To help freshmen quickly adapt to academic studies and clarify their future career paths, the School of Arts organized a special seminar on April 7th. SIA International Art Education was specially invited to deliver a session for all first-year students. Three veteran art mentors from SIA shared insights on "academic planning, competition guidance, portfolio development, and overseas study strategies," with full participation from all freshmen.
At the orientation session, SIA International Art Education mentors delivered tailored guidance to new students, leveraging their extensive teaching expertise and industry insights. Ms.Zhu, Product Design, highlighted the growing integration of art and technology, advising students to broaden their horizons through interdisciplinary electives while strengthening foundational skills. Ms.Shi from Digital Media Communication demonstrated how phased goal-setting enhances learning efficiency through case studies. Drawing on judging experiences from global competitions like the Red Dot Award and China Advertising Competition, she analyzed winning works' common characteristics and showcased a complete creative process from topic selection to implementation, inspiring students to transform coursework into competition-ready projects. Ms.Zhou, Environmental Design, shared insights on refining portfolios by analyzing exemplary student portfolios.
To address art students' concerns about studying abroad, the mentor team systematically analyzed admission preferences from top art schools across the UK, US, Europe and Asia, proposing a long-term plan of "starting in freshman year and optimizing in stages". The event also showcased portfolio examples of SIA students who successfully applied to prestigious institutions like the Royal Academy of Arts (RAA) and Parsons School of Design.
During the Q&A session, students enthusiastically raised questions about balancing coursework and competition schedules, exploring career prospects across disciplines, and harmonizing personal styles with institutional requirements. Industry experts shared practical insights drawn from current trends and real-world cases. This event provided art school students with diverse majors who plan to study abroad with expanded options, laying a solid foundation for future overseas education. Attendees unanimously expressed that they gained valuable knowledge from the session.
