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IN THIS ISSUES
YEAR I NO. 1
facebook.com/MMDgazette
2013 STARTUP EVENT
INTERVIEW
BRIEFING
7 § The special and unique thing about the agency is how the students and companies work together.
11 § Improving the
8 § If you want to learn
16 § The name
study environment and solving all problems students stumble across…
18 § I love MMD
”Kulturmaskinen” means “the culture machine” and the name fits perfectly!
25 § Always something
is home of new ideas, active people and networking. What is there not to love?
something really quick, teach it! Odense because it seemed like it had a good “family” atmosphere.
30 § The Friday bar
new.
28 § I would gladly
say that MMD is my second home.
22 §
it’s march and time for a challenge!
MANAGING EDITORS BOARD : ELIZA KASARENOKA, MELISSA VARDY, MIHAI ZAHIU, ALEXANDRA LENARD, GRATIANI BEJINARIU SUPERVISING TEAM: MICHAEL LUNDORFF-HANSEN, LISE AGERBÆK, KAREN MALENE ANDREASEN, JAMES J NORWOOD, ALEXANDER TORNQVIST.
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EDITORIAL
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ou truly know that you are a part of the MMD family when you start missing the building and the people who live in it. Along with the rest of 4. semester I have been forced to leave the safe environment that MMD is, and jump out into the real world. This is both a learning and eye-opening experience, but also a bit scary. It is scary in the sense that you see a possible future and what the real world outside might hold. I quickly realized that felt I bit “lonely” and found that it was because I lacked the MMD family. The people you meet in the building might have different cultures and speak different languages, but they are all part of the same family. I can truly say, that even though I am having fun and learning a lot through my internship, I miss all you people at MMD who inspire and challenge me every day. Till we met again….
Melissa Vardy
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INTERVIEW
Allow yourself to make mistakes, be engaged and push your own limits. Kristin Utne
First of all, i would like you to tell us about your professional background? I am educated from the Danish Design school in february 2008, from the institute of Visual Communication. I studied at the teachers College of Arts and Crafts in Kerteminde. After the Design School I´ve been working in a design agency in Copenhagen. I did many different things here; editorial, visual identities, interface design, information architecture, illustration, conceptdevelopement, campaigns and much more. How and why did you choose to start working at MMD? I needed new challenges in my work, and wasn´t sure if I wanted to be the designer for a period, and, when I saw the job posting, I thought this was a chance to work with my subject in a different approach. What was attractive to me was that beeing a teacher is never boring. I my self have to be constantly updated and I often actually feel like beeing a student again.
What are your thoughts about the MMD and about the students here? MMD is a place with many opportunities. For students and teachers. There is a nice and friendly environment and I have felt very welcome from day one from both students and teachers. Students must take a lot of knowledge in a short time, so they are busy. But most take the challenge and work focused and committed. An advice to the students in MMD? Allow yourself to make mistakes, be engaged and push your own limits. Be critical on your own work and process to improve yourself. Take advantage of this time you´re studying. Now is the best time for experiments and creativity and most important to explore your own potential. For the visual part; Sketch, sketch, sketch (read; get away from the computers for a while) and have a clear idea before you do mockups. 5
The students at MMD posses so much creativity: Why not share that with companies?
and began looking for collaboration companies. The idea was to offer companies a change by working together with fellow students, so they This thought quickly also could benefit of the grew in Michael Lundorff and he decided students knowledge and creativity. to take action. Over time the Agency He gathered a group has provided many of students that all had a hunger for knowledge students with great 6
opportunities and jobs. Some jobs are payed, depending on the extensiveness of the task, and some are just for the experience, contacts, creating an interesting portfolio and working together with fellow students and learning from them. So if you are a
student who is up for a challenge and sharing your knowledge with others – you should join the MMD Agency! If you wish to join you should contact the head of The Agency ,Melissa Vardy 4. sem. Mail: Melisvardy@gmail.com Or https://www.facebook.com/ melissa.vardy
INTERVIEW
The special and unique thing about the agency is how the students and companies work together. Interview with Melissa Ellen Margaret Vardy, 4. Semester Student at MMD Odense and head of the Agency. How did you started to work in agency? I joined the Agency to meet some of my fellow students and to learn from them. I saw it as an opportunity to learn. Why did you got involved in the agency work? I joined in on a few jobs, not where I had the responsibility but where I was a helper of a sort. I helped some F & A students film and a lot of other stuff. What is the most interesting or special memory from agency life you have? Well it is always cool to see the members succeeding in what they do. Every time a company is happen with the students work or when the students end up actually getting a job – Like Mads 4. sem F&A - who got a job for the Erhvers Akademiet Lillebælt through the Agency and now has it as his internship. What is it that’s special about the agency? The special and unique thing about the agency is how the students and companies work together. Besides that it is how the students wants to learn ! They
aren’t afraid to jump straight into a challenge and learn from their fellow students.
What is the agency currently working with? Right now we have some jobs that need people, so we are trying to get the newbies (1. Semester students) involved. We will soon have a meeting where they all can come and see what we do. But the single one thing we
are most focused on right now is Innoevent! The most important event of the year! Here we (the agency) help organize and run the event. I am really looking forward to seeing all the innovative ideas and have a fun week. What are the future plans for the agency? Well, I hope the agency will be a part of MMD for many years and grow so it thereby becomes some sort of school project. I also hope that more companies see the advantages of having The Agency students working for them. What would you say to all of the mmd students that maybe want to join but still are thinking about it? Call me! No, a mail or Facebook message is Ok as well… I would really recommend them to start. They will learn by doing, they will meet people and get more contacts. They will also become part of an extremely creative team and meet some really nice people who love what they do. So I hope to see you all at the next meeting ! 7
INTERVIEW
Lise Agerbæk
“If you want to learn something really quick, teach it!” How did you start in the multimedia field? I started out studying Philosophy and literature at the university, but before that in my high school and normal school I was working for the student’s newspaper. At the university i also worked for the student’s newspaper. I started out wanting to write but I was asked to help the guys that were working there to create the layout. We had very old fashioned equipment but I loved it! I don’t draw very well but I love to do things that have a visual impact. There I found out that I can create something visual without being able to draw: I can create layouts. What about your own company? After working in different places I decided to start my own company with my sister. I was more the sales manager and my sister was the creative DTP person. We were lucky enough to get a lot of customers so both of us had the company as the main income for 10 years. Why did you become a teacher? I started teaching at the university first and then here at MMD. I chose teaching first of all
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because I wanted to use some of my education from the university but also because I was very interested in design in general; and lastly because if you want to learn something really quick, teach it! You have to be better than the people you are teaching so you really have to learn it. What are you currently working on? Now I still have my company, I work maybe 10 % in my company and 90% at school. Right now I am working for a client that has a magazine. It is centered in the idea of creative industry. And I am doing the first layout ever for an interactive publication. It’s like a PDF that can carry video, something similar to the ones you get for your IPad. How do you see your future? In the future I would like to do more research! Right research because I think there is a big need of that. I would also like to build teaching materials because I think that a lot of the teaching materials that we have are not good enough. And my big goal is to write a book or two.
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BRIEFING
Improving the study environment and solving all problems students stumble upon‌
D
SR is the student union. The union consists of all MMD and BA class representatives. Each semester the representatives are reelected with help of election in each class. Also the core people (the board) including DSR chair-main are reelected each semester. The union is working to improve the study environment as well as solving all questions and problems students stumble upon while taking their education at our institute. The main agenda DSR has is to help the students to build a good communication with the academy and make the working process between the two as good as possible. DSR is working with several projects. One of the big projects is workshops at MMD. Each semester with the help of student volunteers, DSR organizes several workshop sessions. These workshops take place at our building in the afternoons after classes, where student volunteers are sharing their
knowledge with the other students about certain subjects. It is very important to share our knowledge, seeing that a lot of students are very talented in some areas but not as much in others, so it gives the opportunity for everyone to learn some extra. Other projects DSR is working on are after class activities for students, everything from social
the different students together. All the above mentioned is only a part of what the student union is doing. We are working with several other things and every semester we are setting up wide range of projects and initiatives that the students come up with. Seeing that every semester we get new students and new representatives in the union there are a lot of new ideas coming in and there is always a lot of administrative and creative work to be done in the union to make all of it happen. All in all there are varies directions our student union is working on and all of this work is done by active students in our building. To be capable to stay on top of everything we need to have great communication in our building and we hope that everyone who has something to say or has a great idea of how to improve life in MMD will come forward and make their contact with the DSR, because we will do our best to make it happen.
DSR is also working with other issues, like putting up poster to remind about cleaning after yourself and organizing cleaning day at school, to take care of our building and reminding people that these things should be done regularly. campaigns (Hug an MMD student), creating string art, carving your own pumpkin, sport activities to together visiting big events like the CeBIT 2013 in Hannover. We are also collaborating with the other EAL student unions institutes, to organize some bigger projects for
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EDITORIAL
We have yet again started a new period in the MMD life and believe me when I say; there are great events ahead of us. It may not seem so always, but every day out here brings something new. When you look in to a wider perspective, you can see how unexpected and great it has turned out. A wise person once said: “To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.” So let’s enjoy these moments and not be a specator. We are the ones who make things happen, so be a part of it, be a part of us! Eliza Kasarenoka
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INTERVIEW
Use this time to experiment
James J Norwood, Associate Professor Why did you choose to come to Denmark? Why MMD Odense? Well it certainly wasn’t the weather, the simple answer was Adam Montandon. I’ve know Adam for over 14 years, first as a student of mine at Plymouth University then as my first employee at specialmoves. Adam had mentioned how brilliant Odense was, so knowing Adam I was sold.
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What sort of projects have you been working on lately? Lots! I’m very involved with the welfare innovation initiatives at EAL. So a number of projects in collaboration with Odense Univeristy Hospital such as applied health, gamelab4health and previously health games. I’m also involved with the World Summit Awards, and the World Summit Youth
INTERVIEW
This will enable you to stand out Awards. We’re setting up an open mobile device lab here in Odense, oh then there’s the teaching! Tell us about Cup of tea social? Possibly I should explain the name first. In the UK it’s a tradition to put the kettle on, brew up a cup of tea when you want to have a chat (we also go to the pub a lot but “pint of beer social” doesn’t have the same ring). So that was the basic idea, to create a forum for students at MMD to be able to discuss and share idea. Those ideas being mostly tech and interaction focused. As the group is curated by myself there’s less likely to be too many cat posts. Quality is important, plus a backlog of really great inspirational content being made available Future plans? I’d like to see the program grow, this semester Adam and Kirsten are organising a fantastic line up of speakers for the cup of tea presents event on the 8th of April. They have Jason Mills from Critical Mass, Niki Ernst, TED ambassador and Klaus Christensen, Woerk. I’m also planning for the content of cup of tea to live outside of facebook, so if anyone has time please come and talk to me. Advice to MMD students! Keep abreast of the latest trends, always challenge the knowledge of everything you learn. Use this time to experiment, get ahead of the current practices in digital and be ready for when you leave the education with a specialised
toolkit of skills and knowledge. This will enable you to stand out and certainly be more employable. Tell about the events cup of tea social hosts? One of the great things about working in education is you can ask almost anything of people, there’s no sales pitch and generally everyone is willing to donate their time. Over the past 11 years in the interaction industry I’ve been lucky enough to meet and work with some truly brilliant people. The first event we had Riccardo Giraldi, Creative Director at B-Reel Products. Riccardo’s group are doing some truly mind blowing physical interactive products and certainly are at the cutting edge of the industry at this moment. The second event grew in size with Laurence Parkes from AKQA, Rebbeca Williams, Converse and Daniel Gjøde, Stupid Studio. I think this format worked nicely, being able to invite people who are influencing and directing their industries and have them be able to pass on insights into current trends from their own perspective. What is your educational background? I was fortunate enough to study on one of the very first multimedia education in the UK which was started back in 1993. The study was called Media Lab Arts or MLA for short, this is also where I meet the four colleagues who I would go on to set up specialmoves with. When we started the education the interaction industry was all about CD-ROM production, but the great thing about
MLA was it was an arts / science hybrid education. Everything was constantly new so we had to be self taught on so many topics. Also because it was less specific in it’s structure it allowed us a lot of freedom to innovate, they were certainly exciting times. Why did you choose to work in this field? I’d grown up with computers, my very first machine was a ZXspectrum48. Programs had to be loaded via tape but one of the cool things you could do is write little piece of code called pokes to allow you to cheat at games. I guess this hacking got me interested in doing more with machines than just playing games (although I love to play games). One thing we tend to forget when interacting with technology is that we’re making history every time we interact with a new device or create a piece of design or software. What is your business background? When we started specialmoves in 1999 we had next to no business experience or education. We believed we were going to change the world, and that was going to be purely based on the fact that we were four very talented multimedia developers. Turns out being good at creating content isn’t enough, you also need to know how to make money out of it. Luckily running your own company is a great education so we learned a lot of hard lessons but they paid off in the end. 15
At Kulturmaskinen in Brandt’s passage you can let your creative mind loose. You can join in at the media or the textile- and print workshops. You could also do something crazy, like joining the knitting club and knit a car cover - and this is not a joke! Trained professionals and experts leads all the departments, they can provide you with the best experience and advice possible. Most of the workshops are free – though you pay for the materials, according to your needs. On the top of the building you can also find a museum, ”Tidens Samling”. Here you can find nips and pieces from different periods in Danish history. On the bottom floor you find a cafe, which serves food and drinks. If you, as an international student, want to try something really Danish, 16
then visit the café and order “smørrebrød”(“smørrebrød” is a traditional Danish open- faced sandwich). At nights and in the weekends events take over the concert hall. Most of these events are run by different youth organization one example is DanceLikaMonkey. DanceLikaMonkey is a group of volunteers that all have one mission – to bring life to the music scene in Odense! The group of volunteers focuses on increasing the music and culture experience for young people and students in Odense. The concerts are mostly with Danish bands and DJs. The concerts also have with a good student discount, so that the ticket price has a maximum cost at a 100 kroner. So if you feel like having an awesome experience, you should go to one of the upcoming events.
The Gazette recommends you check these out: VINNIE WHO 15.03.13 Vinnie Who is the uncrowned disco king of Denmark, so get ready to dance. Check out: What You Got Is Mine and Remedy. DEN SORTE SKOLE 26.04.13 Den Sorte Skole is a Danish DJ trio. They have become a huge name and legends on the Danish music scene and have played at all the biggest Danish stages. So if you love Hip Hop and want to experience something truly unique, this is the event for you. Check out: Bjørnsvin / Malk de koijn You can check out the program at http://www.kulturmaskinen. com/ or on Facebook. The doors at Kulturmaskinen are open for all and need your help, to keep the machine running.
The name ”Kulturmaskinen” means “the culture machine” and the name fits perfectly!
Kulturmaskinen Odense 17
I love MMD Odense because it seems like it had a good “family” atmosphere.
Interview with Adam Montadon, author of The Awesome Department.
Where are you from? I was born in England, and I spent most of my life in a city called Plymouth, it’s down in the south by the sea. But it always rains there, even more than it rains in Denmark. But I love to travel, and I even lived in Canada when I was a teenager, working for a virtual reality skyscraper company. It was so much fun. What is your educational background? I have a Bachelor of Science in Media Lab arts, this was a very exciting 4 year education at and it was one of the most cutting edge in Europe at the time. My grade was 1st Class Honours. Then, I worked on my Masters of Science in a subject called Digital Futures, a very innovative 18
education, when I passed I got a grade of Distinction. I also won the Being Digital Award from the University of Plymouth , and then lots more after that….. What is your business background? I created an amazing company with some friends from university called Hardcore Monkey Crash. It started out as a super-small company with hardly any money running from a tiny little office. Over just 7 years it grew and grew, and I got to travel all around the world, won lots of awards, worked on amazing projects for huge clients, and made a lot of money in the process. But the most important thing was I had fun, and I could
create whatever I wanted. I got to design interactive chocolate factories, play with holograms, create cyborgs, work with celebrities, create ideas for new TV shows, travel to countries I had never even heard of and meet people who were simply amazing. I also had the experience of building something up from the very small to the very big. We started off in a tiny office and we had to have all our meetings in the pub next door. By the time I was finished I was sitting in a board-room working on business ideas worth millions of pounds. Why did you choose to work in this field? I always loved working with art and science and business
INTERVIEW together. It was my dream ever since I was a little kid. I always loved computers and pressing buttons. I taught myself to program by reading magazines where I would type in code line by line. When I was about 9 or 10 years old I started to make my own computer games. They were very simplistic back then, but I loved it so much. Also, I really think that it is important to be different. To stand out from the crowd. In the business world, you HAVE to be different, no one wants to work with a boring company. When I was at school, a lot of my teachers didn’t like me, because I always wanted to do things “the different way”. But that is why when I teach you guys, I always want you to be as different and unique as you can be! Why did you choose to come to MMD odense? I had met Michael Lundorff-Hansen a few times before, and he invited me over to MMD Odense for Innoevent. I had such a fun time working with all the great students here at MMD, and it was really inspirational to see so many people with so many new ideas. I had always loved teaching, because I did a lot of teaching in the UK and gave a lot of lectures all over the world. But the Danish way of teaching seemed to be a lot better. I love MMD Odense because it
seems like it had a good “family” atmosphere. Everyone is friendly, and everyone respects each other’s ideas. It was a bit of a random choice. None of my friends from England had even been to Denmark, so they thought I was crazy to move here. But it’s such a great feeling when I see all the hard work that students put in to everything they do. You guys Rock! Tell us about your book? The biggest project I have been working on is my new book, called The Awesome Department http://www. awesomedepartment.com and I have been working on it for 3 years now. I’m so excited for you all to read it.
Always speak up and let everyone know what you think! The book is something that everybody has been asking me for. I found all the things that a typical MMD student would really want to know about making their own awesome company, then I talked to experts around the world to find out their advice. So I talked to some of the most awesome companies in the world, from top designers to crazy innovators to Oscar
winners to millionaires. If you read it, it will give you a step-by-step guide to making an awesome, exciting company. I sent up my company right after I finished my education, and so many MMD and E-concept students want to do the same. So that’s why I decided to write the book. It has all the secrets that you won’t find in any regular business studies class, it’s the hidden “golden secrets” behind cool businesses. Also, there will be a special version just for students, with loads of free bonuses, downloads, and other stuff. You will even be able to get an audio version, so if you don’t want to read it you can listen to it on your Ipod instead, and digital files so that you can use it in your project work. Any Future plans? Yes, I do have one amazing future plan, and this is a top secret exclusive for the MMD Gazette. No one knows about this yet. Next year I will be going for a World Record Attempt! The details are still a little bit secret, but all the MMD students will have a chance to take part! Advice to MMD students! Remember that your voice is important. Always say what you think. Don’t be afraid to share what you believe….. What I mean is, when it comes to classes, always say what’s on your mind. If you like something, say so, if you hate something, say so! Always speak up and let everyone know what you think! 19
INTERVIEW
Interview with Morten Jung Lassen, Student Counsellor
International students are somewhere at 30% from the total of the students and its a perfect number. Who is Morten Larsen?
I used to be a teacher at MMD. I have been working in the education business from 1997, at different departments in this school and also at another school. I can say that after I finished my master degree in Film and Animation, I worked in the education system, with media and also with E-learning education.
And EAL you began as a teacher?
Yes, I began as a teacher, with multimedia designer teaching, mainly business and communication.
And what happened when you transferred from the class to the communication office desk?
Then I got involved in international students, reading the application and admitting them into the program. I worked a lot with Alexander, from 20
2008. Doing those things, involved me to get into the international student world, and I started as the student counselor in 2008 for the international students. Later, in 2010, Michael came and asked me if I could also be student counselor for the Danish students. This meant more work, because it is a tradition in Denmark you need to have a serious talk with the student about his options and you also ave to be the guy that raises the finger and says “Hey! you need to hand in that...� and so on. There is a difference being counselor for the international students, than for Danish students.
Do you miss to teach in the class? Yes, I miss the experiences. I don’t miss the busy days, because I have many things to do and to take care of. But I miss the teaching act.
Why is good to study abroad?
It gives you international experience and this it will be highly value now and also in the future, because most of the companies will work internationally. After you finish the education, you will work in a company who has international contacts. So it will be a very good thing to have, if you want to be ready for the competition.
What can you tell us about your offer?
It is mainly targeted for the Danish students. They have the possibility to study in many universities abroad, through the Erasmus program. We have very interesting locations, and new ones, like the one from Istanbul in Turkey, in Spain, in Tenerife, also in Portugal and in the Netherlands. The Danish students have first prior-
ity, but it is also for the but also the internationals have this possibility. Also we have a very nice offer to send the students to study in Australia or in United States, but this is only for the Danish students.
What about the financial support?
It is actually possible that the Danish government to help Danish students with the tuition fees for university outside the European Union.
For everybody to know better what means Erasmus program? With Erasmus you can study inside the European Union, while getting financial support. You can apply two times, once for studying and once for placement. If a student decides
to take a semester and an internship abroad he can benefit from this.
We have so many international students now, how come?
I think it started in September 2010. You can see an increase in the numbers, which came after the financial crises. People come here to get another education and find a job or maybe move to another country to get one. We usually have two international classes with start in September and one in January. We have 8 Erasmus students who are here right now. So it is the same level starting from 2010, which is a good thing. International students are somewhere at 30% from the total of the students and its a perfect number. Its give us an international environment. I would like to be
more mixed, more Danish in the international classes, but we will get there.
Are we seeing less and less people attending to classes? What this mean?
I have a very good relationship with the teachers and also with the secretary and I get informed about every problem that appear with any students and if they don’t hand in, or if they miss too many classes, then I call them and ask them about the problem. Basically even if they may not attend to all classes, they manage to pass. But of course they may have to take the entire semester again. Then again, if you come to classes and hand in the projects on time you will have higher grads, that if you do not come and only do mandatory assignments. 21
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IT’S MARCH AND TIME
FOR A
CHALLENGE! For the last few years’ students from MMD have been joining forces with other students from all the branches of Academy Lillebælt of Higher Education, in order to come up with the best solution possible for Innoevent! The basic concept for Innoevent is that the students get mixed into group and then have to solve a problem provided by Odense University Hospital. Last years theme was patient safety. How to make the hospital safer for the patient? This could be in the operating room as well as educational stimulation of the staff or a app reminding people to remember their daily medication. Because of the different expertise the students have, they come up with ideas that combine
their strengths and open new doors in “ways of thinking”. We multimedia students think creatively with technology were a nurse would think more about the medical facts and the patients. Therefor combining the expertise knowledge that the students have provides the groups with the most substantial ideas. After a week filled with hard work and creative thinking the groups get the chance of presenting their ideas to a jury of specialists and prominent people within healthcare and technology fields. The group with the best solution wins! No idea is too wild and only the sky is the limit! So make sure to bring your A-game and creativity in week 11 when this years Innoevent kicks off ! 23
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INTERVIEW
Always
something new. Interview with Alexander Tornqvist (international student consular) Your background? According to the answer to question where are you from, the answer is, I am from planet earth with no other specifications. That just tells us that Alex is a very international person. Before coming to MMD Odense I have been working with personal and administrational management in the Great Britain. Why did you choose to study at MMD Odense? The reason why I chose to come to study at MMD Odense is that I was looking for some changes in my life. I was in Denmark and saw this add about a Multimedia program here in Odense, so I thought about it and applied. A little while later I started studying at MMD Odense. How did you end up working at MMD? First of while studying at MMD I was employed as student helper, because I identified some problems and missing attention when it comes to
the international students who come here to Odense to start their student life. After I was finished with the 2 year program the school offered me a job as International student counselor. Activities/projects outside MMD? Now when I am working at the school there is not too much time for other outside project, but from time to time I am involved in some other project with some of my fellow students. It is still very good to keep up doing some of these projects seeing as it is relevant to my job and it also keeps me up to date of what is happening in the market. What makes life at MMD interesting? The reasons that make the life interesting out here is the high pace things are happening around you. There is always something new, it is a never stopping process. The actual work with students that I am doing on daily bases. Opportunity to make a
difference around here; to make satisfied students and companies. All of these are what makes the work so interesting and always changing. How do you see the future of MMD Odense? I see MMD Odense as continually growing place. MMD will position if self as natural choice for every student interested studying Multimedia design. More and more will there be a selection of students as seeing that more and more are coming in. MMD Odense will be natural supplier to the industry. Any advice you can give to all the students? Be sure to work hard all the time you are here, the time is very short. Build a good network, the way to get somewhere in this field is by networking. At the same time enjoy the social aspect of this environment; you will never again have the same kind of mix around you. 25
Eliza Kasarenoka, DSR chairmen
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Can you tell me a bit about yourself and your background? I am Eliza Kasarenoka. I come from Latvia, a small country in Baltic States. I am a student here in MMD for already almost 3 years, for the past almost a year I have been studying E-concept development. To shortly describe myself I would say that I am an active and curious person who is always ready to learn something new and is not scared from participating in anything. I like getting involved in different projects and student activities and build good communication with the people around me. I have been participating in a lot of different activities in this build including the new student tutoring. I think it is important to create a good working atmosphere and communication, because than it is a joy to be working. For how long have you been involved in the DSR and what were your responsibilities? I have been involved in DSR since I was second semester student in MMD, which means already more than 2 years. My responsibilities were to represent my class and their wishes and issues trough out the study process. I was re-
INTERVIEW
There is much more to be done that the above mentioned, but it is a work in progress. sponsible to discuss with the other DSR representatives any issues or wishes of the students as well as new projects that the union starts together with the students, like the student newspaper. After these meeting I am responsible to go back to my class and inform them about the decisions made. I am also responsible as a volunteer to be helping with workshop organization and leading. Now as the DSR chairman, I have extra responsibilities that include organizing the DSR meetings, getting in contact with the lectures and head of the department to discuss any issues brought up in the union. Being part of the organization of all the projects and activities DSR organizes, motivating all the representatives to get involved more and to find more people to involve in the work done at the union, and some other responsibilities.
Now that you are the new DSR chairman what are your plans? As the new DSR chairman my plan is to keep up all the projects and activities that DSR has been working on so fare, especially all the workshops, as I think that is very important for the students. Another project that DSR is working on is the graduation organization, and my plan is to make sure we can make it as a great experience for the graduates and their guests and at the same time have a team and a well-developed planned for the next graduation as well. I have also started to organize some new events, one of them being “cleaning days� at MMD, because we are still facing issues with taking care of our building, so it would be pleasant for all of us to be there. As another plan of mine I could mention clearing out the Fornter issues. That is a problem we are
facing already for some time here in our department, so as chairman I am trying to make sure that it is been solved, and the lectures keep it organized, so that the students would not have problems with finding information. This issue has been discussed with the head of the department and is in the process of being solved. There is much more to be done that the above mentioned, but it is a work in progress. What are your plans for the future? My plans for the future is to first of all finish this education and leave this institute knowing I have done some great work out here. But apart from that I am keen on working in future with some of the projects I have started at the moment and educating myself more and get a masters degree so that I could find a good job in the industry. 27
Interview
I could gladly say that MMD is my second home. Gratiani Bejinariu, Friday Bar Charman. It’s a long way between Romania and Denmark. Why here? For me it was something like: ‘Now is the moment, do it!’ I’m saying that because I wanted so badly to become an architect, but I wasn’t accepted at the university in my hometown, Timisoara. Since then, everything changed in the moment I met an old friend that had been accepted at Aarhus School of Architecture and he explained me about the opportunity of coming to study 28
in Denmark. Altogether was too good to be true and upon all of these the information were given me 2 weeks after the end of admissions. Even though, one school was still accepting students: Erhvervsakademiet Lillebælt and I did apply for the Architectural Technology and Construction Management program. And you applied for MMD. What attracted you to do that? As I said before, my plan wasn’t
to study at Multimedia Design (MMD), but a school without a drop of imagination can’t represent me. All the rumours pointed to an academy which contributes to the attractive teaching process with top technologies, plus software, updated information to prepare its students for the market’s needs and last but not least it welcomes each student with open arms in the school’s family. But guess what, all those rumours become true when I
INTERVIEW was part of MMD.Besides that, together with Adrian Stoiedin we started a blog called ‘2minds together’, trying to help the new international students that are coming to Odense, Denmark. Before even thinking of joining MMD, through our visitors, one specific person contacted us helping to provide a clear and correct information on the blog’s posts. But, what made me consider to apply for MMD was the fact that none of the teachers, schoolmates or even classmates from ATCM said ‘nice job with the blog’ and someone completely stranger (employed at MMD) liked our initiative: ‘I would like to congratulate you on the great initiative of making the blog’. At that point everything changed. How do you find now the experience in MMD? Now…I could gladly say that MMD is my second home. Even from the beginning, for me was really easy to integrate in the ‘family’, because I did my best to become me, to find and defined myself. Every classmate, schoolmate, lecture and staff from MMD which I had the opportunity to work with or at least a chat helped me, and still guided me to gain more confidence, experience and even more important to me, as I mentioned before: to discover myself.Probably not in all fields of work is the same, but referring to multimedia designers and its derivatives, a wide network is the key to success. Maybe is not that important for everybody,
but after my Intro Days I tried to get involved in all projects and extra activities developed by and for MMD. To answer more precise to your question I could say that I am having a great experience at MMD, with successes and failures, happiness and disappointment moments, love and hate, but when I go home I am happy and the next day the smile is on my face because anyhow I made a step forward, feeling that I had learnt something new. And now let’s talk about parties. I know you are the Friday bar chairmen. Why you got elected there? I am taking part in all activities and ‘Friday Bar’ was my favourite! I was part of the Friday bar’s crew after my first weeks as a student at MMD. Working hard, being involved and enjoying it, helped me to earn the votes, becoming the chairman. It was and still is hard, but I am doing it with pleasure. Can you tell us some news about the upcoming events there? Friday Bar organizes three parties per semester and since we will have the SemesterStart Party in the beginning of February the next one should be in April. We can’t tell for sure, because different events are taking place at MMD and besides that the classes and projects shouldn’t interfere with the party. For the moment I can tell you that the next party will have a retro theme.
I found you very busy those days, how come? It is one of the ‘craziest’ period of the year for MMD and as Alexander Tørnqvist’s assistant (International Student Helper) I have to welcome and help the new international and Erasmus students with their accommodation, papers and different other problems that might appear. Probably it doesn’t seem that hard, but when thinking about 50 persons it becomes hard by itself. Now, on the 28th and 29th of January are the Intro Days for 1st semester Danish class of MMD, International class MMD and Film and Animation class (F&A). On Friday the 1st of February is the Intro Day for Bachelor (BA) students, which are divided in E-concept class and Web Developments class. Now, as a chairman of the Friday Bar is a bit hard because of these events which require a lot of time/work and also two parties: the first one for Spring Graduates of Multimedia Design, E-concept and Web Development, (CONGRATULATION!!) and the MMD SemesterStart Party, which is estimated to host 150 pers. I am also stressed by my internship,.But, all in all I enjoy everything that I’m doing and it becomes easier to wake up in the morning for another day of 25 hours. 29
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The Friday bar is home of new ideas, active people and networking. What is there not to love?
education, lecturers, staff and tutors keep talking about networking. Here is where I actually learned what that means. After helping a bit in the Friday bar and being a bartender at one party I already started to notice that suddenly I knew so many I came to this school nearly 3 years people! ago and of course I came with the When the lecturers needed somecultural baggage from my past. I was one to help with an interesting proshy and a bit overwhelmed because of everything that was happening around ject they started to ask me because me. they knew that I was already involWhen I saw Mads Ramkær(the one ved in other activities so I might be that was bar chairman at that point) on interested. Talking to students from the stage telling us what the Friday Bar higher semesters when I needed was and how everyone can be involved help wasn’t such a big deal anymore and how much of a nice crew they have because I knew most of them and volunteering there, I was fascinated! At that point I thought that psomeday they were all willing to help. All of a sudden everything stopwhen I will stop being so shy I will be ped being so complicated and I part of the crew as well. Time passed and without even kept getting involved in so many realizing it I was helping the bartenders different projects. I guess they knew from the parties, I got friends with what they were talking about when them and all of the sudden I became they kept saying about the famous part of “the crew”. “networking”. Now this is one of my favorite I can easily say that working in the activities because I have many things that I can learn from working in this Friday Bar helped me gain some of my closest friends; I learned how to group! It feels so good to see how be more active, responsible and how the most active people from school to be part of a team. became part of “The Crew”. From the moment we start this Alexandra Lenart 31
Gossip
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My favourite time of year is when the new students arrive to the building. They are all so full of hope and excitement it’s sweet. When I look at them thought I hope they all will bring me stories to tell. I hope that the new MMD “Hot couple” or “Casanova” is among them.
So newbies, if you ever feel lonely second semester international has enough love to give.
The MMD Gazette has its very own “lonely boy”. Without saying whom, I can say that instead of sharing the love he is scaring all girls away and making them move to new countries. I just They all enter a school full of love. hope he wont leave the school “girl Some students take this more less” … literary than others – Like second semester international… To make sure all the good stories see daylight and get printed I am I don’t who loves whom but the working on a tip line where you rumour is, that there is just a little can send me all your gossip. too much love going around in that class. I might have to explain Of cause I will do my own snooping to them that a couple exist of two and fact research to make sure every people – not a class. By this I piece of gossip has some truth in it. am not saying that a loving class Remember students; all gossip is environment isn’t important but has to be with a smile only that they should try and share it with the rest of MMD. Love, Gossip Girl Xoxo 33
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