The first "Building Qingdao International Design Education Platform Forum" is held in TASA

On the afternoon of October 22, 2019, Tsinghua (Qingdao) Academy of Arts and Science Innovation Research (TASA) held the "Building Qingdao International Design Education Platform Forum". David Grossman, President of the International Council of Design (ico-D), was invited to TASA and attended the Forum. 

ZHAO Chao, Deputy Dean of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (AADTHU) and Deputy Director of TASA, met with President Grossman, had an in-depth discussion, and reached a consensus on deepening further cooperation in the field of design. 

ZHOU Xinzheng, Deputy Director of Science and Technology Division of Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, DONG Jinwu, Deputy General Director of the Development and Construction Headquarters of Lingshan Bay Film and Television Culture Zone in Qingdao, QU Kuixuan, Deputy Director of Qingdao Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Public Service Center, LIU Yancong, Assistant to the President of China University of Petroleum (East China), DONG Fangyong, Deputy Director-General of the West Coast New Area Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, WANG Chunjuan, Deputy Director-General of the West Coast New Area Bureau of Education and Sports, and WANG Linlin, Secretary General of Qingdao Industrial Design Association, attended the Forum. 

Mr. ZHAO Chao reviewed the development history of academic exchanges between ico-D and China and briefly introduced the intention of ico-D to settle in Qingdao. He stressed that, as the most famous design promotion organization in the world, ico-D attracts members from over 65 countries, including design education organizations, professional design organizations, and professional designers, and plays a pivotal role in design globalization. ico-D would cooperate with AADTHU, and TASA to integrate top design resources around the world and jointly build the only international design education laboratory in the world. Furthermore, it would collaborate with other industries in Qingdao to achieve collaborative innovation and common development and build an international leading self-independent innovation system, thus making Qingdao an international design innovation center. 

Deputy Director ZHOU Xinzheng said that Qingdao is an industrial city with numerous international famous brands and can provide a favorable development foundation for industrial design. The international high-end design resources and science education resources should be introduced to promote the development of the industry and manufacturing sector in Qingdao, He hoped that TASA and ico-D could regard Qingdao as an innovation and cooperation base, introduce high-end design talents to cooperate with enterprises, improve the brand added-value and international competitiveness of enterprises, and build Qingdao into a first-class industrial city in the world. 

Deputy General Director DONG Jinwu hoped that ico-D could further cooperate with TASA, to jointly build the international design education platform in Qingdao, bring China's design industry in line with international standards, improve the level of design talents cultivation in China, and jointly promote Qingdao's industrial upgrading and development of innovation industry. 

In his speech, President Grossman stressed the special significance of China's design industry to design globalization and its enormous development potential. He said that ico-D would focus on China and utilize its broad international background and abundant human resources, to improve the infrastructure of China's design industry and cultivate high-end design talents, thus achieving mutual benefits and win-win results. 

The guests delivered keynote speeches and held a Q&A session on themes such as "Promoting industrial development of Qingdao", "Gathering high-end design education resources", and "Transforming traditional design concepts". More than 50 people attended the Forum, including representatives from Tsinghua University Alumni Association, entrepreneurs from Qingdao Industrial Design Association, and teachers and Industrial Design majors in universities in Qingdao.