Students Needed but Not Wanted

Students Needed but Not Wanted explored different forms of precarity through research, reflection and critical enquiry. As a group, we developed a set of values that became lenses for examining and comparing precarious situations. This process helped us identify recurring themes, organise our findings and define the key questions that shaped the direction of the project. Heitor Laforga, Gabriela Cladellas, Tamara Markey & Sophie Ronan.

Design Research

Industry: Academia

Deliverables:Research ReportDesign ReviewSupporting AssetsRecommendations

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An exploration of precarity as a condition of insecurity and instability that affects overall aspects of living.

Through the research process, the conditions experienced by international students living and working in Ireland became the focal point of interest. Particularly students studying under Stamp 2 permission, balancing education with part-time employment while navigating insecure work, housing pressures and the wider challenges of establishing a life in a new country. Their experiences became a lens through which broader questions around migration, labour and inequality were explored.

A design research approach was used to connect individual experiences with the wider political, social and economic systems surrounding them, informing a wider understanding of the conditions that contribute to precarity.

The research was, as a final output, translated into a series of visual outputs designed to make the findings more accessible and encourage discussion. These included a research report and a photographic publication.