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Key details

Date

  • 9 August 2019

Author

  • RCA

Read time

  • 1 minute

The Pokémon Scholarships support pioneering students who demonstrate the potential for breaking new ground with their creative forces in the visual arts, design and communications.The scholarship provides full-fee scholarships for two second year students and a week-long trip to Japan to visit the Pokémon Studios.

The 2019/2020 Pokémon Scholars Marie (MA Fashion Menswear) and Ye (MA Intelligent Mobility) are both students from the School of Design. 

Paul Anderson, Dean of the School of Design, said: 'We're thrilled that the Pokémon Company, known for their innovative and future-thinking designs, has committed to investing in our students for a second year. We are proud of this on-going relationship and their generous scholarships allow our students the opportunity to experience a new culture and way of thinking.'

Tsunekazu Ishihara, CEO of The Pokémon Company, said:  ‘We were impressed, as always, by the quality of the RCA students. The intention behind our selection this year was to extend help to those who showed the potential to redefine an established field with a long history, and to greatly broaden it with their practice.’

Ye is currently studying the 15-month Masters in Intelligent Mobility after previously studying material science and nanoengineering at Rice University, Houston Texas. Originally from China, Ye made the leap from engineering to design as a result of her childhood dream of creating ‘living’ cars. 

Discussing the scholarship, she said: ‘I am so happy to be given the chance to have constructive and valuable exchange with The Pokémon Company. The scholarship encourages me to be bold in my creative practice. I hope it will eventually benefit the franchise, much like the mutual growth process between Pokémon and Pokémon trainers.’

Marie explores the relationship between fiction and reality in her fashion designs and holds a BA from Beckmans College of Design from her native Stockholm, Sweden.

‘I find The Pokémon Company and its dynamic world, highly inspiring since they are constantly evolving and is a progressive creative force in various fields,’ Marie said. ‘The Scholarship will ultimately transform my practice, as it will secure me with the support in order to push my explorations further than before without having the fear of constraints.’