Ms Mian Ng

• Qualifications:SFHEA, BA(Hons) Graphic Design, MA Visual Communication. Achievements: 1) Celebrating Culture Hall of Fame Award 2022 - Students’ Union recognition in my EDI work 2) Shortlisted UWE Staff of the Year by Students’ Union 2022
• Position:UWE Lead - Global Partnerships in Social and Cultural Engagement and The Daigo Gambia Project
• Department:Academic Services ACE - Creative and Cultural Industries Future Students, Communications and Marketing Student Recruitment and Marketing Services
• Telephone:+441173284751
• Email:Mian.Ng@uwe.ac.uk
• Social media:

About me

I am an academic leader in social and cultural engagement, focused on building equitable, long-term partnerships between universities and communities. As UWE Bristol’s Lead for Africa Strategy – Social and Cultural Engagement, I lead multi-country collaboration across The Gambia, Uganda, Ethiopia and South Africa, working with higher education institutions, NGOs and cultural organisations to embed ethical, practice-led engagement within learning, teaching and knowledge exchange.

My work is grounded in co-design, inclusive practice and mutual respect, with a strong focus on gender equity, disability inclusion and access to education. I design and lead participatory educational and cultural initiatives that recognise community knowledge as central to learning. This includes long-term programmes such as the Daigo Project, community learning environments at Zoma Museum, and collaborative work with Makerere University, Daughters of Africa Foundation and refugee education partners in South Africa.

My approach combines community impact with institutional capacity-building. To date, my work has engaged over 7,000 community participants and 220 university students, strengthening international trust, enabling cross-institutional collaboration and supporting sustainable partnership development. Through this work, I contribute to positioning UWE as a trusted global partner and am actively developing initiatives aligned with international funders supporting education, equity and community-led research.

Practice Led Publications and Research

1. Daigo Project Digital Research Archive, The Gambia (Website launch 2022)

Open-access digital research platform documenting long-term practice-led inquiry through curated Padlet artefacts, visual ethnography and reflective analysis co-produced with communities and students. Functions as a primary research output and teachingresource. Series of practice-based creative research outputs shown in the filmhighlightin embedded in schools and community spaces, addressing education,environment, disability inclusion and cultural identity.

https://daigogambia.co.uk/

2. Entoto Bamboo Pavilion, Zoma Museum & School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2023)

Architectural research output co-designed with local artisans, educators and UWE MAArchitecture students. Integrates indigenous knowledge, sustainability and pedagogy,nfunctioning as a living educational and cultural space.

3. Film on Elias Sime and Meskerem Assegued, collaborated with Arnolfini & ZomaMuseum (21 October 2023)

Publicly disseminated research film exploring contemporary African art, material practice and cultural pedagogy, presented through a major UK contemporary arts institution. The film was first premiered at Elias’s show in Arnolfini then it was subsequently shown in

Galleries around Europe for his Exhibition tours.

tre for African Social and Economic Transformation (CASET) – Launch Film

Interview Contribution and Powerpoint Presentation (22May 2025)

Public launch film articulating the aims and vision of Social and Cultural Engagement as one of the three pillars of UWE’s Africa Strategy. Pauline Bailey, Director of Daighters of Africa also presented my Powerpoint in my absence while delivering the DaigoProject in The Gambia.

5. Podcast: Beyond Borders – An Approach to Global Education Partnerships (25 March 2025)

School of Education podcast episode examining ethical global education partnerships and practice-led approaches to transnational collaboration, drawing on

Africamengagement work.

New Dawn International Education and Community Outputs, Uganda (4-19 July 2025)

Co-designed learning resources and disability-inclusive educational activities delivered with UWE students, publicly presented to regional leadership including the King of Bamasaba.

7. Three2Six Refugee Education Programme Outputs, South African(August 2025)

Publicly embedded creative and pedagogic outputs developed with refugee and migrant children through animation, play-based learni3 ng and performance.

8. UWE Film: Daigo Project Participant Reflections (3 December 2024)

Public film capturing participant testimonies on the educational and life-changing impact of the Daigo Project.

9. UWE and Bristol Refugee Artists Collective Presentation and Exhibition for Sanctuary University Awarding Panel(21 May 2024)

Coordinated and led the exhibition of collaborative creative work with BRAC artists and UWE students. The highly positive feedback was o0ne of the major factors for UWE’s University of Sanctuary status.

10. SIM Card Project Materials, UK (19 June to 4 July 2024)

Practice-led outputs from a CATE-funded project using adapted Afghan Box photography to explore migration, identity and displacement with refugee artists andstudents. This was disseminated at Bristol Refugee Festival.

11. Arnolfini Collaborative Workshops on Socially Engaged Practice with Children’s University and UWE (23 August 2022)

Papermaking Workshop an an online activity brought to live by UWE students engaged in the “My Culture, My Identity” collaborative project with HKDI.

Public shoot workshop exploring identity, materiality and co-creation thnsocially engaged creative practice.

12. Festival of Learning – Practice-Led Research Presentations, UWE Bristol (2020, 2021)

Public dissemination of research on international student support, participatory arts and social change.

13. Curatorial Talks:

Diverse Voices Public Programme (2020-2021)

Curated public talks with internationally recognised cultural practitioners, informing inclusive pedagogy and academic discourse.

• Vanley Burke (3 March 2021)

Renowned Documentary Photographer documenting the British African Communities since 1960s ) Caribbean

• Lubaina Himid (7 July2021)

UK’s first BlackFemale Artist to win the Turner Prize in 2017

• Tradition to Vision: Reimagining Society through art and Architecture

Black History Month Online Public Talk by Meskerem Assegued (30 October 2025)

Meskerem Assegued Director and co-founder of Zoma explored Architecture, ecology and cultural identity through her work.

14. BRAC Exhibitions: ‘Belonging’ (December 2024) and Garden of Hope (April 2025), at Centre Space Gallery, Bristol

Public exhibitions co-created with the Bristol Refugee Artists Collective and UWE students, foregrounding refugee-led practice.

15. My Culture, My Identity – International Online Coneference with Institute of Technical Education, Singapore on the Project between , HKDI & UWE (22 March 2022)

Online collaborative project addressing international student mental health and identity during the pandemic. The Conference was online in 3 places/countries- Hong Kong, Singapore and UWE, Bristol.

16. Bridging Programme for International Students – UWE L3 TNE Progression (2018-2022)

Designed and led a structured academic and cultural transition programme for international students articulating into UWE’s Level 3 TNE pathway.

Key features:

• Academic skills & writing support

• Assessment literacy and UK pedagogic orientation

• Confidence-building, cultural adaptation, and peer integration

• Tailored support for smooth transition into final-year study

Impact:

• Improved academic readiness

• Enhanced retention and attainment

• Stronger sense of belonging

• Recognised contribution to UWE’s international student success strategy

Selected Earlier Outputs (Pre-2019)

(Indicative – demonstrates continuity of practice-led research and public engagement)

• BBC Documentary: Takeaway Lives- A film about young Chinese women working and living in the Take Away world, exploring race, culture and identity. (Co-Director)

• Arts Council: Tibetan Arts in Exile (Director)

• Home O[ice: Bilingual Domestic Violence website for Chinese communities ( Content

Developer and Facilitator for the Women’s workshops)

• British Film Institute: Research on MooiJai (Hong Kong & China)

Research on the selling of young Chinese girls as bond servants in China before the Cultural Revolition

• Design Council Taiwan: World International Design Expo (Curator)

• Design Council Singapore: Masterclass Series (Lead)

• British Council, New Delhi: Public lecture on conceptual thinking

Area of expertise

Social Engagement Projects with students in Learning and Teaching:

 My Culture, My identity (February to May 2022)

Online International collaborative project between Hong Kong Design Institute and UWE students. The project looking at mental health issues of International students during the pandemic

 Collaboration between Health Science and

MA Graphic Arts students (March 2022- July 2022)

Information packs and educational materials for the awareness of health issues in Physiotherapy and in Optometry for Bristol's diverse communities

 Collaboration with Bristol Refugees Artists Collective (BRAC) (2019-present)

Co-creation of Art work for Exhibition at the Bristol Refugee Festival.

 Sim Card Project with the Sim Card Project (November-June 2023)

My joint proposal for 'The Sim Card Project'  will train BRAC artists and International students on how to use an adaptation of the 'Afghan Box' camera to take images, exploring culture, identity, displacement, and migration. Later they will engage with Schools using the same workshops.

Collaboration with Arnolfini and Children's University:

(2021 to Present)

International students delivering creative workshops to families sharing their culture with the Bristol Communities. Workshops in Papermaking and Lantern making.

Global Impactful Project: 

The Daigo Gambia Project (2019-Present)

42 UWE students from different disciplines to deliver 2-

week team projects in the Gambia. During the 2 trips       

UWE students shared their knowledge and skills with 780 Gambian participants.  The experience was impactful and    life changing for all participants.

The Daigo Project is being piloted to be embedded in MA Architecture and BEd programmes.

Outreach (December 2020 to December 2021)

Staff and students developed and delivered creative

projects that engaged and inspired young people from

schools and colleges                                                                                       

Publications

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