On the afternoon of May 25, the Class of 2026 Graduation Exhibition of School of Design (in preparation) and International Institute of Creative Design opened at the Industry-Education Integration Building on Changning Campus. The opening ceremony brought together Chang Jekuk, President of Dongseo University (South Korea); Park Eunsik, Representative of Kongju National University (South Korea) and Director of the International Affairs Office; officials from the Lin-gang Special Area, Tianshan Subdistrict, and Jing’an District Cultural Center; as well as representatives from partner companies and mainstream media. Also in attendance were SUES President Lou Yongqi, heads of various administrative departments, all faculty members of International Institute of Creative Design, and the institute's 2026 graduating undergraduate and postgraduate students.
At the opening ceremony, President Lou Yongqi warmly welcomed the guests from Dongseo University and Kongju National University, as well as distinguished attendees from various sectors of society, and extended sincere congratulations to all 2026 graduating students. He noted that the newly upgraded Industry-Education Integration Building was welcoming a full house for the first time. Through the medium of design, students were engaging in deep dialogue with viewers, the times, and the industry, fully demonstrating the innovative competence and professional strength of the new generation of design students. President Lou then declared the graduation exhibition open.
President Chang Jekuk expressed heartfelt gratitude to the teachers who have long nurtured the students. He noted that the dialogue between young Chinese and Korean designers is shaping the future Asian design language, serving as a bridge for cross-cultural communication and contributing to technological innovation and global creativity.
Lim Kyeongho, President of Kongju National University, delivered a video address, stating that the graduation exhibition marks not only a successful conclusion to the students’ academic journey but also a historic moment as the dual-degree program jointly established by Kongju National University and SUES celebrates its inaugural cohort.
President Lou Yongqi presented the School’s emblem to retired former deans, sincerely thanking the veteran educators for their dedication in constructing the institute and laying a solid foundation for its development.
Gu Yi, Dean of International Institute of Creative Design, delivered a welcome speech. Chief Curator Chen Junkai introduced the immersive interaction design concept of the exhibition. Faculty representative Joseph Press elaborated on the value of design exchange and collaboration from a cross-cultural perspective. Liang Jicheng, Vice Chair of the Youth Leaders Alliance of the Belt and Road Initiative, encouraged graduates to drive Created in China through design thinking. The event also featured a promotional video for the graduation exhibition, vividly presenting the exhibition’s core concepts and creative characteristics.
Rao Pinhua, Director of the Teaching Affairs Office; Wang Jinguo, Director of the Graduate School; Hu Yue, Director of the General Education Center; Li Yunxian, Secretary of the CPC School of Art and Design Commitee; Gao Zhu, Design Discipline Leader; as well as Korean deans Kim Jong-kyu and Byung Kyo-pyo, presented Outstanding Graduate Work Awards to students in recognition of their exceptional performance.
After the opening ceremony, all guests toured the exhibition. Under the theme Dialogue, the exhibition featured 150 outstanding graduation works by undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduate works focused on three major directions: Smart Cities, Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Digital Cultural Tourism. Graduate works explored areas such as game design and therapeutic spaces through deeper technological exploration and cultural reinterpretation. This year’s graduation exhibition is not only a review of teaching outcomes but also a powerful expression of design as a medium for dialogue and generation.
Exhibition Works:
(Deep-sea landscape of the science game 71%)
(Drum·Butterfly – a Miao intangible cultural heritage horizontal action game)
(WAVE – ceramic sashimi plate design)
(Dye·Sequence – an immersive fashion space design using natural plant dyes, Master's exhibition work)
