Last night the UAL Alumni Association and LCF Careers hosted a panel discussion for current UAL students interested in working in the creative industries in China. Over sixty current students from all the six UAL colleges attended the event at the London College of Fashion to get advice from key industry contacts in China.
Chaired by Adam Watling, Client Team Manager at London College of Fashion, the panel represented a wealth of experience across the creative industries in China.
Oliver Pearce, LCC alum and President of the UAL Shanghai Alumni Association gave a presentation about his six years of experience working as a journalist in China. He talked about the importance of networking, and how beneficial setting up the Shanghai alumni group has been, not just for him, but for many other UAL alumni based in the region. He also covered about how he is working with Joe Oliver, President of the UAL Beijing alumni group, to expand and create a China-wide association, in the hope to represent smaller groups in other regions.
Jiang Li, LCC alum, PR & Marketing Manager at G-Star RAW, and a prominent member of the Shanghai alumni group, talked frankly about how important it is to be brave and put yourself out there in order to get noticed by employers.
Nikki Hill, Talent Development Manager at Burberry spoke about the culture shock she experienced when faced with negotiating Shanghai by herself, without any Mandarin, but also how enjoyable and valuable her time working for Burberry in China turned out to be.
Finally, Krisha Chavda, LCF current student, BA (Hons) Cordwainers Footwear: Product Design and Development, told the audience about her year in industry working for United Nude in Guangzhou. She believes her year in China has added a new dimension to her designs, and also vouched for the excellence of Chinese hospitals!
There was lots to discuss, and the panellists were inundated with questions from the students at the networking drinks that followed the discussion.
The UAL Alumni association have more events like this in the pipeline, with the hope that Presidents from our other international groups will follow suit. We have the largest creative network in the World, and want our students and alumni to utilise this network after graduation, wherever they are in the world.
You can find images of more past alumni events here