2019: Edward Rossi

Bachelor of Industrial Design (Honours) student Edward Rossi was excited to receive the Milan-Melbourne Exchange Program Scholarship and explore his cultural heritage.

“In January 2019, I was afforded by the Annemarie and Arturo Gandioli-Fumagalli Foundation to live in Milan, Italy and study at Politecnico di Milano for one semester. Being a first generation Australian of Italian descent, I was excited about the opportunity to immerse myself in the Italian culture to further understand my heritage. While this wasn’t my first time living in a new country, there was an immediate comfort that came over me, which I can’t say was true visiting other countries. I never once felt out of place, and around every corner were childhood scenes reminiscent of growing up around Fitzroy North, Brunswick and Preston in the 90s.

“My six months in Italy brought to me some incredible experiences and opportunities. I undertook a research project at Politecnico di Milano with the European Space Agency to develop technologies for the International Space Station. I also spent a week exploring Fuorisalone and the Salone del Mobile, did copious amounts of hiking, road tripped around Italy with new friends and even had the chance to spend time travelling in Italy with my sister.

My time in Milan was invaluable not only for my own personal development but for also bringing clarity and solidity at a fundamental level to who I am as a designer and what I want to be designing.”