From May to June of this year Bárbara Martins da Silva, an MFA candidate in Design Research and Development, visited four universities in Brazil to promote the MFA in Design at The Ohio State University.

Bárbara graduated from Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais (UEMG) with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design. She is passionate about the way that design can be used as a means for improved accessibility in product design and has gained 5 years of experience as a product designer with roles in e-commerce, education, and financial services sectors.

Drawing on her educational experience led her to give information sessions at Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing (ESPM), Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie (UPM), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), and her alma mater, UEMG. 

Each session detailed the two pathways that Ohio State MFA students can take – Design Research and Development or Digital Animation and Interactive Media. Sessions at UEMG and UPM also featured hands-on co-design and insight translation workshops respectively to further engage students.

Bárbara also spoke at a study abroad talk at UPM with other students who participated in mobility exchange programs. She shared her personal experience and emphasized the amount of support students in Brazil would receive if opting to study design at Ohio State.

The results of the sessions were overwhelmingly positive with each group of students expressing increased interest in Ohio State’s MFA in Design options and often approaching Bárbara for more information regarding the programs and application process.

These informational sessions not only created connections with students but also improved connections with faculty that could lead to future mobility exchange partnerships.

By promoting Ohio State’s Department of Design to these universities, Bárbara hopes to increase the department programs’ visibility in Brazil thus inspiring students to bring their wealth of talent to Ohio State. 

Prospective students are invited to learn more about our MFA program at our Graduate Studies Information Sessions in October.