Thomas Constant
- Course
- Industrial Design BA
- Subject area
- Design
Choosing to study at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ was an easy choice; º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ was my first and second choice for Universities. Designing and making things has always fascinated me, so when I saw the state-of-the-art facilities at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Design, I knew I was in the right place! The impressive modules of the course combined with having the ability to work a year in industry sealed the deal. The fact that º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Design is often regarded as the best in the UK also helped!
I was of course extremely impressed with the facilities at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Design - if you have not seen it before I recommend having a look round if you ever get the chance. Before I started the course, I was a little anxious about University. I came from a small secondary school and I was under the impression that University was this big place, where you just sit in a big lecture hall surrounded by other students and a professor speaks at you for a few hours a day. But my course in º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Design was nothing like that, it was filled with highly engaging and passionate lecturers, professors, and technicians that all went the extra mile for their students.
The main skills I leant while studying Industrial Design were, sketching, designing for manufacture, presenting work, ecological design, branding, materials, page presentation, CAD, graphic design and how to think like a designer!
I also learnt a range of personal ‘softer’ skills such as working to deadlines (juggling university ‘life’ with university ‘work’), personal finance (student loans are meant to last the year!) and computer file management (recovering design files when your computer decides to crash the day before an important hand in).
Studying design was the initial catalyst for starting my own company. As I designed the initial concept while I was at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ, so I was able to implement all the skills I was being taught.
One of the key benefits my course has had on my personal and business life, is self-teaching. Every lecturer made it perfectly clear that they could not possibly teach everything there is to know about their module, and how you had to take the initiative to develop and expand the skills in your own free time. This self-teaching mindset has made me open and eager to learn new skills.
The concept of my product BeoBia came about while I was in my final year, studying Industrial Design, when I discovered the terrible impact intensive meat production has on the planet and society - 25% of the world’s global greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock. I knew something had to be done. So, I started researching solutions, and I came across the amazing benefits of edible insects. The initial idea for BeoBia was born.
It was only after I graduated that I realised that I wanted to turn this idea into a full-fledged business. I applied and got onto The Studio, which is º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Universities business incubator programme, in early 2019 and shortly after I founded BeoBia with a clear mission - to help people reduce their carbon footprint, reuse their food waste and rethink their relationship with food.