Lou Yongqi, President of Shanghai University of Engineering Science, led a delegation to South Korea for university exchange visits recently. The delegation attended an international conference and visited several partner universities, aiming to deepen the university’s engagement in areas such as Sino-Korean cooperation and exchanges. Professor Kim Chong Ki from the International Institute of Creative Design accompanied the delegation.
On March 24, President Lou Yongqi and his delegation arrived in Busan to attend the “World Design Cities-WDC 2028 Busan International Conference” held at the BEXCO exhibition center, where he delivered a keynote speech. Together with Busan Mayor Park Heong-Joon, Dongseo University President Chang Jekuk, and former President of the World Design Organization (WDO) Thomas Garvey, President Lou officially launched the WDC 2028 Busan International Conference. Subsequently, under the title “Building a Resilient and Interconnected Design City,” Lou shared insights from Shanghai’s experience in design and its development as a city of design.
On the morning of March 25, President Lou Yongqi met with President Chang Jekuk. The two presidents shared recent developments at their respective universities and held extensive discussions on future collaborations in talent cultivation and the integration of industry and education between the two institutions. Following the meeting, President Lou toured Dongseo University’s teaching facilities and laboratories and had a cordial meeting with SUES students currently on exchange at Dongseo. He inquired about their study and living situation in South Korea, introduced the university’s latest developments through a Q&A session, and encouraged them to leverage their cross-cultural experiences as a driving force for their future development.
In the afternoon, President Lou attended the academic forum “Design Futures: Busan and Asia SDSB 2026” hosted by College of Design at Dongseo University. He delivered a keynote presentation titled “5-mins’ Community: Campus WITH(in) the Neighborhood.” Other keynote speakers at the forum included President Chang Jekuk, Thomas Garvey, and Wang Tan, co-founder of XPENG AEROHT.
On March 26, President Lou Yongqi arrived in Seoul and held cooperative talks with Jeong Seung Ryul, President of Kookmin University. The two sides reached a consensus on further implementing faculty and student exchanges, joint research, and disciplinary collaboration. President Lou also delivered a special report titled “Designing Design Education for the City of Design” to faculty and students at Kookmin University. Drawing from his own professional experience, he introduced trends in design education, the university’s “3-wing synergy” innovative talent cultivation concept, and its approach to city-university collaborative talent development, which was met with enthusiastic response.
On March 27, President Lou Yongqi met with WON Yongkul, President of the University of Seoul, along with PYO Minchan, Vice President of the University of Seoul, and KIM Suk, Dean of College of Art. The discussions focused on promoting inter-university cooperation, advancing design disciplines, and fostering international talent. The delegation also toured the University of Seoul campus, gaining further insights into the current state of higher education development in South Korea.
This visit strengthened ties between SUES and several high-level universities in South Korea, expanded the breadth and depth of Sino-Korean academic exchanges and educational cooperation, and injected new momentum into SUES’ efforts to internationalize its operations and enhance its global influence.
