When Dr Lin Wei first arrived as an international student at UTS, she felt like a fish out of water.
"When I was doing my Bachelor of Design in Photography and Situated Media, I was the only international student in my class. I felt so shy!" she says.
Fast-forward 13 years and Dr Wei, now a lecturer in the School of Design, is translating that experience into a new support service that will lead to better social, emotional and academic outcomes for first-year design students.
"The aim of the Cross-Cultural Connection Hub is to create a safe and secure space for international students to share their study experiences, and to make friends from different cultural backgrounds, countries and academic disciplines," says Dr Wei.
Inspiring first-year student success
The program acknowledges that international students can benefit from additional support to help them settle into life in Australia and at UTS. And nobody knows that better than international students themselves, which is why Dr Wei has recruited a group of international student mentors to help bring the Hub to life.
These students, who meet with Dr Wei on a weekly basis, are talking to their peers about the ways in which the Hub can help enhance students' time at UTS. They’re also producing a series of promotional materials to help spread the word about it.
"At the same time, the students in the Cross-Cultural Connections group are trying to summarise their own study experiences as international students at UTS and to articulate some of the important things they’ve learnt that will be useful for future first-year international students," Dr Wei says.
The first Hub meeting, which was attended by students from China, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, India and Japan took place in September this year. These gatherings will continue on a monthly basis and are open to all international students to join.
The next step will be the development of an interactive PDF guide that introduces first-year students to UTS Design teaching staff, spaces and facilities. It will eventually be translated into multiple languages.
From a bachelor's degree to a global visual arts career
Dr Wei herself is a living example of how international students can flourish when they're supported to succeed. During the first year of her UTS bachelor's degree, and with guidance from her tutors, she began exploring her own creativity and built the confidence to come out of her shell.
Back then, I didn't know I could be a creative person. At UTS, guided by remarkable teachers like Professor Lawrence Wallen, who later became my PhD supervisor, I realised I could do my own research, find my own interests and start creating my own artwork.
I was also encouraged by the tutors and my classmates from different cultures, from different backgrounds. That’s been something enjoyable for me.
Dr Wei's bachelor's degree became an honours degree in which she found herself exploring the distortion of human body forms using studio-based photographic techniques. But by the end of her honours project, she still had a wealth of ideas to explore. A PhD gave her the time and space to really immerse herself in the work.
Since completing her PhD, she has exhibited her photography in Australia, Germany and America. She was also announced as the winner of the Manifest Gallery 5th International Photography Annual in 2017.
The student becomes the teacher
Over the last eight years, Dr Wei has also worked as a sessional academic, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate Design Studies courses for students in the Fashion, Visual Communications and Integrated Product Design degrees.
For her efforts, she's been awarded a 2021 Learning and Teaching Award and a 2021 Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building Award for Teaching Excellence.
Her teaching has also kept her closely connected to the first-year experiences of international students. When she was appointed to a permanent position earlier this year, she was delighted to find herself in a like-minded team with a genuine passion for enhancing the student experience — and the idea for the Hub was born.
"Our leadership team in the School of Design really cares about international students," she says.
"We believe we can be more inclusive and give everyone equal opportunities to study so that no one will be isolated."
