ECNU School of Design and POLITO-DAD run a workshop in Shanghai on the Food Innovation School Design with the collaboration of FFI and Food Innovation Program
Shanghai, China 27th June – 30th June 2018 East China Normal University and Politecnico di Torino run a workshop in collaboration with the Food Innovation Program of the Future Food Institute on the concept of a Food Innovation Design School for Chongming Island, Shanghai Province.
The School aims to broaden the educational offer of ECNU’s School of Design by the development of a course dedicated to innovative products and technologies for food production, processing, serving, tasting and recycling and for awareness raising about food environmental impact, food culture and food heritage from the world.
During the 5-days workshop, bachelor and master students discussed threats and opportunities for the food design industry and culture at 2080 to the purpose of anticipating strategic knowledge and skills that designers shall develop to face the challenges of the near future. Young designers were asked to develop initial scenarios of educational and research activities for the Food Innovation Design School and the program included also a survey of the project area in Chongming Island, held on the 29th of June. Students of the Food Innovation Program collaborated as experts in the working groups leveraging research work and competences developed in the international master.
Roberto Pagani, Attachè for Science and Technology at the Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai who introduced the Workshop as Institutional representation of the Italian government in China said: “The General Consulate of Italy in Shanghai encourages Chinese-Italian collaboration among University institutions in order to strengthen the relationship of the two countries in terms of research activity and exchange of educational and learning experiences. The innovative food design program shall enhance sustainable growth and cooperation among countries based on cultural exchange and social inclusion”.
Professor Wei Shaonong, Dean of the ECNU School of Design and co-director of the Workshop said: “It’s a model example of a successful international workshop with multi-national, cross-disciplinary and open-minded members , they are from the School of Design of East China Normal University, Politecnico di Torino and Future Food Innovation Institute. The topic of this workshop is also getting a worldwide attention: under the new condition of a new era, how we redefine the relationship between the human-being and the food? China is the country in the world with the biggest consumption of food, but the modern food design in China is only in the very starting phase. It has a significant meaning to introduce in China the advanced philosophy and experience of food design and to develop them. The experimental attempt of this cross-disciplinary workshop by combining the food design and the ecologic green design is a very good starting point. I highly praised the teachers group with Professor Lorenzo Savio as group leader, they really accomplished outstandingly all the job tasks, and i hope we can continue our collaboration in a more extensive and profound scale. In the end i would like to give my sincere thanks firstly to the strong supports of the Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai, especially to our old friend, the Science and Technology Counsellor Professor Roberto Pagani, and then to the three professors from Politecnico di Torino: Lorenzo Savio, Corrado Carbonaro and Valentina Marino and in the end my special thanks to our new friend, Sara Roversi and Matteo Vignoli from Food Innovation Program of Future Food Institute.”
PhD. Arch Lorenzo Savio, Researcher in Technology of Architecture at Department of Architecture and Design of Politecnico di Torino and co-director of the Workshop said: “Students had the opportunity to do a creative design exercise aimed at providing the first suggestion on needs and requirements of the course program and of the School facilities to be developed in Chongming Island. The complementarity of the expertise between Politecnico di Torino and East China Normal University open up opportunities of collaboration on research and educational activities that involve building technology and design innovation subjects.
Sara Roversi, Director of the Food Food Institute said: “The Future Food Institute is proud to be part of collaborative platforms end educational programs, born to connect talents, scientists and designers, communities, food industries and farmers; to impact on human heath and world sustainability. China must play a strategic role bettering the world through food innovation and Shanghai is the real epicentre.”
