News & Events

​The New School of Design Building at Shanghai Jiao Tong University 

Celebrated with Soaring Balloons and Accolades

​On the morning of April 7th, along with the occasion of the 127th anniversary of the establishment of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the 5th anniversary of the School of Design, the opening ceremony of the New Design Building was held at Minhang campus. Ding Kuiling, president of SJTU and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Lin Zhongqin, former president and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and other guests, faculty, staff and students attended the ceremony. The ceremony was moderated by Xi Lifeng, vice president of SJTU.

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​On behalf of the college, Ruan Xing expressed a warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to the guests who attended the opening ceremony of the building. With the title of “a gift, a 'home' for everyone”, he described the original intention and design concept of the building. Ruan Xing said that the Design Building is an open, shared and inclusive “home” and a gift from the School of Design to the faculty, staff and students of the whole university. The completion of the building benefited from the high degree of trust of the university and the strong support of all departments and units. As the “home” of all SJTUers, he expects that the building will become a platform for interdisciplinary and science-art integration, as well as a campus hall that breaks the boundaries of interpersonal exchanges. He wished all faculty and students of the School of Design to take the opening of this building as a new starting point to reach new heights, actively promote the new development of design disciplines, and build a world-class School of Design with distinctive Jiao Tong characteristics. Subsequently, student representative Li Qingyun shared her study experience and perception of developments within the School of Design.

On behalf of the University, Ding Kuiling expressed his warm congratulations on the opening of the School of Design building. He expressed his hope that the School of Design can take this opportunity to cultivate more outstanding socialist builders and successors who keep the nation in mind, and use professional skills to serve national strategies such as rural revitalization and cultural inheritance; give full play to the advantages of internationalization, and seize the opportunity of hosting the China Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, to show Chinese wisdom, to tell Chinese stories, and to create a new international high ground for design practice.

​Lin Zhongqin reviewed the details of the establishment of the School of Design with affection, fully affirmed Dean Ruan Xing’s dedication and wisdom, and called on all faculty and students to take the completion of the new building to build a common spiritual home for everyone. In the end, he announced that the design building was officially opened.

The guests, faculty and students witnessed this moment together. The red balloons on hand symbolized enthusiasm, youth, and vigor. As the balloons were released, a radiant vision of a bright future for the School of Design was on hand.