 Hi, good afternoon everyone or good evening or good morning wherever you are in the world My name is Kate Orff and I'm the director of the urban design program here at Columbia University And we're really excited to virtually meet all of you We know we have people calling in or from around the world many many different countries And our goal for today is really to try to answer some questions that you've submitted and to give you a Broad brush outline of the Columbia the Columbia urban design program, which we're really excited to share with you So I'm also joined by David Smiley our assistant director of the program and three students Who will be introducing themselves once we kick it over to question and answer and together? We will try to paint the picture for you of what it's like here at Columbia and because we're really excited To have you join us here everyone on this webinar is an admitted student We want you to come to Columbia. We're very excited to welcome you here and see you in New York in late May in June And so the program is One of a suite of programs at Columbia University's GSAP, which is the Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation This is a photograph of Avery Hall here in Manhattan where we work And it is a desk photograph to there are a number of questions about the workload for come incoming students and Of course, this is an architecture school many lights on during the evening hours, but Avery Hall is just a really Dynamic place to be multiple programs housed within this one building and We are really Located in the heart of Manhattan and really being in Manhattan in New York is kind of cuts to the heart of the Urbanism and the way that we approach urban design here at the school So, you know, many of you have backgrounds in architecture or landscape architecture You will have a bachelor's degree if you are admitted to this program It is a post professional degree but what's exciting for us in the urban design program is kind of this translation between what is the professional practice of Landscape versus architecture versus urban design. This is a picture from Seoul, Korea very top-down developer driven kind of planning driven notion of of urbanism and We combine this kind of look at these very top-down processes Together with very bottom-up and spontaneous urban processes So this is an image from a studio that we did in Kasumu Kenya So urban design combines these tools and toolkits and ways of seeing the world from and spans formal to informal processes I Think importantly is when you come to the Columbia urban design program We are not going to tell you what urban design is Rather we position the program as kind of a stance a stance of engagement with the potential of the city and a Stance of working together and with each other to help advance kind of broad front urban prerogatives Urban design does not happen in a vacuum. It does not get accomplished by one person working alone in a room It it happens and through complex Conversations that engage people across stakeholder units across owners across Municipalities different levels of government etc. So really really through our coursework in a pedagogy advance that At the urban design program, we will also not tell you what is the city in fact We look at the city through a much wider lens. This is an image also of Kasumu around this corner of this hill is Like Victoria and you can see that the edges of that city also encompassing a broader Operational urban landscape. So we really look at urban systems and natural systems together when we think about the process this ongoing process of urbanization Importantly though we are based here in New York City and New York City is our lab the first semester program In the first semester of the program in the summer is really very much focused on the five boroughs of New York City And I just can't state enough how important and exciting our New York context is to this learning environment The New York City is an incredibly dynamic place very You know well managed has a lot of innovation in housing Innovation in urban landscape innovation and waterfront design and so there's so much to be learned just simply from being Here in New York with our incredible faculty and working alongside your fellow students and the faculty And kind of learning from the environs that is New York So a couple of words on the urban design program and how we try to situate ourselves within GSAP itself which which are shown this sort of image the planning Architecture historic preservation real estate are the programs within GSAP on the right of the slide that we collaborate with quite a bit and then the programs in the left of the slide are Programs that are characterized are at Columbia writ large say SEPA Which is our school of policy the mailman school of public health the earth Institute in the Montdority earth observatory in the school of engineering Outside of GSAP are all schools within Columbia that we have exchange with So we really see urban design as this bridge between the interior and the exterior of the school and and many of these sort of Qualities or we have invited lectures Seminars etc. That helps to sort of bridge these gaps and enable us to look more synthetically And in an integrated way at this phenomena of the urban So that kind of covers the two left and right sides of this image And the top and bottom of the diagram you can see how we also aim to bridge scales So Infrastructure ecology and built fabric are these broader systemic scales of the urban that we engage in the program but of course We need to understand how these systems manifest spatially and directly In the sort of human scales and spaces where we live So how it's this really reciprocity between systems and kind of cultural public spaces that we try to push our students to advance work So we really try to bridge this type of thinking and this way of acting within the University So now I just have a couple of slides before we kick it over to a question and answers That tries to describe the coursework and the student experience That you'll have when you come here in late May to start off with the summer the summer semester So as you probably are well aware the MSAUD program, which is the master of science and architecture and urban design Program is a one calendar year program and it commences in in the summer semester so you will be arriving here in late May and kicking off your summer semester and That takes place in June July and the beginning two weeks of August and in that summer semester It's very much focused on the five boroughs of New York City So you'll be deeply enmeshed in understanding the five boroughs You'll be learning the tools of the trade if you will in terms of urban theory design software narrative process site and program and so that summer semester is really the sort of intro getting everybody up to speed and Trying to establish really a baseline through which to talk about the city That then can be applied in your next two semesters The fall semester is commences in September after you have a nice healthy break the end of August And in the fall semester we study the regional scale. You can see how we're beginning to scale up here And in the fall semester our studios are really focused on the Hudson Valley, which is the larger region to the north of New York City and encompasses this sort of broader region around the Hudson River and In that semester this regional scale is interrogated alongside questions of justice public health economy historic preservation and Mapping and and you can see to the top of the slide that particular fall semester Exists co-exists with an academic initiative called the Hudson Valley initiative, which I will describe in a minute and Then finally the final semester is in the spring and that commences mid-January with a study trip usually in the first two weeks of January And the spring semester we broaden the lens again and begin to look at the phenomena of the global what does that mean for global cities and we focus on issues of climate resilience equity social capital fabric and informality and That semester coincides and is conjoined with New initiative and center for resilient cities and landscapes that works across the university So that in a nutshell is the sequence of the semesters and the kind of programmatic emphasis that you'll experience when you come here It's very exciting Just a couple which is to slide you can check this out online. I've included the web address above Slide on the Hudson Valley initiative and how you can see the members of the faculty on the right-hand side and how our coursework in the fall Urban design studio builds over time and has built over a series of years to develop a really strong set of relations with Government with local government with NGOs with nonprofits in the Hudson Valley And is really kind of tuned into the real questions that the Valley itself is facing We have a kind of it's almost a rust belt phenomena where many of the cities in the Hudson Valley are struggling with kind of post industrial economy and challenges of reconnecting to the Hudson River itself Then a little more on that initiative at the global scale that connects with the The spring semester studio. This is a snapshot of the Center for Resilience Cities and Landscapes And some of the projects that it is undertaking This is a relatively new center that was funded with some Support from the Rockefeller Foundation and 100 Resilient Cities And so the goal with this as with the Hudson Valley initiative is to really kind of connect the pedagogy That's happening inside the the sort of space of the studio with very real and applied Questions of what's happening in quote-unquote the real world and the way that projects are advanced and conceived So now I just have a couple of images to show you some Snapshots of student experiences in the summer semester And then I'll just take you through the fall and then the spring again Just so you get a sense of what it's like to be here because it really is a fun and intense program and it brings people together it brings students together and Students work in teams faculty work in teams, and it's a really dynamic and and wonderfully intense environment So this is just an example of students out in the out in the world Hearing stories from community members trying to understand what's at stake in addition to being out on the Sort of the in the fabric of New York City in the five boroughs We also have very intensive internal working sessions This is an a picture of our summer studio and some study models that students made to help explore specific questions And this this is an example of a kind of a review of a review that takes place inside Avery Hall student work and kind of this Jury type of panel that we use in design school to help advance and Critic, you know make up sort of a positive critique of the work and help students advance their ideas to the next level And the summer semester is also characterized by an incredibly exciting course called reading New York Urbanism This course has been taught by Kassim Shepard a renowned faculty member here and And it also beyond sort of work inside the studio You will be learning this kind of art of storytelling and urban storytelling And Kassim and nuns Voron who's put whose pictured here are really have really advanced this way of thinking about cities and so it's Really incredibly important and sort of foundational course it messes you inside the fabric of New York it enables you to kind of hear stories from Everybody from throughout the five boroughs and really kind of help define the idea of urban design through the concept of like listening And also through the scale of the neighborhood and nuns pictured here along with Trisha Martin will be your summer studio coordinators for the spring Here's another snapshot from the reading New York Urbanism course of And more interviews more interactions with people Whether that's in the city or outside the city and a few notes on the fall semester Starting up in September the fall semester has this Hudson Valley Scale and we often launch this semester with a big boat trip up and down the Hudson River and The student work and now I'm just going to interspersed interspersed some student work really begins to interrogate What it means to have a new economy in the Hudson River Valley To ask questions about what's missing from the street to engage Citizenry in this kind of participatory process of envisioning the city We work in downtown and also convene at larger events This is an image from that what we had a year ago called the Hudson Valley barge meet in which we convened mayors and Activists from around the Hudson River on a barge to inquire and discuss opportunities for collaboration and for intervention Another just photo of we get our feet wet and muddy when we explore sites This is an image of Poughkeepsie a water body and a project from Poughkeepsie Student project that begins to connect Environmental activism learning and the educational system and the urban design of a neighborhood Some students presenting their work here in a format This is a format of a typical design critique where we are Inviting experts not only from within Columbia, but from the incredibly vast and exciting professional community of architects and urban designers that we can draw on To provide a kind of critique of the work. This is a pin-up for example from the fall semester really active a lot of people coming in out and Great way to meet other professionals in the New York area and then so finally some images of the spring semester and Here are some examples of Cities that we've visited in the past for the spring global studio from Accra to Vienna a range of Geographies a range of challenges and Potentials and so every year we take students in January to two of these cities and on a very on a trip that's organized alongside partner university and alongside Unit of governance usually the mayor's office of one of these cities and So with this is an image from our Rio de Janeiro workshop in Brazil You work while you're there It becomes this very dynamic workshop in which we're trying to Understand very quickly the the challenge of that particular space in that particular city And we are focused on aiming to address climate change through this active engagement of the joint built natural environment And also the collapse of biodiversity So this is a quote from the IPCC international panel on climate change that even Living in global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius requires rapid and far-reaching Transition and land energy industry buildings transport in cities sounds a lot like urban design so the summer the spring semester really positions urban designers as In being able to sort of mobilize research and design toward climate adaptive Cities we've been doing this over the past years through the lens of water as a generative and connective force in urban design one that really helps to think about future resilience in cities and So all those cities that I've listed before Have a kind of a different Take on that particular work. I have some images and to show you this is one from two years ago of Calcutta, India and Aman Jordan very to two very different contexts one Facing water and inundation through sea level rise and subsidence the other facing drought and extreme heat and So some images from those studios and some of the If you're interested in looking at this work You can go on to the urban design web page and sort of click down to publications and you can click on any of these Book covers to see a little bit more of the student work and to kind of understand how we approach these issues So here's some images from our Aman a studio With a geological expert Looking both at issues of urbanization and also agriculture water use and development Housing and and agriculture on the left Interviewing farmers interviewing local residents Centering kind of infrastructure more broadly at the center of urban design discourse and this is just an image of The Jordan River Valley. It's for sort of past and kind of current situation and Students really engage in this very Exciting way of actually helping to visualize challenges that these cities are facing This is an infrastructure obsolescence map. So this image on the right has a shelf life of infrastructure and Positioning and helping to these cities to visualize their conditions and then also helping cities through the The scale of the project Scale that down and understand how this might manifest in the space of a small public square say in Aman So our student work really spans the sort of infrastructural mapping abilities to very site-scaled very specific textured materiality of public spaces. Here's another example of just a Geographical analysis of the valley and How it connects how urban centers like water use in Aman impacts for example the Plummeting water levels as pictured here in the Dead Sea Some other images from other studios. This is from Madurai, India We have these informal work sessions when we're there in this in the cities Bringing in Professors from other schools and you can see well That's me in the middle and on the right hand of the image is Gita Mehta one of the professors One of the images of student work from the water urbanism Madurai studio Another one focused on the Viage River There's Gita as an image from Calcutta with two students in a rickshaw and so these Trips are really exciting and sometimes the highlight of the year because they're so engaging and so interactive And there's a an image of student work also from Calcutta Here's a an image from our most recent trip to Pune, India and throughout these These trips we meet not only city officials, but local activists and others trying to make change So this is a gentleman who's spent his life trying to preserve a sort of a section of the Mulan with a river Which we are studying today. So that kind of brings us up to the present date and Really our goal is when you graduate from Columbia as a designer as an urban designer This is what you will be able to do. You'll be able to communicate convene analyze Visualize organize bridge disciplines and understand how to act and You will have a kind of a renewed understanding of the agency of the urban designer In a way that urban designer acts in a very different modality than say the architect or the landscape architect And and one of the exciting kind of tenants or thought thoughts around the studio and around this particular program is that Great work emerges in the spaces between people. So even though we are really looking for students who have a strong Personal agenda and want to advance their individual work That is we have a huge amount of room for that at the same time We are looking for students who like to collaborate and interface with a wide range of people because in order to make change in the Urban environment both of these kind of skill sets are necessary So with that I will conclude that set part of the session and we will switch it over to some Q&A So I'll join everybody at the table here. Hello. I'm David Smiley the assistant director of the program and I'll be Helping answer some questions with the students will start with the students. I'm going to ask them to introduce themselves give a little background and And then Answer a couple of questions that they noted from from your list start with Richard, please Hi, everyone. My name is Richard. I grew up in Vancouver and I had a bachelor's of architectures from Carnegie Mellon University in 2016 After graduation that worked for a architectural firm both as a junior architect and a digital technologist and today, um, I'm in a urban design program because I've been really inspired With data driven design and also urban analytics and I think mainly just hoping to create more impact beyond the building envelope Hi everyone, my name is Alex and I came a group in Baltimore, Maryland Did a five-year bachelor of architecture degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo? I worked as an architectural and urban designer as well as researcher On an integrated practice in Los Angeles for three years and then I came to Columbia Similar to Richard have some interest in kind of data and research in the city Really kind of looking past just the kind of built framework of the city and these kind of connections between, you know, different systems and cities And so that's why I'm here Hi, everyone. I'm Angela Crisostom. I'm a International student from Manila, Philippines. I got my bachelors in architecture and from the University of Santa Tomas back home and I came here to Columbia to sort of get a sense of how urban design is a lot of right now and sort of to carry forward some new ideas for back home Okay, thank you I'm just gonna go over a few of your questions some of them short some longer and the students will pitch in if they have anything to add First simple question we have here is how many students are there in the program? We have about 40 to 45 each year sometimes a little more sometimes a little less It's hard to gauge, but it's always a good crowd a good dynamic The next question a little bit broader and Kate touched on this to some degree about the regional studio Which we presume that person to me in the fall studio Because we look at the region as a setting for urbanization as Kate was discussing that cities are part of a larger territory We have chosen the Hudson Valley for number of years as a site of research because there are cities towns farms rivers streams ecosystems and we want to explore all of those things as a kind of intensive long-term project and Also, therefore we off we created the Hudson Valley initiative as Kate mentioned for to continue research and outreach and some of the themes that the studios have Taken on in different years include infrastructure social justice ecology mobility public health and schools and food Justice so we we look at the Hudson River Valley Which is not a huge River Valley by global standards But it has quite a complex history and a complex set of players and a complex set of opportunities and problems And it sustains us very nicely in the fall to enlarge the scope of our research with the students As Kate mentioned the traveling studio in the spring You will find out about in November of this year, and you saw the list of places. So The world is our oyster as the expression goes I would just add. Yeah, but with the studio sites are typically announced in October And there's a wide range of geographies always Consideration and you'll be given enough time to make your plane reservations The next question is is really complex and it's very important to us What are the external agencies that are involved along with the studios? As Kate showed you we're very very intent upon collaborating with Governments and nonprofits and people who live in places and community organizations in New York City in the Hudson Valley Or wherever the traveling studio goes So in New York City, not only do we work with for instance the Department of city planning Some of our faculty are on the department or at the Department of city planning and you meet city planners during the semester Oh, we also work with community organizations from different boroughs in the city So you'll learn that there's a lot of players that you have to kind of face and learn from During the summer as well as all the studio the semesters in the fall semester Organization like scenic Hudson, which advocates for both landscape and geography and social equality In the Hudson Valley, we work with universities in the Valley Depending on which city or town we're in we work with People doing different kinds of development in the cities in the Hudson Valley And we also work with food justice organizations we work with ecology organizations And then at the global scale in the spring studio, we work with mayors governments resilience officers Just a whole host of players. So you'll have a review where there's 20 people from different professions that you will be learning from and talking to so There's a lot of time with this kind of feedback and learning from a lot of different points of view Maybe just to add some a little more detail. Maybe Alex and Richard can chime in on this that Also, there's different degrees to which I think we Find ourselves with sort of one foot in speculation and one foot in reality because that I think is the power of urban design It's really this notion of trying to expand the envelope while working within existing Sort of organizational forms so both of Richard and Alex are in the studio in Pune, India And in that particular studio. We're trying to Work literally in a way with existing engineers and existing city managers To expand the space of a particular lens of in that case a riverfront project So do you guys want to chime in on that at all or? challenges there and Yeah, sure. So Yeah, like Kate said when we when we visited Pune, we were introduced by the chief resilience officer as well as someone from the Pune minibus visible corporation and we learned kind of some of their plans to Incorporate with the city's riverfront for the next 20s 30 years and a big part of that studio really is Understanding both side of the story you know the site from the city's initiative also the side of the story of the local people and as well as the local ecology and The big a big part of the studio has been how do we? Perhaps introduce a different way of urban design. Maybe something that is more symbiotic Collaborative in general and I find that really exciting Yeah, I second everything Richard said and I think it puts you in a unique position to really kind of Moving forward in your career as well, you know, you can you have experience working with with a government But also then kind of helping them to understand that maybe there's an alternative that is better for their city So it's a unique opportunity to kind of test that as a student But also it's a it's a really great skill set moving forward as well okay, and what you're working in Cancel in Vietnam and what's what we found very Interesting and can't throw us that the the issues they face are real their urgent and in this studio We're working with real problems and so the the sort of urgency and Advocacy to to create real solutions Is something that you get to experience in the studio? and Great, thank you Yes, I think the goal is to to Bring real-time work and real-time research Into the studio, but also as Kate said to allow room for experimentation and speculation Because in part it's in that Tension between what exists and what might exist That makes it all very fascinating and important I'm gonna get to a few other questions that will also hear from the students about One person asks about Courses from other programs Also outside of the of the GSAP but also at the University So as Kate mentioned we have four required classes in the summer semester But in the fall and spring semesters you have plenty of room to Take courses both in UD in Architecture in historic preservation and planning as well as elsewhere in the University and we strongly encourage you to to wander the University I'm just wondering if any of you folks have have done that wandering So during the fall semester you do get a chance to Yeah, yeah So during the fall semester you do get a chance to take electives in the spring semester as well and I had the chance to Take a course on human rights in public space with the Human Rights Institute But even so you have a chance to take courses outside of GSAP But even within GSAP too you do get a chance to Take classes that other Departments in the University might share for instance We I'm taking a class with Alex mapping borderlands This semester and we are working with students from the anthropology department so It's it brings a different perspective to your study as well and It makes for a broader experience and In terms of seminars that you can take in addition to studio both in fall and spring And there's a lot of flexibility there So you can take a seminar potentially that's in the planning department or in it, you know one That's not specifically urban design so all of us three of us have taken courses that kind of surround urban design But are not specifically To the program so for instance in the fall all three of us actually took a geographic information systems class Which is a really really awesome course that kind of teaches you how to use GIS Softwares and then we can incorporate that into our studio work. So it's a really nice kind of addition to the work we're doing in studio and That's most of you know, most days basically covered everything, but I think it's interesting It's important to also hone in on the fact that these seminars Opportunities to work with people of different professions So I'm taking this semester. I'm taking a seminar called conflict urbanism Puerto Rico where we're studying the aftermath of hurricanes in Puerto Rico and Aside from working people from different programs we actually had brought in the economy economists also researchers and public advocates to discuss the topics in a Lot of times it's beyond urban design But what I found really useful was taking that class it was a practice for me to understand How I can insert my skill sets into these complex issues Okay, and We will help you find courses. We will show you how to navigate the university's courses and Registration systems to make it easier because it's a big place with a lot going on I think the the other piece of the the puzzle for many people has to do the second to last piece is about Workload and time management so I'm going to immediately pass that along to the students because that's who you should be hearing from on that because obviously I think everything is possible Well, I think Having had a Professional degree in architecture. I think the intensity was expected and to be quite honest personally Coming here to pursue a Those professional degree. This is the level of intensity that I'm looking for that being said the first semester was definitely challenging I think it has gotten better because mainly because I think everyone in studio has Grew so much more than we have in you know in a really short period of time and we've also I think we've also gotten more familiar with both the topic as well as the people that were working with so I noticed significantly this semester that These collaborative works have became much smoother much more collaborative and in general. I think it's just a It's not a it's not a hurdle, but something that you eventually develop. I Think one of the greatest benefits too is that it's a 12 month program So after 12 months you have your master's degree and for me personally That was one of the biggest draws of Columbia was that it wasn't necessarily a two-year master's program But in 12 months I could leave the university with a master's so that I think is really quite a benefit of the program and There is flexibility flexibility too in terms of the intensity as well as the sort of There's enough space for you to explore Your ideas your projects enough space in the program that new ideas would definitely emerge new projects Definitely the summer is totally intense and totally foundational and Then in the fall you get a little more space to Sort of explore other programs It it will be as intense as you want it to be Given that in during this term you could opt for electives within G sap and outside and Same with the spring semester But in the spring semester to Other opportunities Towards sort of professional development emerge There's career fairs there's sort of Building your portfolio and so Taken all together it is very intense, but it really sets you up well or The next years of your professional life So I think you've you've heard it clear loud and clear the summer is hard And we're honest about it and but you're still gonna love it because it's going to be a flood of new things and new experiences And then what happens is students kind of figure it out and kind of get their feet on the ground and then things proceed In a little less pressured way, but we still actually have a strong workload as well I would just add that the one of the reasons why the summer is so intense is that there's such a Geographical diversity and such a diversity of ranges of kind of Program types that people are coming from that there's a really intensive effort to sort of give everybody a baseline And that's what we that's what we aim to do and those courses are Studio reading New York urbanism urban theory and software and what's exciting is this year I mentioned we have a new director of the summer is that all of those courses are now integrated into sort of one mega course so all of the deadlines are coordinated and all of the The sort of coursework in pedagogy is is coordinated. So that's an exciting Very much very much as you're traipsing around the city all five boroughs not just Midtown A couple of other questions and the nitty-gritty for Since it's only a one year and I'm sure the students will attest to how fast it goes But the the the key point seven people are asking about jobs And that's a totally important question that you should be asking In in in all cases We work with you and the GSAP has a career services office And they have events for portfolio reviews and firm meetings and we work with them each year to try to beef up the offerings more unique to urban design and expand the range of people coming to the career fairs For international students We worked very hard to extend the STEM System where it used to be if you a STEM designated program had a one-year work permit for for the US Recently we were able to extend it to three years. So after you finish you can stay in the US and work for three years Really exciting for all of us. I'm sure you know You can get beginning jobs and people do get jobs in architecture offices planning offices urban design offices And even engineering firms And then a lot of people work for public agencies. We have a lot of students US as well as international going to work for the Department of City Planning Department of Transportation Because you're meeting all these people during the summer and some students keep up with them as well And so that's an important opportunity other students work for NGOs and and other kinds of organizations doing urban related work One student just emailed that they're working for a cultural agency in Dubai, you know managing their urban resources Another student is in contact from from Hong Kong where they're working in architecture office looking at urban questions there So it's a very dynamic employment scene because our graduates are so Educated so well educated not just an architecture but an urbanism and in all sorts of interactions with community and government groups I would just add that The the degree is MSAUD which is a master of science and architecture and urban design And so it's actually quite a flexible degree some students choose to go back into architecture or landscape architecture But many students I think kind of take this less traditional path and more and more And I would say we have so much interest frankly from the international community around So we have graduates of our program at UN Habitat and UN DEP which is the Department of Environment More and more the skill sets of our graduates are really meshing in a critical way with these sort of NGOs and nonprofit needs So it's this kind of hybrid between design and advocacy and visualization Which has I think created a sort of a new stream of types of jobs in addition to the more sort of traditional professional offices that many of our graduates find themselves working in or Or city agencies like city planning etc We try to keep up with you and that's that's where we get some of our good stories from Some students asked about assistants and research assistants positions and We have teaching associate positions in the fall on the spring To which you can apply and we try to spread those around among as many people as possible There are other positions that you might find through career services here in the building in in G-SAP and again The goal is to get as many people as possible Doing something if they can there's no guarantees But we do our best to to get people the opportunity to work Outside the curriculum and and learn through different kinds of jobs in around the school One other aspect that some people ask about which has to do with language and the way how international students can Learn how we work in American universities and G-SAP in particular. So in the summer we have some Excuse me. We have some voluntary Programs that help students with some workshops on writing on language on group work We're looking to include one on time management because we realize that The educational systems around the world are very very different and so we want people to be able to kind of jump-start and get Get going here in New York understanding how Columbia University works. So we provide those voluntary workshops in the first few weeks of the summer It's also a lot about getting students to understand how to work with others and how to communicate with others in a Fair-minded and generous sort of way Because as as you know, it's a lot of work and there's a lot of pressure. So working with others Is a skill you must learn along the way Excuse me So let me see. I have one more Bit a kind of detail, but someone asked about internships and I'm sorry to say that G-SAP doesn't offer that many internships for urban design because it's a one-year program There are teaching assistant and other research positions available But a technical internship is something that The G-SAP, like I say, you're only here for a year. So it doesn't quite work out I would say too that While you're here for a year there. I mean, I think the students can attest to this. There is a mind-boggling array of Lectures, workshops, every, you know, we're here in wood auditorium Twice a week you have almost major lectures in this hall In addition to lunchtime lectures from the urban design program planning program historic preservation We all have also departmental specific lectures. So I would say my advice to all of you Incoming students would be take advantage of every moment inside the school while you are here and And then when we start to hit the end of the spring semester Then we help you with portfolio prep, but you have such a it's such a, you know Magical time for that one year while you're here and there's so much to absorb and to participate in that the idea of An additional internship in a private company seems to be not to the best use of your time So it's just a little note on that I will also add that Some of these opportunities come from your own your personal connections and Sometimes they come from the reviews where a lot of Individuals from private companies as well as public agencies come and visit your work Like I know for example a couple of my Colleagues in class have landed Part-time jobs based on the people they met at reviews. So that's also a opportunity Yeah, one one detail the Dodson Valley initiative For instance will get students to assist periodically so there's a lot of ebb and flow with different kinds of us of helping out and So it's a it's a very active place, but as Kate said and I want to reiterate It's a very busy schedule with the the number of things you can be doing here And so your year is precious. It's very precious and if of course, it's a stretch to be here for everyone I'm sure but it's it's a precious time because there's so many Things to think about to participate in to learn about in courses and activities and organizations So it's really an exciting time and and perhaps one of the best things is that you will it will be as we started with you will be in New York City and Even though we send you out into the city as part of your courses routinely You will want to spend some time on your own exploring New York City. So leave yourself some time for that if you can Great, I mean, maybe I'll just make some some closing remarks and Around just trying to sort of summarize and and thank thank you students for your help and Trying to sort of add some detail to this future incoming student experience I guess I really just wanted to emphasize how amazing our faculty is We have an incredible group of faculty who are working inside the studios and who are also teaching you seminars And so say this more than any other program. I think you'll have a very Collaborative and kind of back and forth with our faculty as I mentioned non-sporon and Trisha Martin Architect and landscape architect respect respectively and urban designers both will be your studio coordinators for the summer semester And During that summertime you have just real three and incredible teachers who are also focusing on reading your urbanism theory course and Software and then in the fall you'll have your fall studio will be led by kaya cool whose Hallmark is kind of community-driven design. She's an incredibly experienced long-term teacher in the program and She'll be coordinating the group of faculty for the fall semester But in addition to that inside studio faculty you are able to take seminars with sort of world experts in topics Including Richard Pluns for housing and history of housing This year we had Anthony at Chiavatti who has the author of Ganges water machine incredible book that several the students mentioned being interested in research and spatial Design and data design. So his book Ganges water machine pulls together research and data design Around the Ganges and has won major book awards We have Dilip Dacuna who's a global scholar of water and sort of post-colonial studies Laura Kurgan Who's developed a kind of incredible body of knowledge around? Spatial information and kind of criticality and Gita meta also in the spring semester who is a globally renowned figure around issues of social capital and and gender studies, so in addition to you know that the the the sort of incredibly Interactive peer experience you will also have access to the incredible range of faculty inside the urban design program and Then just finally to conclude. I think what's so exciting about our our year-long Program here is that it's a chance to learn more broadly about the city to kind of expand the lens Expand your agency as a designer. I also find more and more as the years go by That students find it as an opportunity to sort of transform themselves and their own identity After going through this program. You will have 40 very close friends after you graduate from this program and You will kind of Come out of the other side, frankly a changed person in the best possible of ways like knowing yourself better Knowing how you interact better with others Understanding your strengths and your weaknesses and really I think what we try to do is help give you the tools and help Sort of help you sense your shape your own sense of purpose So when you graduate your you'll be out there in the world influencing kind of a more positive built environment and a sort of more kind of equitable and Environmental sort of sense of what it means to be an urban designer So I think with that we will close I we've checked off all the questions on the list But I wanted to just emphasize that you can email me at KO 21 11 At colombia.edu and David at DS 210 so so feel free to follow up with email questions But for now, we are so excited for you to come here If you're coming to the open house see you then and if not feel free to email with questions So thanks a lot everybody