Overseas Learning Experience

Study trips are organised for our students at the School or Faculty level during the semester or vacation period where they have the chance to attend international conferences and exhibitions, visit relevant industries and institutions, and explore world-famous heritage sites. These trips go a long way in broadening their perspectives and gaining a better understanding and appreciation of what they are studying in the classroom. 

Past trips include:

• Italy - World Expo Exhibition and Venice Biennale 
• Thailand - Chulalongkorn University 
• Australia - Victorian College of the Arts 
• Nanning, China - ASEAN Theatre Festival and Forum 
• Guangzhou, China and Hong Kong - for fabric sourcing, factory tours and market studies
• Angkor Wat, Ayutthaya, and other Southeast Asian countries - for interdisciplinary projects on Southeast Asian art

We conduct overseas immersion programmes with our overseas partner institutes of higher learning during the school vacation period for our diploma students. Through participation in lectures, project work, workshops, industry visits, and field trips, students get to interact with and learn from the esteemed faculty members of the host institutions, gain invaluable insights from industry experts, and learn more about other cultures. Students will gain credits towards their NAFA diploma upon the completion of the programme.

Our students collaborate with partner institutions overseas on research, art and design, and performance projects, gaining invaluable industry and educational experiences in the process. 

3D Design students have been collaborating with King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) in Thailand since 2014 for FurnitureORIGINS, a furniture design exhibition by students from both institutions. The collaborative nature of the project provides an authentic learning experience for students as they acquire skills in design entrepreneurship—from ideation to hands-on fabrication to exhibiting at professional platforms—and forges the beginnings of a network between students from the two countries.

Past projects include the collaboration between the School of Music and Tainan National University of the Arts in Taiwan for the NAFA-Tainan University of the Arts Voice Recital, which has provided overseas performance experience and networking opportunities for the students.

Our partnerships with established institutions of higher learning in countries across the globe ensure our students have a variety of exchange programme options to participate in. These semester-long programmes are a wonderful opportunity for students to experience different cultures, teaching them independence and giving them a broader outlook and approach to their artistic practice. Upon completion of the programme, students will be granted module exemptions for their NAFA diploma. 

Our 3D Design diploma students spend up to one semester in Thailand at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), attending classes, working on projects with the students and lecturers from KMUTT and participating in cross-cultural activities.

Final-year Bachelor of Music (Honours) and Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Instrumental & Vocal Teaching  students  have the opportunity to undertake a seven-week international placement at the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London. Bachelor of Music (Honours) students majoring in Chinese instruments will have the opportunity to undertake a 10-week international placement at the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) in Beijing. Students will not only attend lessons, but will also have opportunities to perform in orchestras and ensembles in both RCM and CCOM.

Second-year Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Design Practice, Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Fine Art, and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Performance Making students have the opportunity to spend five to seven weeks on an international placement at the University of the Arts London, studying with international practitioners and experts in their fields. While in London, students will find themselves immersed in the richness of the lively cultural capital, with opportunities to experience diverse art practices as well as gain fresh perspectives on design and performance making.

We are pleased to offer our students bachelor with honours degree courses with these prestigious universities from the United Kingdom (UK). Our continued partnership with the respective institutions widen our students’ access to quality international higher education through their overseas placements and maintain world-class standards aligned with NAFA’s ethos of creating holistic arts practitioners.