Today was perhaps my last day with the RIM students. They leave on the 18th of June and my family will be around until then. I’ve been asked to judge the student’s final projects which is a great honour and will probably be fun. Then again, it could be tough to have to give honest marks when results aren’t impressive.
To celebrate this farewell, they invited me to join them in the student dining hall for lunch. They provided me a plate (they all bring their own and wash them afterwards) and we chatted for the hour. Of course, most of the conversation was about Michael and how we’d ended up in the movie, but we also talked about what was next for them.
It turns out that they’d already taken the government exam after year 12 and were at RIM because they’d been selected. The question now was not whether they’d be able to find a job, but how good the position would be. That explained the lack of interest shown by many of them. It also raises questions of where they’ll fit in the new model without a bachelor or masters degree.
I’m sure I’ll see them around town in the coming months and have the last question answered.