From August 4th to 15th, 2025, students from the Institute of Creativity and Innovation (ICI) of Xiamen University participated in a two-week summer school at the Farnham Campus of the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) in the UK. This summer program featured three directions: Architecture and Interior Design, Art and Design Portfolio Development, and Multimedia Film Production/Photography & Cinematography. Utilizing a "Theory + Practice" model, it provided an immersive internationalized platform for learning and practice.
Honing Professional Skills: Delving into the Entire Process of Image Creation
In the Multimedia Film Production/Photography course, students gained deep, immersive experience across the entire process of filmmaking production: starting with role-playing, they took on positions such as director, actor, cinematographer, and sound recordist, systematically understanding the logic of each film production stage. Initially, by shooting short campus life films, they solidly mastered the basic camera movement techniques like pushing, pulling, and panning, and even unlocked new skills in dynamic drone filming. As they progressed to documentary creation, the focus shifted to tackling professional lighting adjustment and sound recording equipment operation, accumulating high-quality visual footage and clear audio for post-production. For the most challenging task of creating a movie trailer, students worked in groups to complete the entire process from "script planning, on-location shooting to post-production editing." Under instructors’ guidance, they further advanced their skills in professional software transition effects, matching background music for documentaries, and subtitle design and production. Their comprehensive filmmaking capabilities and aesthetic literacy saw significant improvement.
Exploring Contextual Expression: Focusing on Spatial Design and Tracing Innovation
The Architecture and Interior Design course revolved around the theme of "Heritage and Innovation." Students first analyzed classic architectural design drawings to deeply understand spatial composition, structural logic, and material properties. They then manually transformed these two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional physical models, learning to draw design inspiration from masterworks while precisely controlling scale and refining details. Subsequently, the focus turned to site analysis of a local historical building—the Museum of Farnham. Through meticulously surveying, mapping, and repeated observation, students deeply integrated the cultural heritage of the historical building with modern spatial functional needs. They conceived and completed the design of adaptive reuse for both the interior and exterior of the museum, ultimately presenting practical and creative design solutions through physical models, achieving a closed loop from "theoretical learning to contextual practice."
Building Individual Portfolios: Advancing Integration of Arts and Techniques
The Art and Design Portfolio Development course constructed a progressive learning path: "Analogue skills - Digital practices - Integrated Presentation." Students first systematically learned analogue skills like calligraphy, screen printing, and linocut in workshops, solidifying the foundation for creative expression. They then gradually transitioned to modern digital practices such as digital poster design, digital typography, and motion graphic poster, expanding the forms of creative presentation. Throughout the course, instructors encouraged students to break away from the single use of tools and boldly unleash their imagination; exchanges of ideas among peers sparked unexpected creativity. Finally, students integrated practical outcomes from different media into a clear narrative structure, forming individualized design portfolios that possess both cultural depth and creative breadth, accumulating high-quality assets for their professional development.
Broadening International Perspectives: Deepening Cross-Cultural Collaboration and Experience
This summer school in the UK was not only a platform for professional enhancement but also a window for cross-cultural exchange. Students collaborated in teams with youth from the UK, Turkey, Mexico, Romania, South Korea, and other countries, engaging in joint research and creation. In the process of collectively addressing design and creative challenges, they enhanced their cross-cultural communication efficiency and teamwork skills. During the visit, students also traveled to London and Oxford to visit the British Museum and the University of Oxford, experiencing firsthand the charm of British history and culture, the characteristics of urban spaces, and the academic atmosphere of world-leading institutions, thereby deepening their understanding of cultural depth. The visit to the seaside town of Brighton allowed everyone to experience diverse life scenarios in a relaxed atmosphere, enriching their overseas experience.
Empowering Talent Development: Building Growth Platforms Through Global Practice
The short-term overseas study has allowed students to benchmark against international standards that broaden their horizons in a "Mobile Classroom," solidifying the foundation for future careers in the global creative field. This summer, leveraging its diverse overseas partnership platforms, the ICI provided students with a rich selection of summer school options. Their footprints covered renowned institutions such as the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and University for the Creative Arts in the UK, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in Germany, Waseda University in Japan, as well as prestigious universities in Hong Kong and Taiwan regions of China. This practice model highly aligns with the Institute's educational philosophy of "cultivating high-quality, application-oriented undergraduate top-notch innovative talents with international perspectives, advanced creative concepts, and innovative capabilities."
The gains from the UK summer school are quite representative. Students shared: "From campus shorts to movie trailers, hands-on practice allowed me to master professional skills and, more importantly, understand the significance of teamwork"; "'Contextual Design' projects made my understanding of architecture jump off the drawings and into real scenes"; "Cross-cultural communication with students from various countries not only broadened my horizons but also taught me to respect cultural differences and how to draw creative strengths from diverse cultural characteristics."
The two-week summer school in the UK is a microcosm of the Institute's overseas practice platforms. In the future, the Institute will continue to build channels for "professional advancement + horizon expansion + cultural exchange," assisting students in growing into creative talents equipped with both professional strength and global competitiveness.
