the world, unable to travel to Sydney. To remedy, we are trying out some social activities and ice-breakers as part of this event. Please do participate online and have fun meeting the people in the M.IDEA community!
Here’s to celebrating the ideas of our 20/20 Visionaries!
Program of events
Live online event 5-8pm, 30 June, 2020
Note: This event may be recorded. The talks may be archived on the website. By joining the main Zoom session, you consent to being recorded by voice and video.
Schedule (please see Social Events page for more information)
4:55pm Start Zoom session
5:00pm Welcome
5:10pm Social activity 1
5:20pm Talk by industry partner
5:30pm Check out student projects
6.00pm Social activity 2
6:15pm Short talks by alumni
6:45pm Social activity 3
7:00pm Farewell the graduating class
8:00pm Party till Close
Selected projects by students
You can interact with student digital artworks
Talks from industry experts and alumni
Let’s have fun!
Faces of M.IDEA
Join
Please join the M.IDEA alumni group on LinkedIn
The Creative Team
This event and online platform was created and organised with the assistance of our wonderful student volunteers, who contributed their imagination and interaction design skills.
Web design: Jill Minrong Hua, Aditi Gupta
Logo design (static & interactive): Jill Minrong Hua
Social activities: Fransisca Devina, Linda Phompak, Levy Tran, Dan Vo
Web content production: Estelle Chen, Fransisca Devina, Aditi Gupta, Jill Minrong Hua, Levy Tran