What do you do when you are expected to get together representatives from 25 different universities and research institutions around the world and the calendar shows the upside-down year of 2020? You defy 18 hours of time difference between the East and the West, and you move everything online.
In early 2019, I made the move of leaving my home in Mumbai, India to pursue a two-year-long, Master of Design course at Swinburne University. Three months into the course, I was accepted into Design Factory’s Global Program where I immersed myself in a different way of learning and culture – both of which have had a lasting impact and value on me today.
Design Factory Global Network’s Marthe Dehli sat down with DFM’s Director, Anita Kocsis to give others a window into DFM, our space, our students and our hopes for the future. This article is part of DFGN’s interview series to get to know other design factories around the world through the eyes of its people!
A place to call home and a home away from home. A community of like-minded individuals, ready and willing to challenge the status quo. Industrial designers, engineers, mad makers, disruptors, all creators in their respective field… and all somewhat gastronomically obsessed or curious. This is how I would encapsulate the brilliant couple of years and the incredible people I worked alongside during my time at Design Factory Melbourne (DFM).
What kind of event brings together a health minister, leading academics, and c-suite executives from across the private sector? This may not sound like your everyday gathering of professionals, however at Design Factory Melbourne this is our everyday — it’s what’s known as interdisciplinary collaboration.
When my friends ask me what I did in the Design Factory Melbourne (DFM) Global Program, I have a bit of a hard time putting exactly what does happen at DFM into words.