487Zero miles from Preston to China
/Here we feature the D&AD pencil winning project, 487Zero miles from Preston to China. Created by Ya Wang in her final year, the project became an exhibition which told the stories of international students studying far from home. Below is the project synopsis, video and presentation slides.
According to the survey about psychological problems from Yale University, 45% of Chinese students studying abroad express they have the psychological problems.
As a young student studying abroad and being away from your family, friends and loved ones, it can often be a daunting experience. Everything you encounter is slightly different and the culture can often seem strange and confusing at times. This is particularly apparent amongst the communities of Chinese students who have travelled 1000s of miles from their homes to study in UK universities.
Recent research has highlighted that these students can often suffer from a whole variety of psychological problems and barriers. And it is something that is on the increase year on year. The question is how can we further understand, help and support these students through their course of study?
The 487Zero project is a response to the above problem. We have been asking Chinese students across the UCLan campus, here in Preston, to think about and choose a number of personal possessions, ones that may hold a significant or particular meaning to them.
We then invited these students to collect and document these items through photography, and to share the meanings behind each object. By using the Dropbox Paper digital platform to collate and share them, we were able to create an inclusive community.
The subsequent 487zero exhibition, is the resulting culmination of this project. It is aim to expose the problems, share the experience, and strengthen futu re friendships that currently exist within the Chinese student community across the UCLan Preston campus and hopefully beyond.
This is not the end, but the beginning.
