History of Development

Education in designing at Tongji University originated in the 1940s and was directly influenced by the Bauhaus school, the originator of modern design, while it has also taken up Chinese characteristics. The major teaching method throughout the Bauhaus education process is working in workshops, and a dual-track teaching model with both professors and workshop masters has been formed. The characteristics of the design discipline determine that experimental teaching has a pivotal role for design education. In Tongji University, experimental education makes up an important part throughout the history of the development of the design discipline, which could be presented in the following stages:

♦ 1986-2000

In 1986, the former Department of Art and Design of Tongji University was one of the earliest departments in China to establish industrial design majors and to recruit undergraduate students. In 1993, the Department of Industrial Design was formally established, starting experimental teaching activities and setting up product modeling laboratories including the automobile modeling laboratory situated at the current 129 Auditorium of Tongji University, covering an area of about 200 square meters. In 2000, the Department of Industrial Design was merged into the Department of Art and Design and enrolled students of both majors. Although the facilities and equipment were far from ideal, the department stuck to the concept of combining workshop techniques and design creativity, and has trained a number of outstanding designers such as Zhang Fan, the design director of GAC, and Jiang Qiong'er, the founder of Hermes brand “SHANG XIA”.

♦ 2009

In May 2009, on the basis of the Department of Art and Design of Tongji University, the College of Design and Innovation of Tongji University was established, with four majors in industrial design, product design, visual communication design (including digital media design) and environmental design. In the early stage of the college establishment, the “Creative Workshop” experimental teaching base, with an area of over 3,000 square meters, was first launched to provide an open platform for free creation and independent experimentation for the faculty and students, and to develop students’ understanding and application of materials, structures, functions and processes.

♦ 2010

In 2010, with the establishment of Tongji-Aalto Design Factory and Sino-Finnish Center of Tongji University by Tongji University and Aalto University, the scope of experimental teaching of the College has expanded from material design to interdisciplinary innovative design integrating science and technology engineering, business model, culture and creativity etc. It is a process of evolution from the world of “atoms” to a world of “bits”, and opened a new era of internationalization, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation of experimental teaching.

♦ 2013

In September 2013, the College created the first open creation laboratory in China with global certification, named Fablab-Fablab O - China Digital Workshop, and became an official member of the global FABLAB network. With the support of experimental teaching, the workshop explores the development and promotion of STEAM labs and science and technology education curriculum system in China under global context, and guides a wider group of students and community members to participate in design activities. The method connects experimental teaching more closely to entrepreneurship practice and achieves the transformation from student-only to a broad community publicity.

♦ 2014

In 2014, the College integrated its experimental teaching resources and further condensed experimental concepts and development ideas to formally establish the Innovation Field of Design and Innovation of Tongji University. The establishment of the Innovation Field is an important milestone in the course of the development of experimental teaching in the College, which marks the comprehensive upgrade of experimental teaching in its organization, operation and management. It has become an important experimental teaching platform to support talent development, scientific research, social service projects and cultural preservation and innovation initiatives. In the same year, special funds were granted by the Ministry of Education for the construction of the Excellence Designer Training Base in the College of Design and Innovation.

♦ 2015-2016

The Innovation Field further improved the facility support for experimental teaching in building the Center of Digital Innovation experimental platform (CDI) of Tongji University. CDI is an interdisciplinary platform that focuses on exploring and practicing technology-based design innovation and promotes experimental teaching and design practice through scientific research. The platform guides students to apply newest technologies to their design practice and launches multi-dimensional interdisciplinary experimental projects, thereby forming new research-orientated experimental courses.

♦ 2016 – present

In 2016, the Design Discipline of Tongji University was selected as a IV-Category Peak Discipline in the Shanghai Peak Discipline Program; in 2017, it was enlisted as one of the national Double-Firs- Class Disciplines. In 2017, the College of Design and Innovation signed a contract with MIT Media Lab to establish the “Tongji-MIT Urban Science Lab” in Shanghai. The College takes the opportunity of the construction of Shanghai Peak Disciplines and national First-class Disciplines to forward the development of the Innovation Field. Experimental teaching hardware and software facilities and at the centre have been upgraded in pace with the time as well as its experimental innovation capacity. The Innovation Field has become a model experimental teaching base for organizing high-level experimental teaching and developing students’ practical and innovative abilities, and has played an exemplary role in the sharing of experimental resources, the training of outstanding innovative talents, and the promotion of the construction of first-class majors/disciplines.