05 Aug Shenzhen, Friendship and Future Skills in the lead up to Shanghai
Sometimes the most valuable outcomes of an international training camp aren’t the competition results, the projects completed, or even the skills developed — it is the friendships.
After returning home from Shenzhen, Emilie and I received a beautiful note from our Chinese colleagues reflecting on the week we shared together. What stood out most was their comment that exploring Shenzhen and Guangzhou with us helped them rediscover their own cities and appreciate their culture in a new way.
I think that perfectly captures the purpose of international exchange. We travel to learn from others, but often we leave having learned just as much about ourselves.
More Than a Training Camp
The 2026 China-Australia Graphic Design Training Camp brought together Australian Skillaroo — Emilie Flavel, and Chinese competitor Meiting Du. Four new intensive design challenges, presentations and creative problem solving were deployed. Competitors tackled branding, publication design, packaging, merchandising, motion graphics and digital campaign work, all designed to simulate real-world industry projects.
The standard of work was impressive, but what left the biggest impression on me was the attitude of everyone involved. There was genuine curiosity, a willingness to learn, and a shared commitment to helping one another improve. Four new briefs were carefully structured to expose Emilie and Meiting to a diverse range of industry-relevant challenges. Day One focused on brand and digital experience design, including logo development, interactive PDF creation and public-facing digital signage. Day Two shifted into publication design, requiring competitors to produce a 12-page catalogue, manage image data processing and present their concepts professionally. (*We fell in love with MOCAUP whilst in Shenzhen and visited on the final day!)
On Day Three, attention turned to customer experience and commercial design through complicated multi-product membership packaging, information booklets and merchandise development. The final day challenged competitors to think across multiple media, combining motion graphics, poster design and digital outdoor advertising into a complete campaign-focused experience.
Refer to the photos to get a better idea of the projects covered.
Looking Ahead
The Chinese team described Emilie’s experience in Shenzhen as a new and exciting chapter, much like their recent visit to Australia had been for them. I couldn’t agree more.
Emilie grew as a design each day. She built confidence, improved across the board each day, and confirmed that the “best training is always international training”. It simply can’t be replicated in a virtual training plan. It also seemed to hit harder than Global Skills and far more attention on each competitor.
We can’t wait to re-connect in Shanghai.
Final Thoughts and Reflections
Looking back at the Shenzhen Training Camp, several things stand out.
- The exceptional hospitality shown by our hosts. From the moment Sha collected us in the Shenzhen heat, just before the arrival of the ‘Pigeon Typhoon’. Plus, OMG the food we ate was incredible and Rose and Zihong drove us everywhere! Thanks so much for this incredible generosity.
- The passion displayed by the competitors and the commitment shown by Wilson, Sha, Rose, Tracy, Zihong, Meiting and Feng Ting (Ting Ting) was incredible. Tight as family.
- And perhaps most importantly, the genuine partnership that continue to develop between Australia and China through skills training and vocational education. The learning experiences and cultural understanding will last a lifetime.
