During the first year of my undergraduate studies in product design, I joined an exchange programme to study street furniture in Elisava, Barcelona. After two weeks of research and brainstorming, my classmates and I designed a revamp project for a small corner in Barcelona. We used recycled materials from construction waste combined with design treatment ideas from Gaudi to create a new playground on the street.

In 2015, I joined the International Youth Leader Innovation Conference organised in Taiwan. The conference is a global conference joined by product design students from different countries to exchange their ideas for designing for the future. We worked in teams with other participants on a new product that followed a theme. Our team won the third-best design concept of a home planting device that utilised kitchen wastes as fertilisers.

The following year in 2016, I participated in another design workshop organised by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. Students from NTU and our school used Asian cultural insights to design a series of lifestyle products that speak to the traditions of Singaporean culture. That was one of the best overseas exchange experiences.

Since I graduated from university, I have worked as a designer in a sporting goods manufacturing and retailing company over the past four years. Previously, my work had been focused on graphic design projects. But because I started to be involved in UX and rebranding projects, taking up this course is an excellent opportunity for me to enhance my knowledge and strengthen my strategic planning skills.

After completing my master's, my short-term goal is to use what I learn during the course in the worldwide rebranding project of the company that promotes local elements in a global setting. After five years, I firmly believe that I will be ready to contribute to rebranding projects of local brands that aim at transforming themselves to reach a broader market regionally or even globally.