On March 13, the Royal College of Art Shanghai Centre (RCA Shanghai Centre) was officially unveiled at our university. Among the attendees were Jiang Fan, Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Education and Health Commission Party Committee; Xiang Yanxun, President of Donghua University; Professor Christoph Lindner, President and Vice-Chancellor of the Royal College of Art; Ye Linlin, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission; Lu Weibing, Vice President of Donghua University; and Professor Ken Neil, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of the Royal College of Art. The event also brought together renowned experts and scholars from China’s leading art and design institutions, including Tsinghua University, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Tongji University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Nanjing University of the Arts, Hunan University, Jiangnan University, and Shanghai University. The event was hosted by Sun Jie, Dean of the College of Fashion and Design at Donghua University.
(Xiang Yanxun, President of Donghua University, delivering a speech)
In his remarks, Xiang Yanxun stated that Donghua University and the Royal College of Art have achieved remarkable results through collaboration in academic exchanges, talent cultivation, and scientific research. The official unveiling of the RCA Shanghai Centre marks not only a significant milestone in turning the two institutions' cooperation plan into reality, but also serves as a key platform for deepening education's opening up to the world in the inaugural year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, aiming to cultivate world-class talents by leveraging world-class educational resources and innovation drivers. The Centre will add fresh impetus to Shanghai's efforts to build itself into a world-class "City of Design" and a renowned "City of Fashion", while injecting innovative design vitality into the implementation of Shanghai's strategic positioning as "five centers".
(Christoph Lindner, President and Vice-Chancellor of the Royal College of Art, delivering a speech)
Christoph Lindner said that Shanghai is a city of great promise in fields such as creative education, innovation, design, architecture, and cutting-edge industries. On behalf of the Royal College of Art, he expressed gratitude to the Party Committee of Shanghai Municipal Education and Health Work and the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission for their care and support for the collaboration between the two institutions. The two sides will build a mutually beneficial partnership grounded in a shared vision, using creative thinking to jointly address environmental challenges and the advent of the AI era.
An inauguration ceremony for the RCA Shanghai Centre was held at the event. Jiang Fan, Xiang Yanxun, Christoph Lindner, Ye Linlin, Lu Weibing, Ken Neil, and Sun Jie jointly witnessed this historic moment.
During the conference, a certificate presentation ceremony for Honorary Advisors to the Global Strategic Advisory Committee on Art and Design was also held, along with the inaugural VitD National Leadership Conference of Art and Design Schools. The events focused on interdisciplinary integration, reform of teaching and learning in design disciplines, and internationalization of education, with participants sharing cutting-edge insights and practical experiences.
Reportedly, the official unveiling of the RCA Shanghai Centre marks the first time that the Royal College of Art, a world-leading art institution with a history of nearly 200 years, has established a strategic cooperation platform in China. As a world-class creative industry hub and interdisciplinary research platform with a global reach, the Centre will focus on deep collaboration in areas such as high-end education programs, industry-university-research cooperation, innovation and entrepreneurship education, and alumni services, injecting new impetus into art and design education in China and beyond.
