Ten students from ESADA's Interior and Product Design program have returned after successfully completing the new Erasmus BIP in Lithuania. This is ESADA's second BIP participation, following the success of the previous one held last summer in Turkey.
The students who participated in this BIP in Lithuania were: Marta Muñoz Medialdea (1st Interior Design), Carmen Calderón Santiago, Paula Ortega Bolívar, Sara Tepra Darmach (2nd Interior Design), Isabel Rivero Abollado and Lucía Amigo Carballo (3rd Interior Design). In the Product Design field, Jesús José Castillo Vilchez and Mariana Duque Vélez (2nd year), and Araceli Vázquez López and Marina Pinto Maldonado (3rd year) took part. They were accompanied by Fernando Ortega, coordinator and teacher of Interior Design at ESADA, teacher Alejandro Prats, and director Carmen Gómez.
The project was preceded by several online seminars for all students, led by teachers and professionals from various schools, including ESADA, a Latvian school, and
Vilnius College of Technologies and Design (VTDK) in Vilnius, the host and organizing institution where the physical project took place. ESADA has an Erasmus agreement with VTDK, and they regularly engage in incoming and outgoing mobilities. These online seminars provided students with the necessary knowledge and skills to face the creative challenge in Lithuania.
During their stay in Vilnius, Lithuania, from April 8th to 12th, the students took on the challenge of creating a piece of furniture with integrated videomapping projection, thus transforming the furniture into a dynamic and captivating visual experience, contributing to a comprehensive vision with a strong focus on sustainability. They participated alongside ten other students and several teachers from each school. On the first day, they organized the work groups for the rest of the week.
After days of dedication and work, they managed to complete the project and present their final creations. Additionally, the students worked with a CNC laser cutter for expanded polystyrene (EPS), which allowed them to experiment with the possibilities and limitations of this material in furniture creation, an unconventional material in the field of interior design. Throughout the project, they demonstrated a high level of creativity, technical skills, and ability to work as a team.
In addition to the project work, the students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in Lithuanian culture and explore Vilnius and its surroundings. During their free time, they enjoyed the rich history, impressive architecture, gastronomy, and vibrant cultural life of the city. This experience not only expanded their creative skills but also enriched their understanding of the world and strengthened bonds among ESADA students from different programs and courses.
Undoubtedly, this new BIP in Lithuania has been a rewarding and enriching experience for all participants. They have demonstrated their ability to tackle creative challenges and collaborate effectively in an international environment. The final creations reflect the students' talent, creativity, and dedication to design.
Testimonials
Carmen Calderón: My experience at the Erasmus BIP in Lithuania has been very rewarding as I have learned a lot both professionally and personally. On a professional level, I have developed my communication skills with people from other countries through different means (drawing, English, images, etc.) in order to understand each other and develop the project we wanted to carry out. I have also learned programs and work techniques that were unknown to me until now. On a personal level, it has been an unforgettable experience as I have been able to visit a country that I did not know, its customs, and food. In addition to this, visiting Vilnius has been very enjoyable as it is very different from what is usually seen in Spain, and that has helped me understand what it's like to live in a northern country where there are not as many daylight hours as in Spain. This experience has also allowed me to make very good friends from ESADA and universities in Lithuania and Latvia with whom we worked throughout the week. I hope to repeat this experience soon. Thank you very much for the opportunity.
Lucía Amigo: I had never had an Erasmus experience before, to be honest, I didn't know what I was going to find and how I was going to manage to communicate in English, since I find it difficult to speak with people from outside, but in this BIP, I have been able to see that people try to make you understand and give you your space so you can express yourself and thus make some progress with the language. I really liked the experience of being able to do a project like this with different people, with a different way of working and doing things, quite interesting results came out and at the university both professors and students treated us very well. Without a doubt, I would participate in an Erasmus experience again, as it gives you the opportunity to travel, meet new people, and above all, practice English. Overall, very happy!
Paula Ortega: Living this experience has served me both culturally and academically, getting to know a city I never thought I would visit and which exceeded my expectations, and being able to learn from people from other backgrounds about video mapping and other techniques. Also, being able to meet other ESADA students from different courses and specialties, and the professors, has undoubtedly been a memory that I will carry with me forever.
