The 2nd Salon for "Building Qingdao International Design Education Platform" was successfully held, with celebrities and experts providing pragmatic experience and methods!

In order to fully practice the spirit of the General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech in Tsinghua University, better the cultural and educational communication and cooperation across the world, speed up the integration of art, science and technology, and improve the international image of the West Coast New Area in terms of the innovative integration and development of art and science to make it the first choice for the global transfer and transformation of the innovative integration of art and science, the Tsinghua (Qingdao) Academy of Arts and Science Innovation Research (TASA) held the 2nd Salon for "Building Qingdao International Design Education Platform" in the afternoon of April 24, 2023. Mr. David GROSSMAN, Former President of International Council of Design (ICoD), was invited to participate in relevant activities. Experts and scholars from governments at all levels, industries, universities and academies in Qingdao discussed the relationship between art and technology and their roles of complementing each other, and shared relevant experiences and ideas on empowerment by design and its technical practice.

Before the commencement of the salon, the visitors, experts and scholars visited various exhibitions hosted by TASA, including the "Where Art Meets Science · A Better Future is Created" International Works Exhibition, the Exhibition on Health, Well-being and Senior-friendly Design, and the Excellent Works Exhibition of Global Sportswear Design Award. A large number of impressive exhibits from all over the world showed the latest achievements of related global frontier industries of art and science, making everyone to the exhibition be full of hope and understanding about the industrialization of research findings.

Leaders and experts from over 50 government departments, universities and enterprises attended the salon, including ZHOU Cheng, Deputy Head of West Coast New Area, PAN Ping, Director of Science and Technology Division of Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, ZHAO Chao, Vice President of ICoD and Vice President of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University and Vice President of Tsinghua (Qingdao) Academy of Arts and Science Innovation Research, LIU Zhensheng, Deputy Commander of Development and Construction Headquarter of Lingshan Bay Film and Television Culture Industry Area, ZHANG Haijian, Deputy Head of Organization Department of Working Committee of Qingdao West Coast New Area and Director of Qingdao West Coast New Area Talent Recruitment Center, XU Yong, Deputy Director of Qingdao West Coast New Area Bureau of Industry and Information Technology (Bureau of Science and Technology, Bureau of Big Data), ZHENG Guixin, Deputy Director of Qingdao West Coast New Area Bureau of Culture and Tourism, HU Ruiyan, Deputy Director of New Economic Development and Promotion Center of Qingdao West Coast New Area, ZHOU Qingyue, Deputy Director of Film and Television Industry Development Center of Qingdao West Coast New Area, LI Hongwen, Dean of College of Art of Qingdao University of Science and Technology, MA Jianwei, Chairman of Qingdao Industrial Design Association, ZHAO Bo, Head of Industrial Design Department of College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of Qingdao University, and LIU Weidong, Secretary of Party Branch and Assistant to the Dean at TASA. About 200 visitors, including the heads of relevant government departments, representatives on behalf of the faculty and students from colleges and universities in Qingdao and entrepreneurs from relevant industries, and representatives from various trade associations, participated in the activities.

In the era of post pandemic, TASA has made every effort to accelerate its development and construction, continuously introduce high-end resources at home and abroad, carry out a series of high-quality academic and industrial activities, so as to create excellent achievements integrating industries and academics. ZHOU Cheng, Deputy Head of West Coast New Area, highly valued the aforesaid working achievements. He pointed out that, the salon with world-wide vision hosted by TASA created a positive link to innovative talent resources for internationalization, which not only fully implemented the development guiding spirit proposed by ZENG Rong, Vice President of Tsinghua University and WANG Qingyuan, Head of Qingdao West Coast New Area at the management committee meeting of TASA, but also provided a substantial boost for the construction of first choice for the global transfer and transformation of the innovative achievements of art and science for West Coast New Area. He felt satisfied that TASA was empowering the development of the key industrial chain of the West Coast New Area, engaging in creating the exchange platform of the innovation resources in the West Coast New Area, and attracting high-quality talents of scientific research for the West Coast New Area to support the technological innovation and industrial development of the new area with a focus on playing the role of the advantage of the resources in all disciplines from Tsinghua University. He stressed that related departments of the West Coast New Area will maintain sound cooperation with TASA to work jointly to build a public service platform for industrial upgrading and talent cultivation, provide strong support for the development of TASA, and prepare for international resources introduction and projects practice and transformation.

Division Head PAN Ping delivered a welcome speech to the salon, and she felt encouraged by TASA's efforts to invite international top design experts and scholars to support Qingdao to create a high-level exchange platform of design for industry-university-research cooperation. She stated that as the transformation and upgrading of Qingdao's manufacturing industry and the high-quality development were further promoted, the added value of products empowered by design was enhanced, and the efficiency of upholding the technological innovation became more prominent. The service platform of industrial design coordinated with innovation jointly developed by TASA and Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology is striving to work out an effective way to help enterprises for improvement and further development. In the future, Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology will keep offering support to TASA to set up cooperation with international resources, such as ICoD, introduce high-end design talents to local enterprises for further development, attract famous industrial design institutions at home and abroad to settle down in Qingdao, and help TASA become a new international center gathering industrial design talents and integrating industries in Qingdao. By doing so, it can make contributions to prepare Qingdao for the development of a modern advanced industrial city.

Mr. David GROSSMAN, a renowned designer in the world, has been engaged in developing the infrastructure of China's design industry and has been the organizer and director of many international design events. He has been enthusiastic about the development of TASA and highly recognized the achievements of TASA in terms of the R&D of platform innovation, the development of scientific research institutions, and academic activities. He underlined that the mode that TASA established close strategic cooperation with the local municipal government, universities, enterprises, and associations to achieve information exchange, resource sharing, and complementary advantages to help the high-quality development of the local economy and social culture was worth prevailing for reference. As TASA boasts a prospective top-level planning for development and a thorough system of infrastructure, it is fully capable to grow into a typical international design center. As ICoD is working hard with TASA to create an international design industry laboratory, he expected that Qingdao could create an industrial design center based on the resources of TASA, gather groups of teachers and students from the world's first-class design colleges and universities, integrate local industrial resources, and take initiative to innovate and design workshops to drive both the innovation and R&D ability of Qingdao enterprises and the high-quality development of design disciplines in colleges and universities.

Vice President ZHAO Chao reviewed the significant achievements made by TASA in developing the park, and R&D of key projects since the first Forum on "Building Qingdao International Design Education Platform". With high-quality resources from enterprises, colleges and universities, and society, TASA has developed nearly 30 R&D laboratories in six industrial fields in terms of future travel, fashion, and health and welfare with giant enterprises at home and abroad including Hisense Group and Fashion Group, targeting to promote the industrial transformation of research results. He expressed that TASA worked actively to practice the idea of development on the integration and innovation of art and science, and extensively carry out scientific research and innovation in the fields of science and technology, humanities and social sciences, and art and design. TASA expects to establish in-depth cooperation with local governments, colleges and universities, and enterprises to jointly develop laboratories or conduct the R&D of projects and create a major innovation base for cultural and technological integration based on comprehensive disciplinary advantages of art and design of Tsinghua University to serve the local economic, and social and cultural development together.

President LI Hongwen expressed his congratulations to TASA on the great achievements in carrying out the deeply integrated development mode of "Government-industry-university-research-finance collaboration". He emphasized that colleges and universities and research institutions can't thrive without basic research and talent cultivation. With the idea of building Qingdao's international design platform, the College of Arts of Qingdao University of Science and Technology will work with TASA to find opportunities for cooperation, integrate the advantage of resources from both sides, set up joint offices, and establish a base for the integration of industry, university, and research. By doing so, they can carry out in-depth cooperation in empowering local industries and improving the education of design disciplines.

Chairman MA Jianwei stated that Qingdao Industrial Design Association will maintain exchanges and cooperation with TASA as the cooperation between the two sides in the early stage is of great significance for enterprises to seek self-development and improve the quality of entrepreneurs. He suggested that Qingdao should give full play to resource advantages from TASA and work hard to build a new highland of international industrial design, boost social influence and attract enterprises' attention, build a joint platform for new industrial design, and an incubation platform for raising designers to uphold enterprises for further development with outstanding talents.

Director ZHAO Bo deeply recognized the research and development platform of future-oriented travel innovation, life innovation, and sustainable development on culture built by TASA, and the innovative development mode of art and science integration. He expected to seek cooperation with TASA and work jointly to develop various platforms for TASA, to develop institutions of industrial design research, promote industrial design targeting the needs of users and industrial development, and practice the significant idea of sustainable development in economy, culture, environment, and society.

XIANG Hongliang, Chairman of Qingdao Linhe Green Power System Company, was impressed by the research results on the interdisciplinary of TASA and expressed that he has gained major inspiration and confidence from the sustainable design concept of TASA, which fits closely with the industrial condition and art and science integration. He proposed the idea of cooperation and introduced the practicing background in line with the rural revitalization strategy. He aims to work with TASA to build a sustainable research and development laboratory of agricultural engineering machinery to facilitate the modernization of the agricultural industry.

SHAN Xiaodong, Art Director of Qingdao Qingxin Culture and Art Co., Ltd., is deeply touched by the development mode and achievements of TASA. He stated that he would work actively to enhance cooperation with TASA, participate in developing related industrial innovation platforms, serve leading enterprises, constantly meet the needs of high-end market users, and get involved in the research of national major projects to build an innovation ecology in the field of industrial design.

During the salon, with active participation in diversified discussions, all of the experts and scholars recognized the work achievements of TASA and placed great expectations on the future development of TASA. At the same time, they also delivered keynote speeches and Q&A sections based on topics in terms of Qingdao's urban development and industrial planning, the logical features of enterprise design, the new path of integrating the art and science innovation, the specific measures to improve the capability of public service for industrial design, and the further development on the scope and quality of the integration of design and industrial chain. Ideas on cooperation and concepts of co-construction emerged from participants through their intensive exchanges. Besides, colleges and universities and enterprises expressed their sincere wishes to establish cooperation with TASA with an aim to gather industries and talents and work jointly to support TASA to create an international resource-integrated center for innovative design in Qingdao.