Ma Rui is a fourth-year student of SCC's Department of Culture Creativity and Design at UIC, and she will go to UCL's MA Film Studies Programme to pursue her master's degree after graduation.
Ma Rui
"I have always been passionate about media and cultures," said Ma, "and I was attracted by UIC's profound arts atmosphere and well-equipped facilities during a campus visit when I was still in high school." As a result, she chose to start her college life at UIC firmly.
In Ma's opinion, UIC's Culture, Creativity and Management Programme perfectly combines the knowledge of arts and business. Its students can learn to think creatively while practising a business mindset meticulously through diverse courses such as Principles of Exhibition Design and Principles of Creative Arts Management.
Ma Rui designed a tea set with her teammate in 2022
She added that UIC's international and English-teaching environment had equipped her with the hard skills necessary to cope with any unfamiliar situations.
UIC not only offers a curriculum of high quality but faculty members with strong expertise. Ma recalled the guidance she received from Dr Wang Xi, who greatly supported her academic development. Under his instruction, she participated in design competitions, winning good results, and managed to publish papers at international conferences.
Ma Rui and her classmate with Dr Wang Xi (first from left) and Dr Purrie Ng (first from right)
Ma Rui's paper is accepted by an international seminar
Ma has spent her time at UIC with fruitful results.
She won multiple scholarships at UIC, including first and second-class awards. As she deepened her understanding of cultural industries such as curatorial, museum, contemporary art and more, she eventually found a strong research interest in film. She decided to study the film industry at the master's level.
UIC's curriculum setting enabled her to choose at least one film-related course each semester, allowing her to accumulate enough film knowledge for further study. She also joined student film groups during her spare time, learning film production in practice.
Ma Rui with Dr Shannon Zhao
She participated in multiple activities while being concentrated on her study. She took part in exhibition events and acted as a student teaching assistant in the School of General Education.
Ma Rui acts as a student teaching assistant
Ma has planned her academic road in advance. "I tend to plan before taking any steps, for every step will lead me to my future goals." As for her master's study, she hopes to get an in-depth understanding of the artistic and socio-cultural values of the film world.
From MPRO
Reporter: Cecilia Yu
Photos provided by the interviewee
Editor: Deen He
