M Yoma Alief Samboro ST MDs (center) with Despro ITS students at the End of Semester Exhibition

ITS Campus, ITS News – The end of the semester is something that every student looks forward to after going through the busy world of lectures. Releasing student fatigue from campus routines, the Department of Industrial Product Design (Despro) of the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) invites students to show creativity in design works through the End of Semester Exhibition.

Located in the ITS Product Design Building, this exhibition was held four days in a row until Friday (17/6). Departing from an assignment in class, the Final Semester Exhibition was proof of students’ unlimited creativity. Not only displaying student works, but this exhibition was also enlivened with fashion shows, parades, and entertainment from students.

As the exhibition coordinator, M Yoma Alief Samboro ST MDs revealed that this exhibition was primarily aimed at introducing the ITS Despro Department to the general public. “That Despro is not just designing a product but more than that,” he stressed.

Muhammad Sufyan Mumtaz, one of the students of Despro ITS, presented his works at the End of Semester Exhibition.

Attended by nearly 500 visitors, Yoma explained, this exhibition is also a means of growing students’ confidence that the products produced are worthy of being exhibited. Therefore, in the collection, which was held in rooms 103-105 and room 109 of the Despro Building, the works of every student were displayed without exception. “We have to build a climate where students dare to show off,” he said.

Even though it was held in a simple format, the Despro Semester Final Exhibition featured various student works. The focus of the work is divided according to the courses taken. Namely, the main design courses consist of Product Design 1 and Product Design 3, as well as specialization courses.

In the Product Design 1 course, for example, the products in this course are synchronized with the regional Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Yoma gave an example of MSMEs in Sidoarjo and Surabaya, most of which are engaged in apparel, bags, home decorations, etc.

From these various MSMEs, students are given the freedom to determine which MSMEs they want to choose. Interestingly, students can gain additional insight and skills to make products directly.

Some of the works of Despro ITS students displayed in the Final Semester Exhibition

Furthermore, students can conduct producer interviews, study product marketing, target markets, materials, etc. The Co-Founder of MAW WOODEN CO explained that this collaboration aims to explore forms and styling designs according to MSME materials to help develop MSME products. “So students can make new designs according to the market favored by the MSMEs,” he explained.

Unlike the Product Design 1 course, Yoma explained that the Product Design 3 course directs students to solve a problem that is closely related to socio-cultural issues in society. For example, the design of tools that can be used to work lesehan. This issue follows the Indonesian people’s culture, which prefers lesehan. So a work desk that can be adjusted in height and equipped with many drawers is made so that it can load the work equipment needed.

Some of the works of Despro ITS students displayed in the Final Semester Exhibition

Not only engaging in product design, but students are also creative in exploring materials to manufacture the designed products. Yoma said that students were given the freedom to do independent manufacturing or ask for help from artisans. Because according to him, the existing facilities at Despro are sufficient to support students in doing independent manufacturing.

Yoma hopes the ITS Despro Department is better known in the community with a broader perspective because Despro’s job is not only to make packaging but also to design and create products with quality standards.

He also hopes that the outside community can appreciate the products produced by students. He continued that it would be even better if the product received an offer to be made more and marketed to the public. “Indirectly, we also invite people to be better,” he said.

Some of the works of Despro ITS students displayed in the Final Semester Exhibition

Not only learning concepts and theories but also producing something accurate and usable. Therefore, Yoma appealed to students to always be total in doing each task. “It could be that the assignment is a way to get new relationships,” he concluded. (ITS Public Relation/far)

Reporter: Zanubiya Arifah Khofsoh