Keep on

This is the advise to this year's graduates from Icelandic Olafur Haraldsson who graduated as an interaction designer from Design School Kolding in 2011.

Recently, he came back to visit the school's rector Elsebeth Gerner Nielsen and to attend a lecture by Dan Goods from NASA. Olafur Haraldsson has just turned 30 but despite his young age, he has already established an impressive career within his field.

First of all he runs a software company that develops ’Photogrammetry’ programs to create 3D models from photos. Second of all, last year he opened the Aurora Northern Light Center in Reykjavik. A museum that focuses on the phenomenon of Northern lights in many ways.

- I've always known that I wanted to work for myself because it gives me freedom to do what I want. Thanks to the teaching of Barnabas Wetton I have reached this goal. He has an exceptional capacity to push his students out of their comfort zone, says Olafur Haraldsson, who has travelled over 1 million kilometres by plain for his company.

He has been to New York, for instance, to make 3D effects for Björk's film, Black Lake, which was exhibited at MoMA. In general, Olafur Haraldsson is not afraid to accept a challenge and he wants the school's students to feel the same way.

- There's no reason to go down a path that you already know. When you're studying you should try something new. That's what student life is about. And you must keep on believing in yourself and keep on creating, says Olafur Haraldsson.

Olafur Haraldsson is now a guest teacher at Design School Kolding, and he believes the school's primary focus should be to develop the students' digital competences.

- It's very important for the students to have excellent digital competences and to be able to work with digital media, says Olafur Haraldsson.