According to organizer Sun Lingyun, deputy director of the International Design Institute of Zhejiang University, the event aims to use the power of design to solve real-world problems related to sustainability.
"We hope to cooperate with enterprises and gain more support from outside schools in later efforts to put students' design proposals into use, and to make our BRIDGE initiative an ongoing event," Sun said.
Maria Rita Ferrara, an associate professor of industrial design at Politecnico di Milano, is an invited advisor of the BRIDGE Sustainable Design Action. "Design must address complexity in an integrated way. It must be able to make changes palatable to society, and use nature as inspiration to respond to social and environmental needs," she said.
Under the instruction of the United Nations Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries, Zhejiang University has established the Eco-Design Promotion Center in response to the UN's 2030 Agenda calls.
Professor Li Min further explained the university's commitment to the SDGs: "In the face of major challenges, concerted actions need to be taken more broadly. We, as innovation-driven universities, have a greater responsibility to shoulder and a unique role to play."
