Opportunity to apply skills for professional project

My Work Integrated Learning experience through the BMW Group + QUT Design Academy gave me insight into how self-led, industry-focused design projects work in a professional setting.

I enjoyed working on a real-world design challenge that went beyond a typical university brief, with a strong focus on process, reasoning, and iteration rather than just the final outcome. During the program, I developed my advanced CAD skills, problem framing, collaboration, and visual communication. I worked through iterative methods to design and analyse artefacts, which helped me analyse and reverse engineer the tensile surfacing of the BMW M8. The mentoring and feedback sessions were particularly helpful in refining my ideas and understanding industry expectations. What surprised me most was how open-ended the design process was. Instead of being given a clear problem, much of the work involved identifying opportunities, questioning assumptions, and justifying design decisions. This showed me how important critical thinking and adaptability are in professional design work.

Overall, the BMW Group + QUT Design Academy was a great way to apply what I’ve learned at university to real industry design work, and it ended up being a really rewarding part of my studies.

Jasper Dettrick
BMW Group Design Intern, 2025