"The new friendships make it a lot easier to get started."

20-year-old Irmak Talu has been studying product design at the Kunsthochschule Kassel since the winter semester (2022/2023).

She sums up her first impression when Talu left İzmir - a city on Turkey's Aegean coast - to study in Kassel as follows: "Compared to my hometown of İzmir, which has around 4.4 million inhabitants, I found Kassel very manageable," laughs Talu. But despite this, she really likes her new place of residence and feels completely at home. Although the international student had five offers of study places from different German universities, she decided on the Kunsthochschule Kassel. The decisive factor in her decision was the interdisciplinary studies at the Kunsthochschule, the different study workshops and the bonus of a campus university, which brings her many advantages: "The distances are short, all fellow students are very close and you can get a taste of all areas," says Talu. When asked if she knew the art academy beforehand, she explains, "I got my first good impression of the art academy through the social media channels. The college's Instagram channel is diverse and the featured projects are varied." She then did more research on the university to apply specifically to the product design program, she says.

The initial period at the art academy was straightforward for the product design student, who graduated from İzmir Anadolu Lisesi with a high school diploma and subsequently attended a language school in Freiburg for three months. "I quickly made connections with the other fellow students; the new friendships made it much easier to get started," Talu emphasizes.

Talu is currently studying in the basic product design class. After the basic class, she will decide on a major. "Later, I would like to work as a designer, preferably in the toy industry," Talu says. She is particularly interested in sustainably designed toys, she said.

(Text in German: Çiğdem Özdemir)