The World Design Cities Conference 2025 (WDCC 2025), hosted by the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government and co-organized with UNESCO, opened in Shanghai on September 25. DHU President Xiang Yanxun attended the ceremony, where he presented awards to the Young Creative Design Talents of the “U35 Plan.” The event also marked the official launch of the RCA Shanghai Center, co-established by Donghua University and the United Kingdom’s Royal College of Art (RCA).
Awards to the Young Creative Design Talents of “U35 Plan” Presented by President Xiang Yanxun
Officially Launch of RCA Shanghai Center at DWCC 2025
According to DHU, the RCA Shanghai Center is a flagship creative industry initiative that brings together the complementary strengths of two world-leading institutions—one rooted in Shanghai’s design innovation ecosystem and the other in London’s globally renowned creative education landscape. The new center aims to build wide-ranging collaborations with universities, enterprises, and government agencies across China. Its mission is to advance joint research and professional education while addressing a defining challenge of the digital intelligence era: how to harness design-driven innovation to accelerate consumer trends, industrial upgrading, and high-quality economic development.
At the 2025 UNESCO Creative Cities Design Forum held in the afternoon, RCA Vice Chancellor Ken Neil highlighted the significance of the partnership. He noted that the RCA Shanghai Center is the first and only institution jointly established by the Royal College of Art in China.
As a global leader in art, design, fashion, and architecture education, RCA looks forward to strengthening academic and research collaboration with DHU, Neil said. The new center, he added, will play a pivotal role in connecting China’s creative industries and design communities with international counterparts, fostering a dynamic and globally engaged creative ecosystem.
The collaboration underscores the growing strategic importance of design and innovation in driving economic transformation. It also reinforces Shanghai’s role as a key node in the global creative network, further elevating the city’s international influence in the fields of design, culture, and technology.
Following the opening ceremony, President Xiang toured DHU’s themed exhibition “HyperFashion: The Multiple Futures of AI and Sustainable Fashion.”
The 2025 World Design Cities Conference, held from September 25 to 28 under the theme “Design Boosts Flourishing,” continued to advance its mission of building a global platform for design innovation and cooperation. This year’s conference explored new pathways for design-driven development, aiming to set a benchmark for ecological design, shape new models for modern urban lifestyles, and stimulate industrial transformation through innovation.
WDCC 2025 adopted an expanded and internationally oriented “12255+X” framework, offering diverse opportunities for global participants. The structure includes: 1 opening ceremony, 2 major exhibition platforms (in Shanghai and overseas), 2 thematic forums (the International Design 100 Forum and the Global Creative Cities Design Forum), 5 specialized forums spanning industrial design, architectural design, fashion design, digital design, and service design, 5 series of ecosystem events (including supply–demand matchmaking, investment promotion, new product launches, fashion showcases, and talent recruitment), and X satellite activities held across Shanghai and internationally.
Together, these components created an expansive, interconnected program designed to accelerate global design exchange, foster cross-border collaboration, and highlight Shanghai’s role as a leading hub for creative innovation.