Australian Update

Sorry I’ve been kind of neglecting you guys since I’ve been here. Moving to a new country takes a lot of work (setting up banking, cell phones, internet connections, etc. etc...boring stuff).

I’ve been in Adelaide, Australia for a little over a month now and am in my 4th week of school at the University of South Australia (UniSA). I’ve enrolled myself in 3rd year studio: focus on usability design, ceramic production techniques, and furniture for manufacture. 

First off, our studio actually has windows! I was really excited about that. The atriums on our campus are also all outside, since they don’t really have to deal with the same weather conditions that we do. It’s really cool, but also very strange.

Oh, hi Justin!

Studio:

• Worth double credit (like 1st semester 3rd year at Carleton)
• 2 projects in parallel:
• redesign a mobile projection unit (a cart with a projector, a laptop, and all the fixings)
• redesign a stud finder (focus on model building for iterations. Foam and simple electronics.)

Thanks to the stud finder project, I’ve learned to solder in the last 2 days. Built myself a snazzy circuit board too so I can test the feedback and usability of my models. 

The lights and speaker can all be inserted into foam models so I can use the
control board to replicate actual functions during user testing.

Ceramic Production Techniques:

• Basically a mix of techniques (like from mass pro) and an arts course
• I play with clay and mix up glazes

Furniture for Manufacture:

• Pretty much what the title says
• First project was a research project on a designer and one of their designs. We did our video on Hans Wegner’s Papa Bear Chair.
• Final project will be to design and fabricate a full scale stool.

So that’s a little update on ID life in Adelaide. If you’re interested in reading a bit about what else has been going on down here outside of school feel free to visit my travel blog, because Australia is freaking awesome.

-Linette

Meet The Student Exchange Bloggers!

A handful of SID students are getting ready to leave the country this semester, with plans to study abroad at various institutions all over the globe. Some of them have generously agreed to check-in with us from time to time, sharing their experiences on the blog. Get to know a little bit about the bloggers below, and stay tuned for updates as the year progresses!

Name: Jennifer Bin
Year: 3rd Year
Hometown: Toronto
Why go on an exchange?: My parents keep talking about how China is the future, so I'm going to have a look for myself.
Where are you going?: Jiangnan University in Wuxi, China
For how long?: 6 months for school, another few to travel/do an internship
Why there?: Wuxi boasts one of the best industrial design schools in China (some of their work have won Red Dot awards!). Also because there is good food.
Living on/off campus?: Will be living on campus
What are you most excited for?: Street food! Buying counterfeit things!
Thing you'll miss most about Carleton/Canada?: Having real diary products
Thing you'll miss least about Carleton/Canada?: The cold is pretty bad here
Travel Blog: http://travel.jenniferbin.com/

Name: Linette Brown
Year: 3rd
Hometown: Ottawa
Why go on an exchange?: I’ve wanted to do this since high school. I love traveling and since I’ve lived in Ottawa all my life, this was sort of my chance to “go away for school”. Although I guess I’m taking it a little to the extremes...
Where are you going?: University of South Australia (UniSA) in Adelaide, Australia.
For how long?: 6 MONTHS! Their term runs from mid-February to end of June, and I’ll be staying in July to travel around a bit.
Why there?: Out of the choices offered for ID exchange, this seemed like the place that I’d be least likely to find a way to visit later in life, so I figured I’d seize the opportunity now. SID has also been sending students there for a while now, so the chances of my credits transferring successfully are very high. Also, the not-winter-ness of it. ALSO, also, who doesn’t like Aussies ;)
Living on/off campus?: UniSA doesn’t have their own residence, so I’ll be staying in a student accommodation building (similar to res, or student apartments), that is owned by an outside company.
What are you most excited for?: Summer. It will be summer and I’ll be a 20min bus ride from the beach. How can I not be excited for that?
Thing you'll miss most about Carleton/Canada?: Timmies has a special place in my heart, so that’s a big one haha, but since I’m leaving at the beginning of February I’m extremely sad that I’ll be missing skating on the canal. It’s one of my favourite things so do in the winter.
Thing you'll miss least about Carleton/Canada?: The cold. I hate the cold. And worse than the cold is the slush. I am ecstatic that I will be missing slush season entirely.

Name: Heather Jeffery
Year: 3rd Year
Hometown: Coldwater, Ontario
Why go on an exchange?: An Opportunity I couldn't pass up
Where are you going?: Adelaide, Australia
For how long?: Approximately 5 months
Why there?: Because the Industrial Design program there looked really interesting and I have always wanted to travel to Australia.
Living on/off campus?: Both
What are you most excited for?: I am most excited for the flight (I have never been on a plane) and also to see how their cheap wine tastes.
Thing you'll miss most about Carleton/Canada?: I will miss skating on the rideau canal and tobogganing the most while I am gone.
Thing you'll miss least about Carleton/Canada?: I will NOT miss starting my truck, scraping the windshields and shoveling myself out of the driveway. As well as driving 3 min to my mail box.

See ya in 5 months CANADA!