I feel that the Amsterdam program went very well. While the design challenge was a bit disjointed due to the team swaps, each individual step was a fun experience. At UvA, we did research and trend analysis, as well as interviews and forming problem statements. I was familiar with most of this due to my time in different engineering courses, but the interview process was new. Having to go around outside and actually talk to strangers affected by a problem was definitely outside of my comfort zone. I’m used to only using third-hand sources, academic papers, and raw data when it comes to forming a picture of an issue. However, the credibility that emotional anecdotes provide is a useful tool that I plan to use for future projects.
Outside of UvA, I did not continue with the student housing issue, but instead ended up working on student nutrition due to a team swap. We worked on prototyping with students at the Avans University of Applied Sciences. This was interesting, as we went through the process of brainstorming, prototyping, and testing in about 3 hours. Brainstorming is always a difficult task for me, as I tend to get stuck on one idea, or I subconsciously limit myself due to concerns over feasibility. Thankfully, my groupmates did most of the work in this instance. Although, I do think that the team swap helped me participate in this step more, as with the housing problem, there was already a solution decided, and I think that would have limited my imagination even more.
I enjoy prototyping, though in this instance I did feel a bit strange as we only had the chance to make a representational prototype. This was especially odd as we had to do “testing” with it, where the proposed functionality was described to an audience who had to provide feedback after “using it”. As our proposed solution was a portable solar-powered oven, this involved them placing a play-doh fish inside a box.
My dislike for making low-fidelity representational prototypes aside, we did get a good amount of positive feedback. Most people we showed the prototype said they would use it if it were functional, which was nice.
Due to the team swap, I didn’t get to develop and test a solution for the problem of student housing. The initial plan was to create a social platform that would match potential roommates based on the character traits they describe themselves with/they are looking for. Interestingly, the UvA students seem to have created an actual application, or at least just a very high-fidelity visual of a potential user profile.
The asynchronous activities were all engaging. I found the wallflower assignment the easiest, as I naturally tend to do that anyways. The idea generating was hardest, as like I mentioned before brainstorming is not my strong suit. Finding Norman doors was fun, even if it took a long while. The story assignment was interesting as well, and probably my favorite out of all of them. Finding ways to twist events into plot points to create a story flow was rather tricky, and it’s a helpful tool for using what would otherwise be everyday happenings as emotional anecdotes.
Outside of the academic stuff, I really enjoyed being able to tour around Amsterdam. I went to visit the Van Gogh Museum, which was full of his beautiful works, and the exhibit on his last days and paintings at Auvers was moving. I also got to go around and try all kinds of Dutch cuisine, from their seafood like gambas, herring, and oysters, and their sweets like stroopwafels. I also got a lot of Italian and boba tea. Overall, I had a great time being in Amsterdam, and would definitely come back again if provided the opportunity.