FSC Students Engage With Scottish Counterparts
October 1, 2019
FSC students in Scotland
Ten FSC students from the Interaction Design, Graphic Design, Urban Horticulture and Design, and RAM programs traveled to Scotland’s Edinburgh Napier University, to participate in the 2019 Blended Interactions Workshop.
The two-week workshop – created by FSC Visual Communications Professor Brian O’Keefe and Dr. Tom Flint, ENU – put British, European and FSC students to work researching various human-centered problems before, during, and after the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The festival is an August-long event in the city of Edinburgh, where comedians, musicians, actors, and other performers from around the world seek to start their careers. Using the festival as a backdrop, students were required to design interactive systems, services, and devices that address the needs, wants, and aspirations of both festival visitors and entertainers.
The project focused on sustainable solutions to reduce waste: festival flyers and other print-based advertising that end up littering the city. The workshop concluded with FSC students presenting their research and prototypes, to Edinburgh Fringe Festival visitors.
“In this way, we can truly critique the experience of the festivals, by taking part both as audience and performers,” says Dr. Flint.
FSC’s relationship with ENU was birthed and organized three years ago by Professor O’Keefe, who did his post-doctoral work there under the mentorship of Professor David Benyon.
“Bringing an international, intercultural, or global dimension into an academic program strengthens the program and provides students with a broader perspective of their field of study,” says FSC Provost Dr. Laura Joseph. “Their experience was extraordinary and truly captured the essence of what internationalization of higher education is intended to achieve.”
FSC students agreed with Dr. Joseph that they had an extraordinary experience.
“I was originally very nervous about going to Edinburgh, as it was the farthest I’ve been from home,” says Brandon Degni.
“This internship initially took me out of my comfort zone. However, once I was there, the overall experience was fantastic and I enjoyed finding common Interaction Design challenges in a place entirely new to me.”
Says Steven Merlino: “The workshop in Scotland was even greater than I imagined. Not only did I become further trained as an Interaction Designer as a whole, but also had cultural experiences I never would have if I didn’t study abroad.”
And the story doesn’t end there, says Dr. Beverly Kahn, Director, RAM Program: “FSC and Napier are now ready to pursue collaboration between faculty and students at our two institutions in additional fields of study.”
