Lamar University recently hosted an IBM workshop, March 30, where 31 students and faculty members learned about the Maelstrom Internship Program from program leader Devin O’Bryan. The workshop was held on the sixth floor of Gray Library.
“Based in our flagship design studio in Austin, Maelstrom is IBM’s software design internship program,” O’Bryan said. “Maelstrom hires student-designers to prototype empathically-inspired experiences through story, and teaches IBM design thinking practices through active learning.”
The program runs three times annually, lasting nine to 10 weeks, and has historically taken on cohorts of 15 with each session, O’Bryan said.
“Our target candidates typically have at least one or two semesters/quarters left,” he said. “This is for both undergraduate and graduate students. There’s an experiential emphasis on active learning through design thinking, radical collaboration and emotional intelligence.”
O’Bryan said that the students participating in the internship are required to live in Austin. However, the program provides housing and transportation.
Throughout the course of the workshop, participants also learned about having a career as a graphic designer for a company like IBM while getting a hands-on experience. The students were taught lessons such as the ability to work empathically and deliver something with, O’Bryan said, a “universal sense of soul.”
Senior graphic design major Gwendolyn Mumford said that a lot of times, during school, it can be hard to keep that philosophy in mind, especially when deadlines are fast approaching.
“But when every design choice is made with intent, the overall design improves exponentially,” she said.
April Gray, computer science junior, said IBM has the right ideas when it comes to not only keeping their consumer base in mind, but also in trying to understand the consumers differing needs.
“I have always believed that accessibility is what has set apart the successes of different products,” she said. “Even more important than function is how the consumer can use it and what affect it has on them.”
LU alumna Heather Hussey said she believes that design thinking is not only important to her career as a graphic designer, but it is integral to how she designs.
“Design thinking allows me to evaluate a problem from a number of perspectives to help me arrive at the best solution,” she said.
Workshop attendees created Quick Response (QR) codes within images such as a hammer, truck, stamp, camera, ice cream and pillow. Participants also worked together to draw different designs for a Spindletop/Gladys City Boomtown Museum brochure.
Marisol Lua-Figueroa, graphic design senior, said she looks forward to future workshops.
“They offer a great way to help us get ready for the real design world, and give us the opportunity to experience how design studios and firms work,” she said. “They are of great help in not only building your design thinking skills, but also your team skills.”
For more information on the Maelstrom Internship or about IBM, visit www.ibm.com.
Article published by University Press.
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