AY25/26 ECAC Student Ambassador Training

On 5 September 2025, the English Co-Curricular Activities Committee (ECAC) welcomed a new group of student ambassadors (SA) at the inaugural event of the new semester. After a brief introduction, SAs received their first training by Mr. Gennadiy Belotserkovskiy on elements of information design, laying the foundation for the SAs to create attractive and effective promotional posters for the ECAC upcoming events.

The purpose of the training was clear: to show that design is not just about decoration but about delivering a message effectively and making ideas easy to understand.  At the beginning, Mr. Belotserkovskiy introduced the role of information design and asked participants to think about posters and slides they had seen before, discussing which ones worked and which ones failed. This sparked a lot of laughter and nodding as everyone saw both ‘great examples’ and ‘painful disasters.’ Then they moved into the key principles of design. The SAs explored concepts like visual hierarchy, balance, grids, typography, and the impact of images. Each principle was paired with real examples—some intentionally bad, some very well done. These comparisons made the training clear and memorable. Beyond theory, the workshop gave the SAs a few useful takeaways: a poster or presentation is not just about pretty colors or cool fonts—it is about communicating the right message to the right people in the right way. Many of the SAs said they learned how small changes, like adjusting spacing, contrast, or alignment, can completely change how an audience receives information.

This activity gave the student ambassadors a chance to learn something fun, practical, and instantly useful for their future promotion and work.  A great way to start the semester!  At the end of the workshop, the ambassadors were divided into to design posters for the upcoming Pecha Kucha event // series of events. The winning’s team design was displayed on campus last week (https://e-bulletin.um.edu.mo/notice/432524), while the runner up’s poster is now promoting the Pecha Kucha Competition, https://e-bulletin.um.edu.mo/notice/438953.

As the very first ECAC activity of the year, this workshop set a positive tone. It was not only about learning, but also about bonding – Ambassadors shared laughs, ideas, and reflections.  They gained both practical design skills and a stronger sense of community, ready for more exciting activities ahead.

(Written by Sun Shu Yang, Sonia, ECAC Student Ambassador)