Sascha Del Santo of the University of NSW – winner of the 2009 Inaugural AIP Scholarship – shares her view of the AIP Scholarship and gives some helpful tips for this year’s entrants.

What attracted you to enter the AIP Scholarship?

The Cormack Innovation Awards brief formed the basis of the university’s studio project and through the briefing process I became aware of the AIP scholarship.

I really enjoyed the packaging design work and the complete process and this increased my interest in the scholarship.

After reading more of the details, the scholarship seemed a perfect fit for me as it incorporated my passion for marketing as well as design and I thought it would lead to further opportunities in these areas.

Packaging is a superior design element that incorporates product design and marketing together to attract consumer interest. I envisage my future career to incorporate marketing and packaging into my designs.

A scholarship with the AIP offered a unique opportunity to increase my knowledge in packaging and expose me to the industry and future opportunities 

What did you gain from the Awards and Scholarship process?

The factory tour component of the Innovation Awards was very important and beneficial. Seeing working machines, talking to technicians, gaining a background on how the manufacturing process works and discussing design ideas was invaluable in creating my design.

The competition covers the complete process from concept design and generation, to presentation skills. The use of presentation boards emphasised the need for clear communication of the design and the solution, and refining of graphic design skills.

The AIP Scholarship interview was daunting at the start but it was a good building block. I saw the opportunities the scholarship offered, and thought it would be a good way to build up skills and confidence and open up opportunities and exposure to industry.

The interview process was a great confidence builder and gave me an insight into the preparation and skills required in presentations.

What are your future goals?

 I am hoping the AIP Scholarship will open up opportunities whether in technical design or product/brand management.

 Being a consumer I like to look at a product and think about how I would like it to work.

Look at things from a different perspective and look at all aspects - usability, manufacturability, etc and find out what inspires consumers.

 I would like my designs to be a balance between technical features and aesthetics. Look good but have to work, and also focus on sustainable design

 Most importantly I want to really enjoy what I do.

 Apart from packaging design, I enjoy fashion especially hair accessories and headwear. Fun designs. I also enjoy graphic design.

 Tips for the AIP Scholarship.

 - Try to strongly communicate your answers clearly and express an element of uniqueness in your answers: there is every possibility that every other student that is applying can have similar answers to yours, yet if you can clearly express them and show a higher level of sophistication, it will make your application stand out.

 - Strongly express how the scholarship will assist you and more importantly, what you will be able to give back in terms of completing the scholarship.

 - Make sure you have covered all areas required for the essay - double check you have answered all the necessary questions

 - Do some background research on the institute and the packaging industry - make sure you have a full understanding of the work of the institute and the different avenues in which the scholarship may provide opportunities for you to work into

 - Be true to yourself in your answers - don't pretend to be passionate about design and packaging if you really don't truly have a strong interest - it will reflect back on you later.