THE PROBLEM
Melbourne design students transitioning to professional practice face a highly competitive environment and often have fragmented connections with industry and their peers. Many struggle with feelings of imposter syndrome because they are unfamiliar with industry expectations, feel they are not technically equipped to produce professional work and lack guidance throughout their transition.
These experiences can sometimes lead to apathy and overwhelm, in addition to short-term exploitative internship experiences that destroy their confidence. Many social media platforms that students use ignite these feelings of insecurity as an influx of images of finished projects are available to view and are rewarded based on a competitive model of standing out. Often the context of the design process is removed on these platforms, hindering the development of accurate student expectations of what they should be able to deliver as new professionals and how to develop their capabilities.
Feelings of overwhelm hold back students from confidently entering the design industry because universities fail to contextualise industry expectations
Melbourne design students transitioning to professional practice face a highly competitive environment and often have fragmented connections with industry and their peers. Many struggle with feelings of imposter syndrome because they are unfamiliar with industry expectations, feel they are not technically equipped to produce professional work and lack guidance throughout their transition.
These experiences can sometimes lead to apathy and overwhelm, in addition to short-term exploitative internship experiences that destroy their confidence. Many social media platforms that students use ignite these feelings of insecurity as an influx of images of finished projects are available to view and are rewarded based on a competitive model of standing out. Often the context of the design process is removed on these platforms, hindering the development of accurate student expectations of what they should be able to deliver as new professionals and how to develop their capabilities.
