探花精选

Gebze/Guangzhou/Ningbo – The International Design Education (IDE) Program jointly launched by the United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries (UN Technology Bank), the (UN Consultative NGO) and the Ningbo Innovation Center, (ZJUNB) has completed its selection process this year successfully. The selected students will be awarded full scholarships and they will start pursuing their Master degrees in Industrial Design Engineering this September at the International School of Design, Ningbo Innovation Center, Zhejiang University.

This year's program has received a total of 130 applications from 15 least developed countries (LDCs), with 33 students from 9 LDCs being admitted to the Masters programme. The selected students are from Bangladesh (20), Ethiopia (5), Sierra Leone (2), Yemen (1), Somalia (1), Sudan (1), Lesotho (1), Malawi (1), and Burundi (1). Among these, students from 3 LDCs, namely Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Malawi, have joined the IDE Program for the first time. The IDE Program is trying to make efforts towards achieving gender balance, with more female students being admitted every year.

“The IDE Program is critical for building relevant capacities and enhancing the contribution of science, technology and innovation in the LDCs. The program offers LDCs the unique opportunity of combining innovation, design and sustainable production models that are environmentally friendly and promote sustainable development. We are glad to see the third cohort of students starting their Masters in industrial design education, as they will contribute towards enhancing eco-design in LDCs through this partnership,” said Dr. Taffere Tesfachew, Acting Managing Director of the UN Technology Bank.

Professor Yin Jianwei, Director of the ZJUNB expresses his warm welcome to the freshmen coming to the ZJU-ISD, China. He hopes that as a graduate student, the freshmen would bear in mind the scientific research feelings of "Pursue Excellence", uphold the scientific research spirit of "Seek Truth and Be Creative", and develop the scientific research skills of "Be Persistent and Courageous". Meanwhile, Professor Luo Shijian, Dean of ZJU-ISD, and Professor Yao Cheng, Executive Dean of ZJU-ISD express their good wishes for the coming new students being bridges to their home countries with Chinese friendship and advanced industrial design knowledge.

“Education is an important way to achieve the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By giving full play to the advantages of interdisciplinary, cross-cultural and cross-industry, the International Design Education Program bursts with strong innovative capabilities. Since its launch in 2021, the program has received plenty of good responses, as well as close attention and support from all sectors of society, including United Nations agencies, global universities, organizations, and enterprises. I am hopeful that more partners will join the international design education network in the future, thus providing more extensive educational support for students in the LDCS.” said Professor Ying Fangtian, the President of the WEDC.

The IDE Program is the only program in the world that is exclusively dedicated to students from 46 LDCs and offers full scholarships for a Master in industrial design education. The program aims to contribute to the following:

• strengthen the capacity of youth from LDCs through education in eco-industrial design;
• problem-solving, innovation and entrepreneurship, provide technology solutions and capacity building;
• focus on the commercialization of research achievements and creation of knowledge economies;
• expand design talent pool and technology repository to enhance the capacity and competitiveness on science, technology and innovation for the LDCs;
• promote exchange and cooperation among countries and regions in the area of eco-design and strengthen global partnership;
• contribute overall towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

The IDE Program has been successfully held for two years, which has not only made significant achievements in cultivating industrial design talents, but also played an important role in promoting friendly exchanges and cooperation between China and other countries. Read the 2022 report here. 

In March 2023, the World Eco-Design Conference and the ZJUNB hosted an exhibition titled “International Design Education Program” at the Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Qatar, which showcased the Program to all participants and partners who were present. Further, during LDC5, Professor Luo Shijian from International School of Design, Ningbo Innovation Center, Zhejiang University (ZJU-ISD) was also interviewed by UN News, and the IDE Program was published on the UN news website as an excellent case study, showcasing the importance of industrial design education for LDCs.

The 4th IDE Program application is scheduled to begin in early February 2024, and we strongly encourage qualified female candidates to apply. We call on students from LDCs to promote and join the Program, in gaining knowledge and skills in industrial design education.