Norland partners with Bath universities for international student photo competition
12 May 2026
Norland partnered with the University of Bath and Bath Spa University to celebrate international student experiences across the city through photography.
Norland was delighted to take part in an international student photo competition, delivered in partnership with the University of Bath and Bath Spa University and sponsored by The Royal Commonwealth Society: Bath and District Branch. The competition invited international students to share their experiences through images that captured connection, care and creativity.
Running from 16 March to 13 April 2026, the competition welcomed entries from international Norland students across two themes: ‘Nurturing Community’ and ‘Repair’.
‘Nurturing Community’ was open to international students at all three institutions and encouraged participants to reflect on how connection shaped their student experience. Students captured moments, places and actions that showed how relationships and shared experiences brought people together, from everyday acts of kindness and cultural exchange to shared meals, collaboration and spaces where they felt included.
Norland’s winner in the joint category ‘Nurturing Community’, was second‑year student Elizabeth (Set 148) from the United States. Her winning image ‘Give and take’ showed a group of young people working together to help one another up a steep, muddy hill during a hike.
Reflecting on the photograph, Elizabeth described how some members of the group took the easier route, while others chose the more challenging climb and relied on support from those who had already reached the top. The image captured her understanding of community as “emptying your tank to fill up another’s” and represented a shared commitment to a collective goal, illustrating how, together, there is always enough to give.
Alongside the joint category, a Norland-only theme, ‘Repair’, was also introduced – reflecting on Norland’s Sustainable Fashion Week theme ‘The power of repair’ and aligning with the thread of sustainable practice woven through Norland’s degree and diploma programme.
This theme invited students to explore what repair meant to them, whether practical, emotional, social or environmental. Students reflected on repair as a process that could be quiet, ongoing and imperfect, rather than a finished result, with interpretations ranging from restoring objects and renewing spaces to acts of care, creative reuse, sustainability and personal growth after a setback.
The winner in this category was third-year student Roxanne (Set 147) with her image ‘Like spring’ which reflected on community, identity and resilience through a personal lens. Drawing on her experience of celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, Roxanne’s image explored themes of renewal and hope associated with the spring equinox.
Each institution selected up to eight finalists per category, which were submitted to a judging panel that chose an overall winner for each theme. Entries were assessed on their connection to the theme, story and feeling, creativity, and visual impact.
Students joined staff from the three institutions at a reception hosted at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution on 29 April where the photographs were displayed.
Norland was delighted to take part in this event in partnership with the University of Bath and Bath Spa University, offering international students a forum to share their creativity.
