Oriol Tur is an industrial designer and has been involved with CIM UPC for 1 year, both academically and professionally. He has taken most of the courses to update himself, and from student he has also become a teacher. Because of the great knowledge he has of this institution, he encourages both those who are part of his sector and those who are not, to continue training at CIM UPC, and to take advantage of the experience of its professionals and the advanced facilities.
Explain to us, what do you currently do? What are your tasks, responsibilities and day to day?
I am currently a freelance designer and recently a teacher at your center. I consider myself a multidisciplinary designer, although I am specialized in industrial and product design, specifically with 3D modeling and visualization. I also have experience with graphic design, web design and marketing. In fact, lately I am working more in these last two sectors adapting to the current situation and the needs of my clients, but I would like to dedicate myself only to product design. Even so, I am in a constant phase of reinvention and continuous improvement, open to new projects and collaborations, and looking for funding for my personal project: a family of multimedia furniture that I am designing myself.
When did you start working in this company? How did you find it?
After a very enriching stage in Holland, in 2018 I started working in the marketing area of a nautical company on the Costa Brava. Despite fitting in with what I was looking for, I saw how I was gradually diverting from my path as an industrial designer, which is the one I have always wanted. With the arrival of the pandemic I decided to return to Barcelona and focus fully on the field of design, and this is where I began to have more contact with you.
And us, how do you know us? What was your first contact with the UPC SUMMIT?
Although I already knew the CIM UPC, my first contact was in 2016, when I was a student of the Master in Product Design and Development, at the university school ELISAVA. As part of the Postgraduate in Product Development, we had to design a 3D printed mechanism through the CIM UPC facilities, so we visited the Pilot Plant to get to know it and take advantage of the resources available for our project. On the side, Felip Fenollosa (R&D director of the CIM UPC), who had been advising us throughout the process, informed us about how the entity could help us through a workshop on manufacturing technologies and 3D printing. It was within these experiences that my interest in the center was born.
You took the Rhinoceros course, right? Why did you choose it?
Following you on social networks, I saw that the courses you were promoting fit with the push I wanted to give to my professional career, so I decided to take a step further by training in your technology center. When I finished all the Solidworks courses you had available on the web, I decided to learn how to use new programs to learn more tools and have more resources when designing. Rhinoceros really caught my attention because I know that many studios use this software due to the great conceptualization power it offers and the wide range of tools it presents for 3D modeling.
It is true that the Rhinoceros course was a real discovery, especially for the vast experience and predisposition of Professor Filippo Ruggiero, with whom I had the pleasure to meet, opening me to the most advanced possibilities of this software. In fact, this is what I like most about your center: the proximity of the teachers and the duration of the courses, which are long enough to get to know the people and to master a software on a professional scale, but perfectly combinable with a job.
What led you to take a 3D design course? That is, what were your needs?
I needed to upgrade. When you stop working with software for a long time you lose a lot of agility. It’s not like cycling or swimming, which you never forget. These are programs that require constant practice, not to mention that design software is constantly coming out with new versions, and if you don’t touch a program for five years you might not even know how to change the view the next time you open it.
Surely, naturally, you compared other options and centers. What made you decide for the UPC SUMMIT?
I have to say that for other disciplines such as graphic design or drawing, I was forced to look for other academies because the CIM UPC does not offer this type of courses with a more artistic branch. Even so, it is true that since I discovered the CIM UPC I had very clear that I wanted to know firsthand what was carried out. I guess it was thanks to the good publicity you do and, obviously, to the wide range of services you offer, in addition to being a center attached to the UPC, which has a reputation that is very well known by the public.
Between the virtual modality, in streaming, and the face-to-face one, which one would you choose? For what reason?
Face-to-face whenever possible. Human contact first and foremost. Webinars are very good to inform you at the beginning, especially if you are still not sure which software to choose, but for a 60-hour course I find that it is preferable to be in person to be able to solve with the teacher all the doubts that may arise during the course. In the virtual format it is more complicated to manage and follow the syllabus, although I have to say that you manage to make it somewhat easier. The online format is a 100% valid option, and there will be people to whom it will fit better due to distance and mobility issues, for example.
Do you think your experience with us helped or will help you in your career?
Well, just now a couple of months ago I have registered as self-employed and I am teaching in your center, because I was offered the opportunity and I did not hesitate for a second to accept the proposal, so so far it is already helping me more than I thought. Besides, you have the service of the job bank, which is a very good starting point, and is that everything and the crisis that, unfortunately, we are suffering, interesting job offers are constantly coming out. You also have scholarship programs for students and continuous training for self-employed, unemployed or people in a situation of ERE. What more could you ask for?
What would you highlight from your time at the CIM UPC?
The good atmosphere that is breathed, both by teachers and workers as well as students. It is an open center and willing to serve everyone, whatever your project is. As a center attached to the UPC and a reference in the field of 3D printing, it offers the opportunity to give life to our projects with the advice of the best professionals in the industry and with highly advanced equipment, and, by the way, with facilities that have remained impeccable during the pandemic.
If someone says to you: Oriol, I want to do a 3D design course at CIMUPC. What would you say?
I would tell you not to hesitate if you are an engineer, interior designer, architect or industrial designer, and to evaluate well what type of course would best fit your discipline. For example, the former would be better off learning to master programs such as Inventor, Fusion or Alias. For the latter, I think they would have to opt more for Autocad, Revit, Sketchup or 3dsMax and combine it with Vray. Finally, for the last ones, those in my sector, I would recommend to choose Solidworks, Rhinoceros and combine it with Keyshot, because, besides, with the first course you give the possibility to obtain the official certificate of Dassault Systèmes.
In short, it is a great place to update and learn about the most powerful tools in the 3D sector and use them in your professional career. Choose a software and the center will take care of the rest. For all this, my career at the CIM UPC, as a student and as a teacher, is being deeply enriching, and I continue to learn a lot from the great professionals around me.
To learn more and discover Oriol Tur’s work visit his website, www.orioltur.com, or contact him by email or Linkedin, info@orioltur.com, www.linkedin.com/in/orioltur.