Sino Italian Design Innovation Online Salon

On April 23, experts and scholars from Tsinghua University and Milan University of Technology held the Sino Italian Design Innovation Online Salon through network connection to discuss how to combat the global spread of the COVID-19 with innovative design and technological innovation services. Yang Bin, Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs of Tsinghua University, and Giuliano Noci, Vice President of Milan Institute of Technology in Italy, attended the event and delivered speeches. The event is hosted by Fu Zhiyong, Deputy Director of the Sino Italian Design Innovation Base.

In his speech, Yang Bin first paid tribute to the workers of China and Italy who fought hard to fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, and expressed deep condolences to the deceased and their families. He called on teachers and students from both schools to turn sadness into positive action, and ignite confidence in jointly fighting the epidemic through innovative design and technological innovation.

Yang Bin pointed out that in the face of global challenges such as public health crisis, climate change, energy and resource security, higher education institutions should shoulder social responsibility, actively play the functions of talent cultivation, scientific research, social services, cultural inheritance, and international exchange and cooperation, and jointly promote world peace, stability, development, and prosperity. He said that he hopes that the two schools can use the high-quality platform of the Sino Italian Design Innovation Base to explore new cooperation models in the fields of innovative design, artificial intelligence, and smart cities, create an art and technology innovation resource chain, cultivate innovative talents with global competence and ability to respond to global challenges, lead the high-level development and enterprise incubation in the field of art and design, and provide support for global sustainable development. Yang Bin said that this year coincides with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Italy, and expects the two universities to seize the new development opportunities brought by the "the Belt and Road" initiative and make due contributions to deepening practical cooperation and scientific, technological and people to people exchanges between the two countries.

Vice President of Politecnico Milan, Nochi, thanked Tsinghua University for its strong support and generous assistance to Politecnico Milan during the pandemic in his speech. He said that all walks of life in China and Italy have united and helped each other, and he believes that they will work together to win the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. Nochi stated that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Italy. Milan Institute of Technology is very much looking forward to a more in-depth and multi-dimensional strategic cooperation with Tsinghua University in 2020. The two universities will work together and actively undertake social responsibilities. He pointed out that the Sino Italian Design Innovation Base has taken a solid step in interdisciplinary fields: launching educational projects, incubating innovation teams, constructing smart cities, and effectively connecting the design innovation resources of the two countries; We look forward to utilizing the high-quality resources of the two universities to explore more efficient achievement transformation and enterprise incubation models in the field of design, and further build a design innovation center with global influence.

In the keynote speech, Claudio Del'Era, Professor of Design Strategy at the School of Management at Politecnico di Milan, Ma Zhaoyuan, Chief Researcher of the Future Laboratory at Tsinghua University, Christopher Grant Kirwan, Project Leader of the Smart City Graduate Program at the Sino Italian Design Innovation Base at Tsinghua University, and Visiting Professor at the Information Science Research Center at the Henri School of Business at Reading University Professor Venanzio Arquilla from the School of Design at Milan Polytechnic University gave academic presentations on the themes of design thinking, creativity and artificial intelligence in digital transformation, how service design in smart cities supports urban resilience, and the new challenges and opportunities of complex product service ecosystems from product to life centered design. In addition, Fu Zhiyong also introduced the relevant situation of the "Volunteer Design and Joint Anti epidemic" action jointly initiated by Tsinghua University and Milan Polytechnic University during the epidemic period. This project explores epidemic prevention experience through design and creation, attracting more than 200 students and corporate designers from Tsinghua University, Milan Institute of Technology, and other design schools at home and abroad to actively participate.

Journalists from media such as Xinhua News Agency, Phoenix Education, and Tencent Education interviewed the attending guests after the event. In an interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency, Yang Bin introduced the online summit and special roadshow of "creating 'art' on air" art and technology held by the Sino Italian Design Innovation Base in conjunction with the China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Alliance of Colleges and Universities, Milan University of Technology and other institutions in the stage of fighting against the COVID-19 epidemic. By means of cloud live broadcast and cloud roadshow, he strengthened international and domestic exchanges and cooperation, created an art and technology innovation resource chain, and helped fight the epidemic. Fu Zhiyong mentioned in an interview that the Sino Italian Design Innovation Base's future plans in talent cultivation will contribute to Tsinghua's construction of a world-class university. This includes launching short-term courses and training programs with high social value, as well as doctoral and master's training programs; Explore an international educational model to cultivate future innovative talents for China and even countries around the world; Develop a blended online and offline teaching model that aims to achieve lifelong learning, project-based learning, and personalized customized courses.

The attending guests also had in-depth exchanges on cooperation in talent cultivation, personnel exchange, joint research, and joint publishing, and discussed how relevant disciplines should play a bridging and linking role in bilateral cooperation between China and Italy.

Li Jinliang, Director of the International Department and Director of the Sino Italian Design Innovation Base, and Wang Hui, Deputy Director of the International Department, participated in the event.

The Sino Italian Design Innovation Base is the first educational and research base established by Tsinghua University in Europe. It is a comprehensive international platform for Sino Italian design innovation cooperation, marking an important step in Tsinghua University's global strategy in Europe. Relying on the disciplinary advantages of Tsinghua University and Milan University of Technology, we will build a design innovation center with global influence, embark on a new path of achievement transformation and business incubation in the field of design, provide support for the cultivation of innovative talents and international cooperation and exchange of the whole school, and commit ourselves to serving the national "the Belt and Road" initiative, promoting the education, scientific research and cultural exchanges between China and Italy, as well as Europe, and the realization of "Made in China" to "Created in China".