Shandong University of Art and Design officially joins the APDF Ivy League
Date：2024-12-11
Recently, Shandong University of Art and Design officially partnered with the Asia Pacific Designers Federation (APDF) and successfully signed a cooperation agreement, earning the honor of joining the APDF Ivy League Universities Alliance. This prestigious alliance includes leading domestic and international institutions such as the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Communication University of China, Sapienza University of Rome, University of Chile, and Spain's IE School of Architecture and Design. The addition of Shandong University of Art and Design further strengthens the alliance's roster. Moving forward, the two parties will focus on key areas such as the development of industry-academia-research integration in design education and platform co-construction. They aim to explore collaborative potential, pool resources, and jointly propel design education to new heights.
On its path to advancing design education, the APDF Ivy League Universities Alliance has long been committed to collaborating with domestic and international institutions. It aims to build high-quality platforms that integrate production, education, and research, providing innovative design talents with more opportunities for learning, showcasing, and exchange. This partnership with SDAD not only brings new vitality to the APDF Ivy League Universities Alliance but also marks a significant step forward in its endeavors to bridge industry and academic education.
Located in Jinan, Shandong Province, SDAD was founded in 1973 and is currently the only design-focused university among independently established public art institutions in China. It is a designated unit under China’s "13th Five-Year Plan" for the integration of industry and education, a key participant in the first batch of application-oriented talent training projects in Shandong Province. The university is also a member of the International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design, and Media (Cumulus), the International Council of Design (ICoD), and Shandong’s collaborative innovation community for cultural and creative industries and intelligent manufacturing design.
Adhering to the spirit of the school motto "Heavenly Creations and Human Creativity" and centering on the characteristics of design art education, Shandong University of Art & Design takes on the mission of talent training, scientific research, social service and cultural inheritance, so as to realize the philosophy of "serving the society with design, leading the life habits with design".
As a design university, SUAD has achieved remarkable success in creative work. Both faculty and students have won multiple awards, including gold, silver, and bronze medals at various editions of the "National Fine Arts Exhibition." They have also excelled in international design competitions, such as the Red Dot Concept Design Award in Germany and the "FE" (Formula Elastic Equation) International Design Championship in the United States. The school has been awarded the "Wukong Cup" Championship in the China International Comic Competition, the First Prize in the China University Student Model Contest, and the Gold Medal in the Shandong Regional Finals of the "Chuang Qingchun" China Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, among other prestigious honors.
Looking ahead, both parties are confident that their collaboration will lead to the exploration of more high-quality projects, injecting new momentum into the integration of industry, academia, and research in the design field. Currently, the APDF Ivy League Universities Alliance comprises nearly 30 leading universities worldwide. In the future, the Alliance aims to expand its partnerships with more institutions, fostering innovation and progress in design education and creating boundless possibilities.