Seven Graphic Design students got the chance to visit Belgium, thanks to the Blended Intensive Project (BIP) program, funded by Erasmus+. We spent most of our time in a small city called Mechelen where Thomas More University of Applied Sciences hosted our learning events. With us were Digital Arts students from Spain and local Experience Design students from Thomas More University.
On our first day we got to see the local town and did some sightseeing in Mechelen with the Spanish students. We visited Saint Rumbold’s Cathedral and a local brewery.
The second day we did sightseeing in Brussels where we visited the famous Atomium, which was originally built for the 1958’s World Expo. Nowadays it is a popular tourist attraction with a museum and a space for holding different exhibitions.This time there was mesmerizing light and music installations called Restart. We also visited the Brussels Design Museum. While in Brussels we of course enjoyed the legendary Belgium waffles and walked around the city center.
During the last three days of our trip we were spending time in Thomas More University where we participated in reflection circles and practiced project feedback. We were also invited to join Coding Olympics where students had to build moving robots and catapults using the Arduino kits, coding the robots to follow given rules. It was so much fun!
On the last day we had a lecture from AnySurfer, which is a Belgian company which audits website accessibility. They gave us a thorough overview of what to keep in mind when designing, what principals to follow, how to easily test your site and where to find more info about the standards and requirements.
In conclusion the trip was really fun and enriching. It was eye opening to see and hear how other students and schools have their design studies. The trip brought us closer together as well and we are really glad that we had the chance to join!
The BIP is financed by European Union Erasmus+ program.