Raffles Design Institute

When his wife wanted to learn Mandarin in Singapore, Tahitian Philippe Faure, 32, decided to take the chance to revive his passion for design.

So he quit his job as the manager of the Sheraton Hotel shop in Tahiti and moved here with his wife and three children, aged seven months, 5 and 8 years old, in July last year.

He then enrolled at Raffles Design Institute's (RDI) Bachelor of Design (Product Design) programme. The degree is awarded by the Raffles College of Design and Commerce in Sydney.

Raffles Design Institute was established in 1990. It offers internationally recognized bachelor's and master's degree studies in the professional disciplines of Fashion Design, Interior Design, Multimedia Design, Animation, Games Design, Visual Communication (Graphic Design), Jewellery Design, Product Design and Furniture Design.

Mr Faure's decision to pursue his passion paid off when the table lamp he designed and created was selected as a winner for a design competition called 'Bring the Sparkle Back'.

The competition, which was held in collaboration with Frasers Centrepoint, challenged 18 students to turn last Christmas' decorations into sparkling new creations.

The finalists' works were displayed at the Centrepoint Shopping Centre as part of the Orchard Reloaded campaign, a series of events organised to promote the new Orchard Road to Singapore residents and visitors from 1 to 22 May.

Mr Faure described his design concept as 'the meeting of two drops of water', resulting in a table lamp shaped like an inverted heart.

Now in the first year of his three-year degree course, he gives RDI's Department of 3D Design, the thumbs-up.

He said: 'My lecturers taught me the fundamentals and techniques of design. But they gave me the freedom to express my ideas while still providing guidance on which path to take.'

Mr Faure is not a complete newcomer to the world of design. He had previously studied interior design in Paris for two years before switching to tourism as it was the 'highest revenue-earning industry' in Tahiti.

After working for eight years in the tourism industry, his wife, who is ethnically Chinese, decided that she wanted to learn Mandarin to get in touch with her roots.

SUPPORTED DECISION

Mr Faure, who is of Chinese descent himself, supported her decision.

However, he said juggling studies with family life does require some planning.

He explained: 'Our maid takes care of the kids in the day, while my wife takes care of the kids at night when I have to finish my assignments.

'But it is manageable. The school's timetable is such that there are days where I only have to attend class for half a day. Sometimes we both have half days as we get to work at home on our projects.'

Mr Faure also has nothing but praise for his lecturers, who hail from countries as diverse as Peru and Egypt.

He also finds the school a 'melting pot' of different cultures as the students come from Indonesia, Canada, Sweden, and India, among other countries.

He hopes to be able to work here for a year after graduating, and does not rule out settling here in the long term.