Interview with Kuljit Bhogal, Alumnus of OCA Creative Arts Department
Kuch Embraces Interdisciplinary Learning in Pursuit of Creative Technologies
Kuch, a creative practitioner, is set to complete his Master's in Creative Technologies from the Winchester School of Arts in September. His journey, marked by exploration and experimentation, began with the Open College of the Arts (OCA), a choice driven by its inclusive approach and interdisciplinary course structure.
The flexibility of the OCA's part-time degree program aligned perfectly with Kuch's lifestyle, allowing him to balance his studies with his creative practice. During his time at the OCA, Kuch delved into various domains, including AI, robotics, and critical theories about technology.
Upon graduating with a BA in Creative Arts from the OCA in 2024, Kuch embarked on his current journey, pursuing an MSc in Creative Technologies. This new chapter has seen him honing his coding skills, learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and applying these skills creatively.
Kuch's projects reflect his commitment to interdisciplinary practice, spanning media such as photography, printmaking, collage, sculpture, text, installation, and video. The online learning environment, he finds, encourages this flexibility, enabling him to continually grow and explore beyond conventional boundaries.
The benefits of interdisciplinary online learning are manifold. It fosters creative experimentation, supports sustained motivation through varied creative challenges, and breaks down traditional silos, allowing learners to combine multiple art forms and methodologies.
Online learning also offers benefits crucial to sustaining creative practice. The flexibility and accessibility of the medium allow learners to engage with materials and projects on their own schedules. Interactive and constructive feedback from tutors and peers in virtual settings further supports motivation and the refinement of creative ideas.
Moreover, interdisciplinary approaches promote novel idea generation by integrating knowledge and techniques from diverse disciplines, thus maintaining creativity and avoiding stagnation. These elements, combined with structured assignments that encourage autonomy and competence, enable learners like Kuch to sustain and enhance their creative practices continuously within an interdisciplinary online framework.
Kuch's independent spirit, honed during distance learning, has been instrumental in sustaining his practice and finishing projects. He found the Stage 3 monthly sharing sessions particularly useful for creating a supportive community.
In the final stretch of his MSc, Kuch is currently working on his major project, which will keep him busy for the next few months. Last semester, he created a micro game about masculinity, trains, and desire, showcasing his ability to blend technology and creativity.
As Kuch prepares to graduate, he has not specified any similarities between university study online and in person. However, his experiences at the OCA and Winchester School of Arts have undoubtedly equipped him with extended skills that might not have been possible in a traditional 3-year university setting.
For more about Kuch's work, you can visit his website (Note: This is not a standalone fact as it's an advertisement.). His journey serves as a testament to the power of interdisciplinary learning in fostering creativity and sustaining creative practice.
Kuch's journey in pursuit of Creative Technologies began with online education at the Open College of the Arts, where he engaged in diverse domains like AI, robotics, and critical theories about technology, demonstrating a commitment to learning and self-development in the realm of education-and-self-development. As he continues his MSc in Creative Technologies, he maintains that the online learning environment encourages creativity and flexibility, enabling him to breaking traditional silos, combining multiple art forms and methodologies, and continually growing beyond conventional boundaries.
