Resilience, Critical Thinking and Professionalism

In 2021, I took a chance and made the switch from Architecture to Industrial Design. At this point in time, I had spent 2 years at university but hadn’t enjoyed it. After completing my first semester in ID, I knew this was the path for me. After discovering the BMW Academy earlier that year, I had set the goal for myself to one day intern for them. Fast forward to 2024, 3 years later I have just completed my 100-hours as a design intern and this is how it went.

During my time at the academy, I worked on the customisable bespoke, wall-mounted shelving system for the Academy Beta Lab workspace for storage and presentation of publications and awards. I was really excited when I saw the brief for this project – knowing that in my future career I’d like to be involved in the furniture design industry. I felt that it was a perfect combination of creative freedom and manufacturing constraints. Working alongside Tim, Jordan and Kent to bounce ideas off of and collaborate closely with, was such a rewarding experience – and a close client/colleague relationship that I hadn’t previously been exposed to. Even outside the project, to come into an environment full of such skilled designers and to be treated as equal, fostered such a positive feeling. Sharing lunch with everyone on my internship days only enforced this positive and supportive work culture.

The project itself gave me some insight into how challenging it can be at times to balance different perspectives and manufacturing advice to achieve functionality whilst upholding aesthetic resolve. The feeling of solving some of these unique challenges only emphasised why I joined Industrial Design in the first place. These hurdles have strengthened my resilience, sharpened my critical thinking, and have contributed greatly to how I conduct myself in a professional setting. Additionally, presenting to people you have worked with for an entire semester feels totally different from the norm, and is something I feel has really helped with my public speaking skills.

I highly encourage any student looking at taking up the WIL unit to consider the academy as it is such an invaluable experience.

Tadhg Cullinane
Academy WIL Intern, Semester 2 2024