Jade
Gates

What made you choose to study at NTU?
“I’ve always loved the idea of living away from home and originally I wanted to study in London. However, after attending an open day at NTU it totally changed my mind. I fell in love with the campus - it's so open and the library is massive! Every open day I attended after that didn't compare to NTU.”

What do you enjoy most about studying Fashion Communication and Promotion?
“I enjoy the freedom of being able to do what you are passionate about and our lecturers encourage us to focus on what we find interesting. For our last project we were tasked to find a research topic ourselves and explore the many pathways we could potentially go down.”

Has the course included any live projects?
“The course includes a live project in Final Year, which I am currently completing. My team and I are working with All Saints which is really exciting.”

Have you completed any work placements?
“I completed a one-week work placement at the Harvey Nichols' head office. I worked in their visual merchandising team in London. This was only a short insight to what it could be like working within a professional environment. but it gave me to opportunity to decide whether this was the part of the industry I wanted to pursue my future career in.”

Can you tell us a little bit about your exchange to the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)?
“Where do I begin! I enjoyed every single thing about RMIT - the campus, the city and the people! I met a group of exchange students on my first day, who were in the same position as me. They were my friends for the best part of six months and now my friends for life. I learned so much about Australian fashion, culture and history. I chose four subjects at RMIT - fashion retail and merchandise management, fashion illustration, product ranging and fashion visual merchandising.

“During my time in Australia, I travelled in a camper van and visited the Great Barrier Reef. I also snorkelled and went to the Whitsunday Islands too.”

Why would you recommend other students to take part in an exchange programme?
“Going to RMIT changed so many things for me. My experience has made me want to live in Australia when I graduate. As Australia is an English speaking country it was easy for me to adjust once I arrived. It was daunting at first but once I began to settle in, it made me think why didn’t I experience this sooner. I am so grateful I made use of everything NTU offered.”

Why would you recommend studying at NTU?
“NTU offers so much to anyone willing to escape their comfort zone. If you’re wanting to make the most of your studies at university, NTU is the place to be. To say I have met people from around the world, studied in Australia and experienced another culture will instantly make me more employable to potential employers in the future.”