Amy Sargent – MA Design: Products and Furniture

Amy is currently working as a design engineer, and has been in industry for three years. She decided that she wanted a change in career direction, and is studying one day a week at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) as a part time student, alongside her employment.

Can you tell us a bit about the staff on your course – your lecturers, tutors, administrators and technical staff. How do they support your learning and University experience?

The tutors are very supportive and understanding, as I am a part-time student it means that I have other priorities. The staff always take this into account and ask about your wellbeing, giving advice when needed.

What do you like about studying and living in Nottingham?

There are a lot of events and culture in Nottingham. There is something for everyone and the university is positioned in a convenient place where it is central of the city, but just off from the hustle and bustle.

Has your course included any trips? Tell us a little bit about how your trip helped you with understanding your subject.

Yes, we went to Portugal, we visited design companies, their university, a cork factory and local tourist attractions. We were given a project to design a piece of homeware from cork, so visiting the factory and other companies that had used cork in making products was very helpful.

Have you had any speakers or lectures from industry visiting as part of your course? Who was the speaker and what made it a useful experience?

We have had many speakers, one that stuck with me was when a member of ‘W’Innovate’ from Wilkos showed us their design process which was very interesting.

Have you been involved in any live projects or exciting briefs?

We worked as a group and designed different styled portfolios for a client. I enjoyed learning how to create an interactive portfolio and getting to know our client with face to face meetings.

What has been your favourite module(s) on the course? Why?

Design tools has been my favourite so far, as I am designing a lamp for children which has been really interesting, as I have learnt about projector technology.

Find out more about our MA Design: Products and Furniture course