Limkokwing London received the latest batch of Global Campus students on the 16th March. The group consisted of twenty-eight students from across five faculties, staying in London for a month long educational, fun filled experience consisting workshops by industry leading professionals, exploring leading companies’ premises where they interact with top industry experts, touring London’s famous landmarks, and learning the city’s rich culture and heritage.
Upon arrival, students were briefed on the Global Campus process by Academic coordinator and Senior lecturer, Mehrdad Borna. They then went on an orientation tour of the campus’ immediate areas, exploring many iconic buildings including Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street and Big Ben.
On the following day, students attended a blogging workshop, where they learnt how to create a platform to share project values, important messages and how to position oneself as an expert in one’s chosen field. Students were then divided into three groups and introduced to their projects.
Global Campus projects are carefully designed cross-faculty programmes that address the learning outcomes of each faculty. They are an invaluable addition to students’ skill set, because they provide students with workplace experience as teams are required to function as a company, with an elected director and company roles for each of the members, relevant to their field of study. This group’s project was to redesign Wings café into a creative networking hub/club for young entrepreneurs, with office and meeting room facilities.
Architecture students were tasked with redesigning the cafeteria area space, while business students assessed the viability of the project by researching competitors, preparing a full and detailed business plan, researching customer needs and creating a description of potential customers.
The Information Technology students were to set up a website for the company, as well as create an online advertising campaign, mobile apps, animations, and any other digital solutions necessary. Teams had to create a poster advertising the venue, and graphic iconography depicting the rich history, architecture and heritage of the building. They also had to set up and maintain a daily blog detailing activities relating to the project.
Teams were introduced to their supervisors, of which they presented their ideas for the projects. Supervisors comprised head of Dreamstudio Architecture; Tom Manwell, architect and University lecturer Illugi Eysteinsson, and graphic designer, lecturer and architectural historian, Chris Hughes.
Students were later taken on a heritage tour of the campus; 106 Piccadilly, which has a rich history of famous previous tenants, including Ian Fleming, famed for the James Bond series. The tour ended by exploring the twenty roomed basement available for the café usage. Supervisors explained to students the limits they could go in redesigning the café, due to the building’s important architectural significance and a grade II* listing by English Heritage, hence it has restriction on what can be done structurally and decoratively.
Grade II*: particularly important buildings of more than special interest
