Plan Out Program

How it began 🎬

In 2020, I was in my final year of Bachelor of Industrial Design. As part of the course, I had to do a honours year, a honours project. I could do on any topic for this project. Choosing the topic was not a difficult thing for me as I have already thought about my chosen topic months before my honours year started. As an international student myself and having participated in the Be You Be Scene Project (click to read about my reflection on BYBS), I have been motivated to do my project around the community I belong to. I was going to look at international students’ wellbeing. I was already aware of the various challenges an international student faces when studying in a foreign country and more importantly, I knew I could find support when I would need it during the design process of the project. The next step after deciding the topic was for me looking for a potential organisation with whom I could collaborate. During my volunteering experience in various international student related projects, I had the opportunity to connect and work with different organisations. I chose VicWISE Inc, a not-for profit where I had volunteered for over two years. After discussing about my honours year with Manorani Guy, the president of VicWISE, we have agreed on this collaboration which I was excited about!

The design process ⏳

Discover and Define 💡

In this project, I have used the double diamond design process model and strategic methodologies. The first stage of the project was the research phase. Literature reviews and expert interviews with professionals in education and employability were the main research methods I used. From the research, the key insights about the context of international students’ wellbeing in Australia, academic and financial stressors were the lead causes that affects international students. Since VicWISE focuses on the employability of students, I decided to look more into the financial stressors and students’ employability in Australia. Using an affinity map, main barriers were identified:

• Poor awareness of existing services among students
• A lack of network in Australia, and
• A low self-motivation or pro-activeness from international students to develop their employability and build these networks

Develop and Testing 🛠️

Brainstorming exercises was carried out as well as a consultation session with some of the board members and volunteers of VicWISE were conducted. Ideas were then developed into concepts which were then tested with VicWISE and experts in the field.

The Outcome 📸

The Plan Out Program focuses on a holistic approach to the wellbeing of prospective international students in their study abroad experience. The program consists of online workshops, an individual reflection dossier, and a peer to peer accountability system to support international students plan a relevant abroad journey according to their needs and interests. The workshops and dossier enable users to learn how to plan for their study abroad experience and reflect on the process of them working on the goals they set for themselves. The peer-to-peer approach brings the sense of belonging and support throughout the process. It gives the opportunity for new international students to build their support network at an early stage of their study abroad journey. A website has also been designed for students to learn more about the program, to register and to access the program materials.

View Website Prototype (Desktop)

Personal learnings 🌱

This honours project was not exactly how I expected it to be. Firstly, with the pandemic and lockdown, I never thought I would be doing my final year project online. It was definitely a first for me. I had to learn how to better manage my time and how to be more disciplined working/studying from home. It was important for me to have specific spaces where I work/study, relax and sleep in my studio apartment. Having regular online catch-up with friends and family also helped me to stay connected during the lockdown.

Furthermore, I initially thought that the research interviews would be face to face. I had to adapt to the virtual world, learning and utilising technologies I have not used before.

The whole honours process reinforce what I knew in terms of having people (even strangers) who are willing to help and share their knowledge. I reached out to more people than I what I’m used to. Some of them were people I was familiar to, some were recommended to me and others I found online while doing research.