{"id":21884,"date":"2022-08-30T08:56:48","date_gmt":"2022-08-30T07:56:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=21884"},"modified":"2022-08-30T08:56:48","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T07:56:48","slug":"designing-is-the-dream-my-degree-will-make-it-a-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/student-stories\/designing-is-the-dream-my-degree-will-make-it-a-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Designing is the dream \u2013 my degree will make it a reality\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Business owner Mica always felt held back by her lack of qualifications. Now part-way through a Design & Innovation<\/a> degree with The Open University, Mica says her confidence has sky-rocketed and she\u2019s closer to achieving her dream of becoming a product designer.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot having a degree was always in the back of my mind,\u201d says Mica, 37, who moved from Austria to the UK to pursue a career in fashion design.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll my peers come from university and have their degrees. It was always something I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

After becoming pregnant, Mica and her partner set up a family business to combine their skills. They now run furniture company Riz & Mica Make<\/em><\/a> from their East London workshop, focusing on giving reclaimed materials a new lease of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had worked hard to become a CEO and was proud of my achievements, but I still didn\u2019t have a degree,\u201d she explains. \u201cI thought that I couldn\u2019t afford university and didn\u2019t have the right qualifications. Then a few years ago one of our employees told me he was studying with the OU and loved it. He said it\u2019s great because you can work and study at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within a week, Mica had discovered her perfect course and applied to start her degree.<\/p>\n

Courses for entrepreneurs <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mica says it was important to find a degree course that allowed her to progress her business, while also exploring her creative side. A Design & Innovation degree was the perfect mix.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was looking to study something which obviously benefits my company and something I can apply to my business at the same time. We make furniture and also develop and innovate simple minimalistic products.<\/p>\n

\u201cSustainability is really important,\u201d she adds. \u201cWe are fully committed to producing only sustainable and environmentally friendly furniture. We have a strong passion for doing all we can to help the planet. We focus on making products that have a long life and reusing materials that help lessen our environmental impact, using reclaimed materials that would otherwise be burnt or sent to landfill. And lastly, we sell the waste products from our manufacturing process such as offcuts, and plant trees for each item ordered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Realising a dream<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cThe big dream is to become a product designer,\u201d says Mica. \u201cI\u2019m incredibly confident that the OU will help me to achieve my dream. I cannot wait.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

By combining work and study, Mica says she can apply the skills she\u2019s learning directly to her business, which has been invaluable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would recommend the OU to anyone, especially the Business modules. If you run a business, then study Business and Management! It\u2019s so good. Every company works differently but you gain knowledge that you can then apply in practice. It\u2019s really wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Juggling business, family and university <\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"\"

Mica & Riz in the workshop<\/p><\/div>\n

Mica now balances her business with family and student life, carving out time each weekend to focus on her assignments.<\/p>\n

Her advice to other students also juggling a full plate is to get planning:<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a very good tight schedule. We have a planner at home with \u2018Mommy Day\u2019 and \u2018Daddy Day\u2019, along with \u2018Mommy\u2019s study day\u2019. We try and juggle everything and it is hard sometimes, but you have to be strict.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou also have to find out what kind of study type you are. I thought I could study in the morning, get up at 5am, and study for two hours. That didn\u2019t work at all. Now I know that I have to study on the weekend and how many hours I have to study to pass my assignments. It takes time to figure out what works for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s an open chapter\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Now two years into her qualification, Mica says being an OU student has boosted her confidence and will give her more security for the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudying with the OU feels like an open chapter. It gives you a lot of confidence and improves your self-esteem so much. I think it\u2019s very important for everyone to go to university, it doesn\u2019t matter how old you are,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would absolutely recommend the OU. It\u2019s so much fun and so well structured. To current or future students, I\u2019d say have the courage to give it a go. You can do it.<\/p>\n

“In fact, I have already recommended The Open University to many people because it is accessible to everyone, a quality I highly value, and provides an excellent education standard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always thought, \u2018I can\u2019t do it\u2019. And then it turned out that I can, which is so empowering.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Business owner Mica always felt held back by her lack of qualifications. Now part-way through a Design & Innovation degree with The Open University, Mica says her confidence has sky-rocketed and she\u2019s closer to achieving her dream of becoming a product designer. \u201cNot having a degree was always in the back of my mind,\u201d says […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":21885,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1525,1640,1643,2146],"class_list":["post-21884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-stories","tag-news-home","tag-ou-home","tag-ou-news","tag-students"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}