DkIT computing student participates in an Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme at the University of Algebra Bernays, Croatia
DkIT Computing Student Kristiana Latkovska writes about her participation in an Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme at the University of Algebra Bernays, Croatia.
The purpose of the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) was to improve students’ ability to work in teams by co-developing an idea for a computer game.
In the BIP, all the students were from different partner universities in Lithuania, Spain and France and there were some international students also from Nigeria, Ukraine, Vietnam, and elsewhere.
The main task assigned to us was to develop a ten-page Game Design Document (GDD). For the first three days the receiving university organized lectures delivered by the Games Development Lecturer to prepare us for completing the task. The next day we were split into teams of 3 or 4 people where each group had a mix of students from different universities/collages, and in these groups, we worked together to develop the GDD.
Social activities organised
The University of Algebra Bernays organised a trip to the Zagreb’s Museum of history for us on the second day there. It was very interesting. They also organised a farewell lunch on our last day in the university. In an international group, we visited a museum of Croatian folklore called “The Museum of Lost Tales” which was very impressive. We also went toa sushi restaurant on the first day when we arrived in Zagreb, which was a lovely experience.
The lectures organised introduced some concepts and ideas I had not been taught about previously at DkIT, as the games course in DkIT is more programming-oriented rather than game-design oriented unlike at Algebra Bernays University. It really felt like I was taught things from a game developer’s perspective.
Benefits of attending
The BIP sparked back up my interest in developing games. It was great to experience another country too, as well as forming new memories with new people. Stepping out of your comfort zone and going into unknown territory with strangers is not easy, but it certainly builds you as a person. It improves your ability to communicate and boosts your confidence.
