Creative Sustainability Design: Viktorija Piaulokaite

Background

Originally from Lithuania, Viktorija has spent time in various countries across Europe. She studied Industrial Design Engineering at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, where she learnt to combine design thinking with innovation. Viktorija first discovered Aalto University through The Global Change Award competition where she met a team representing the university. The multidisciplinary approach of the Aalto which mixes science, art and business, first inspired Viktorija to apply for the Creative Sustainability masters program.

Time in CS

Viktorija’s favourite courses so far include the Customized Student Project, State of the World and Development and Systems Thinking. As part of the Customized Student Project, organised by the School of Business, Viktorija had the opportunity to working a real case – envisioning the future of higher education and Aalto University in 2035. Through the project, the student team worked closely with the University management and presented their findings to the University President.

State of the World and Development and Systems Thinking are both compulsory courses on the Creative Sustainability program. The courses gave Viktorija a good over-view of the field of sustainable development and equipped her with skills to work with complexity.

Alongside her studies, Viktorija has been involved in several extra-curricular activities. This summer her Aalto-based team were one of six finalists in the UN World Challenge 2018 with gaIoTa, an app developed to provide open access to the Internet of Things data across the globe. The experience sparked Viktorija’s interest in space applications as a possible direction for her thesis and motivated her to take a minor in Space, Science and Technology.

Viktorija also took apart in iGEM, The International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition, where the team took home the gold medal award and Best Product Design Nomination for their proposal to tackle textile dyeing pollution by engineering a pre-dyed silk fiber.

Viktorija’s proudest and most unexpected moment was controlling an observation in Aalto’s Metsähovi Radio Observatory where she got to observe Quasars - the brightest objects in the Universe. It is something she would never have expected when starting the program.

Future

Viktorija looks forward to continuing what she has started at Aalto. After graduation she is keen to see where the gaIoTa project will take her.

Advice for future CS applicants:

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