Living in Amsterdam, I felt like something new was happening every minute. Between the bike rides, museum visits, street interviews, late nights, and nearly missing the tram a few times, I had just enough time to absorb everything as it sped past me. I looked around wide-eyed in every direction, and I now realise that my wonder blinded me to the amount of concrete lessons I took away. Now, sitting on the train to Paris (that I also nearly missed) with three hours to reflect, I can say with certainty that I learned much more than I could have possibly expected.
The learning opportunities spanned from working with my team of UvA students on an e-waste design project to visiting unfamiliar areas in Amsterdam to pick up on strangers’ mannerisms. I had a lovely time with my UvA team: a friendly group of native Russian speakers, like myself. Our shared language allowed us to bond from the get-go, which made working on our project easier. Tackling our design challenge was a bit daunting at first, but upon brainstorming together and splitting up our interview duties, it became quite doable. Each of us was excited to go out and interview strangers; excitement that paid off, because I met some truly intriguing people, and even got to know a girl my age from Houston.
Our teamwork, open communication, and shamelessness during interviews worked really well; on the other hand, synthesizing our data proved a bit tricky when we discovered the sheer breadth of people we had interviewed. However, after plotting our ideas on the effort vs. impact chart, our aim became increasingly clear.
The design challenge – and the course over all – left me with some lasting impressions on how design works. First and foremost, I will remember the value of an open mind and a willingness to pursue outrageous ideas: every idea that I generated, whether at the Eye museum, during the e-waste challenge, or the tourist-centered prototype originated with some time dedicated specifically to letting our thoughts run wild and generating every possibility we could. Second, the concept of the two diamonds was definitely new to me, but will stick with me whenever I consider design from now on. I now understand the value of going back and forth, expanding and then synthesizing, all in search of a product or solution that directly benefits its users. And, finally, I now know how to discover a problem. Rarely does it just pop up in an entrepreneur’s mind; instead, it’s important to take a broad idea or field, and speak to the people in it to figure out what they really need. I realised this especially as we learned about the baby incubator and as I conducted my interviews. I doubt I would have learned any of these concepts as thoroughly anywhere else, as the hands-on, experience-centered nature of this course really imbued each of these lessons in me. And I haven’t taken any engineering design courses, so I can’t really compare it to them.
Though each of these skills brought our team quite far, a few unanswered questions remained. First, do we focus on raising awareness, or on helping civilians and businesses deal with e-bikes? We tentatively settled on the e-bike problem, but from there, it was unclear which solution to pursue. For instance, we could develop a more convenient way of recycling e-bike batteries; alternatively, we could start an initiative that raises awareness on what to do with a bike once it stops working. There were many possibilities, and to pick one would require some more thought and field work. In this regard, I think one way we could’ve changed our approach would be to ask our interviewees what they think could help them with whatever issue they described. Since many people struggled to dispose of e-bikes, if we had asked them what would be most helpful to them (like a pick-up service, wider recycling bin openings, etc.), we might have been able to resolve some of the ambiguity we encountered.
If we were to take this project forward, I see some of this ambiguity being resolved, whether through the trash bins or pick up services I described, or through something entirely different. Cooperations with local chains (Albert Heijn, Jumbo, etc.), reward systems for donating electrical components, and more; regardless of the ultimate solution, I see a future for Amsterdam where less of its population is clueless as to what to do with their bikes once they are no longer wanted.
Frankly, though e-waste, specifically e-bikes, posed its challenges in Amsterdam, I was surprised that the public’s general awareness of how to recycle e-waste was quite high. This gave me a perspective unique to Amsterdam, I think. In Houston and New York, where I have lived, knowledge of e-waste recycling is not as high. I’m glad to have witnessed a city that shows me what improved e-waste management looks like – this even creates an opportunity for a new design challenge across cities in the US.
Over all, I think I came to thrive in the field work aspect. I was a bit timid at first, but after going up to one store owner and getting a really mediocre answer, I realised that rejection or bad interviews weren’t really that scary at all. I continued going up to people with a smile, and nearly everyone I spoke to agreed to an interview that ultimately yielded valuable information. I had a really good time doing that, too – I think this is because one of my favorite things is putting myself out into the world and meeting new people. I still struggled a bit with brainstorming and generating ideas, even at the end, though – I found myself at a bit of a roadblock when we were in the yoga studio, unable to come up with new ideas even after Hesam gave us “inspiration” notecards. I think this might be because I haven’t had much experience generating solutions in this entrepreneurship environment, though, which just means I still have time and room to improve.
Beyond the course, my favorite part of the Amsterdam experience was walking around with no predetermined destination and discovering cool little locations for myself. I had an especially good time with my best friend from high school, who also happened to be in Amsterdam at the time. We spent hours in a row discovering new neighborhoods, museums, and parks, and I feel like that allowed me to step foot in many different areas in Amsterdam. By the end of the two weeks, I felt like I had seen and gained a good understanding of the whole city.
And, finally, my advice for future iSEED-ers: one, make the most of the time you have with your peers, both from Rice and the University of Amsterdam. This is such a cool opportunity to bond with new friends over a truly unique experience, and you won’t regret taking advantage of it. Every person I have met on this trip so far has been so kind and interesting, and I’m really glad I let myself come out of my shell and get to know each of them.
Second, don’t take all your time to nap when you are tired. You only have two weeks to see Amsterdam, and it’s going to fly by. Also, you’re not going to get to see everything you want, but you don’t want to miss out on too much. Get outside, explore unfamiliar neighborhoods, and don’t be too scared to get lost. Walking around and stumbling upon local gems is one of the best parts of the experience.