About D&I

College Manifesto

Declaration of the College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University


To Learn and Create for a Meaningful Life and a Better World, innovation is the most fundamental driving force for the development of human society. Nowadays design is not only a special means of creation and way of thinking, but it also becomes an engine for driving innovation.

In the era of transformation from “Made in China” to “Created in China” and sustainable development, with the pursuit of people-oriented, innovation-driven and sustainable development and the prospect of developing Tongji University into a sustainability-oriented world-class university, the College of Design and Innovation has established the missions of cultivating international-level “sustainable designing and innovating” talents, pursuing academic excellence and contributing to social advance. The overall goal of the college is to establish an international, innovative, forward-looking, and research-oriented world-class college of design with distinguished characteristics.

Based on the above ideas and goals, the College of Design and Innovation will take the following four aspects as its common values:


  1. Innovative and inclusive value orientation: Returning to the origin of education, the college aims to provide education for all people without discrimination, teach students according to their aptitude, and stimulate every student’s intrinsic interest, potential and dream, making students enjoy the joy of learning, thinking and creating. The college encourages the pursuit of excellence and innovation and cultivates in students five core qualities of humanistic ideology, collaborative innovation spirit, holistic view, future vision and leadership ability. No matter what careers students are pursuing, design and innovation will be the most meaningful and valuable part of their lives and career development.

  2. Up-and-coming collaborative innovation style: Inheriting the open and innovative Shanghai culture, the college aims to establish an internationalized world-class teaching and researching team, welcoming diverse talents and elites to join in. The college is expected to teach students according to their aptitude, and they are given full scope to show their talents. The college provides good discipline framework, teaching environment, post setting and security mechanism for various talents so as to stimulate their enthusiasm and offer them sufficient room for development. The college carries out internationalized, cross-cultural, cross-field and cross-disciplinary cooperation not only with top colleges, enterprises, government and institutions from both home and abroad, but also with colleges, departments and institutions within Tongji University, so as to achieve resource sharing, cross-integration and collaborative innovation.

  3. Capability of contributing to the society: Students not only need to grasp solid professional knowledge and skills, but they also need to be able to respond to the challenges of the times demand and sustainable development. The college upholds independent thinking and free spirits. Based on the demand for China’s economic, cultural and regional development, especially the urgent need for designing and innovating talents, education, research and theory because of the innovation-driven economic and social structure transformation, the college strives to become a vigorous force in promoting sustainable social changes with design and innovation through contributing to the economic, cultural and technological advances with its advanced discipline construction, talent cultivation and science research.

  4. Transparent and aspirant college culture: Following the university’s spirit, the college forms down-to-earth working, teaching and learning style. The college defends academic justice and academic freedom, enhances academic morality and standard, and encourages the construction of an open academic atmosphere that allows all to display their talents. The college establishes advanced management system, and builds a fair, open and transparent decision-making and democratic supervision mechanism. In addition, the college allows full play to each faculty member’s and student’s role in college management, and makes them jointly create a positive, open, transparent, innovative and happy college culture, making all the faculty members and students proud of it.


College Profile(EN)20190606.pdf

October, 2013


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College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University