AOD WOWs Colombo with its one of a kind EXTRAORDINARY MINDS OPEN HOUSE
AOD presented an immersive weekend capturing tomorrow’s power trifactor —design, technology and business—in Colombo. Next edition of this open house weekend is to take place in the hill capital on 3rd August 2019 at AOD Kandy.
Giving a complete 360 degree immersive preview of what the future of learning and careers is all about, AOD opened up its groundbreaking new degree offer to the public last weekend with ‘Extraordinary Minds Open House’. Structured as an immersive experience where both students and parents can engage in activities and discussions. This exciting series of events during the weekend was the perfect opportunity to actively inquire and pose questions about tomorrow’s career landscape and the most coveted skill mixes in technology, business and design. The open house was held at AOD’s new home—the Colombo Innovation Tower, where an inspiring ecosystem of businesses, researchers and international creative catalysts come together; this also made it a great opportunity for aspiring young designers, future technologists and tomorrow’s business makers to understand the dynamics of a new age work environment. The open house weekend attracted a large audience of students who just finished their ALs, those just after OLs, London ALs students and aspiring young professionals interested in this new future of learning and working.
Exploring the power of ideas
Ideation is where it begins for anyone creating new things, whether it is business technology or design. Breaking the popular myth that drawing and sketching is only for making art, AOD set out to show how ideation and idea development through brainstorming and visual articulation is an important aspect of creating anything new; be it technology, business ventures or a product. ‘What is your idea of a 2025 Sri Lanka?’ was a stimulating open ideation session started for this process where AOD students and alumni worked in collaboration with prospective students to demonstrate how everyday people and creative thinkers can transform themselves to extraordinary minds by working in an interdisciplinary manner between design, technology and business thinking to bring ideas and stories of the future to life.
Where design meets tech and business
Although the idea of design, technology and business converging is an inspiring one, for many, its applications may still be too far out in the future to grasp. Bringing this idea into reality with a universally relevant example, AOD had also structured study experiences around storytelling via interaction. This series of sessions built around ideation, storyboarding and prototyping storytelling through digital media, not only merged design thinking with technology, but also indicated how the right thinking can unlock incredible business opportunities from this powerful combination of skills. These interactive sessions posed the question ‘how can we enhance our experience with platforms like websites and apps through storytelling?’ and guided the audience through the fundamentals of UI and UX design. With user interface design and user experience design becoming the new digital narrator of the future of interaction, these sessions delivered incredible insights to enlighten anyone and everyone in business, looking to study technology or design.
Creative thinking x sustainability
Thinking beyond the everyday equation and in a manner that integrates our entire system socially, environmentally and economically, is essential for the future. Presenting this kind of thinking as the outlook for any after AL or OL student who wants to find their success by starting their own businesses or directing companies, driving the frontiers of tech, or in interior or product design and retail, AOD had structured a series of workshops that integrated creative thinking with sustainability.
One of the most interesting sessions here was the collaborative model making exercise where students had the opportunity to work with designers, interior architecture undergraduates and academics to design, plan and create a city model plan for the ultimate future city, by using sustainable and recycled materials.
The future of fashion
AOD’s school of fashion that links to some of the most groundbreaking work in fashion that has come out of Sri Lanka, presented a series of workshops, styling sessions and interactive study experiences where the idea of ‘clothing’ was dissected and elevated to do much more than just cover our skin. This helped many young people who are interested in fashion and style to see beyond the traditional materials and limitations of clothing to design the fashion collection of the future where material innovation, digitised surfaces, energy creating clothing etc. can be explored both theoretically and also where these ideas can be actualised right here in Sri Lanka, with the access we have to a technologically advanced apparel manufacturing industry. Meanwhile, the essential components of the business of fashion that feeds its all-important consumer dynamic was also demonstrated through workshops that allowed visitors to be part of a magazine shoot with designers, models and photographers; join a live styling session using student works, vintage garments and accessories.
Creative exploration and cultivating the sense of play
One of the most important principles of interdisciplinary education is cultivating creative freedom, a sense of play, and a work dynamic that encourages curiosity, new thinking and big ideas. While all workshops, sessions and study experiences held as part of the Extraordinary Minds Open House Weekend incorporated this thinking, a dedicated environment that facilitated this was set up with a gaming room where latest groundbreakers in game design, character design and new 3D animation for the entertainment industry were open to be explored. With this, AOD successfully highlighted the significance of this massive industry, and the incredible opportunties in it that become available to those who step into the sector through the combined viewpoints of design, tech and business.
AOD’s EXTRAORDINARY MINDS OPEN HOUSE WEEKEND attracted a large number of After ALs students, After OLs students and their parents who are serious about uncovering the future of the career landscape. With the immense success of this open house weekend, a second edition of the event was also just announced by AOD, at its study centre in Kandy. This second edition will be held on 3rd August, at AOD Kandy, and is open to all after ALs, OLs students.
To find out more about how to join AOD’s open house in Kandy or Degrees in Fashion, Fashion Marketing, Interior Design, Visual Communication Design, Motion Graphics & Animation Design, 3D product Design, Film and TV production, Computer Science and Business & Innovation reach AOD Colombo on 0775727772, 0115867772, email: info@aod.lk or walk in between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday - Colombo Innovation Tower, No 58, Lauries Road, Colombo 04. Visit www.aod.lk
Follow the official hashtag #extraordinaryminds #AOD on social media.