On the Autobahn in a BMW 3 Series M Sport
Jacob and I are in a BMW 3 Series M Sport, cruising home on the Autobahn, exhausted from a 3 day trip to Plant Leipzig. As I stare out my window towards the lusciously green hills of Bavaria, I couldn’t help but ask myself excitedly ‘how on earth did I get here?’.
Let’s take a step back to 2016 when I decided to change my degree from engineering to something with a little more creative juice, industrial design. There was a sense of adventure and unlimited potential that came with industrial design and that really drew me in. Fast forward a couple of years to when I found out about the BMW internship and heard all the stories from the past interns. I knew this was for me. This internship encapsulated why I want to be an industrial designer – the possibility to do some awesome, impactful work while on a big adventure for one of the most recognisable companies in the world… what more could you ask for?
From when I found out I had been accepted to the moment I received my paperwork from BMW, the world changed a lot because of the pandemic. Navigating through these new challenges has had its difficulties but has, for the most part, been incredibly rewarding. I mean not many people can say they got to travel across the world during these crazy times.
Arriving in Munich in the midst of everything was daunting but transitioning to life here was made super easy thanks to the interns Tim and Jacob who really went out of their way to make sure I settled in as smoothly as possible (but also a huge thanks to Epi, Rachel, Finn, Nick and everyone at the Academy who helped me out during the way!).
Even though I am only at the beginning of this internship, this experience so far has allowed me to not only develop my design skills, give me a better understanding towards my design identity, but more importantly, has taught me so much about life and who I want to be as a person. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the internship and Munich has to offer and when all this is done, I hope this internship will guide me towards bigger and greater adventures!
Until next time!
Sebastian Tan Castillo
BMW Group Design Intern 2021