Industry Visits
I have always been keen to learn more about manufacturing processes. During my BA and MA degrees, I visited many factories and got myself acquainted with their machinery and processes. This has helped me greatly in making better design decisions in my professional career.
As the Dean of Faculty of Design, I organised monthly site visits and shared meetings with local manufacturers and hosted multiple panels with industry experts. This was a great practice to familiarise the academic staff with potentials and challenges of local factories, create a close relationship with the industry section and investors, and above all, build friendship and teamwork among the staff.
As a result of our collaborations, two specialised labs were equipped through funding by local manufacturers of footwear and furniture, both of which industries considered native and critical to the economy of the state. Additionally, many of our graduates were employed by manufacturers that didn’t even have an R&D department before.