Destination: TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences
Study Period: September 2024 – February 2025
Affiliation/Grade at the start of studying abroad: Department of Art and Design Science, Design Futures Course, 3rd Year　(International Program, 3rd Cohort)

I studied abroad at KISD (Köln International School of Design), TH Köln University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, Germany, for about six months during the second semester of my third year of undergraduate studies. At KISD, students can choose project of interest from 12 design fields regardless their major. Since I am interested in designing intangible things, I took two service design projects and one gender design project.
In the service design project, I developed a service to solve garbage issues in carnival by collaborating with local waste collection company. Through the design process – from researching the garbage problems to creating prototypes – I experienced the design approach “thinking while creating”. In addition, it was a valuable experience to have the opportunity to communicate with local people. I learned both differences and similarities of culture and thoughts from their comments.
Since KISD has so many students from outside Germany, and both undergraduate and graduate students conduct one project together, I sometimes felt hard to communicate in an environment where culture, academic back grounds, and ages differed. However, it was a great experience that I could enjoy creating the final output by repeating trial and error.