Theme: Innovative Design, Key to Better Future

The 13th China (Wuxi) International Design Expo (hereinafter referred to as the “expo) was grandly opened at Wuxi Taihu International Expo Center on November 11, 2016, and successfully concluded three days later on November 13.

The exhibition of the 13th China (Wuxi) International Design Expo, 2016 TTF & 5th CMF -Ice-breaking Trip for Design, serial activities of the 2016 Wuxi Annual Maker Conference, 2016 Wuxi Conference for the Technological Fruits of Industry-University-Research Cooperation & Signing Ceremony for Projects of Industry-University-Research Cooperation, the final of the 8th Network Originality Competition and Practical Activities at Universities, and the appraisal for the 5th Taihu Award Design Competition, were held concurrently with the expo, intensively showing the philosophy of mass entrepreneurship and innovation with richer and more pragmatic connotations and fully demonstrating the atmosphere in Wuxi for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Exhibition of the 13th China (Wuxi) International Design Expo

The exhibition covered a large area of 32,000 sq m and presented a rich variety of exhibits in four halls. 

Hall No.1 showcased modern design based on traditional culture, with works including Jingdezhen porcelain, Yixing porcelain, Dehua white porcelain, Longquan celadon porcelain and some other well-known porcelain designed in the modern way. The 2nd Porcelain Art Master and Celebrity Works Exhibition of Jiangsu Province and the on-site certificate awarding ceremony with presence of 98 industrial art masters enriched the forms and contents of the exhibition.  

Hall No.2 highlighted futuristic frontier technologies, and showcased the fruits of technology innovation and entrepreneurship in Wuxi as well as the powerful strength of strategic emerging industries represented by industrial design. Besides, the hall also included a section for CMF design to show the future trends of design geared up to the international practice.

Hall No.3 gathered innovative elements like talents, projects and funds. Maker fairs and design talent exchange meetings were held in the hall, providing a platform of project cooperation for maker teams and a platform of employment and exchanges for design talents.  

Hall No.4 included sections for experience with innovative design concepts and innovative commercial modes. It showcased the new-type household products, derivatives and services close to daily life and based on information connectivity technologies and Internet platforms, and allowed visitors to experience private customization, virtual design, intelligent home and some other innovative services at the site and to buy online and experience offline.

2016 TTF & 5th CMF-Ice-breaking Trip for Design

Over 20 guests both from home and abroad, including Tim Kobe, former design director of Apple, Josh Westerhold, senior manager of Nissan’s US Future Laboratory, and Greg Petroff, CXO of GE Digital, attended the event. The forum also included three workshops respectively themed “Building Sustainable Models for Social Transformation”, “Exploration of the Latest Materials in Product Development and Application” and “Trend Thinking”. 

2016 Annual Wuxi Maker Convention

The maker convention yielded fruits in five aspects: 1) Sharing of the experience about business startup. Attending guests shared precious experience about international IPRs lawsuits and the combination between innovation and capital. 2) Awarding of exemplary models. Four State-level maker spaces and four provincial-level maker spaces were awarded plaques at the site. 3) Engagement of entrepreneurship tutors. Wuxi Bureau of Science and Technology screened out five excellent entrepreneurs citywide as the first batch of entrepreneurship tutors. 4) Appraisal of excellent entrepreneurship projects. Experts selected a number of projects with investment potential through site assessment and granted awards to them. 5) Launch of Wuxi Maker Cloud Platform. Provincial and municipal leaders jointly kicked off Wuxi Maker Cloud Platform. Wuxi Bureau of Science and Technology will guide the improvement of the online platform in terms of entrepreneurship projects, investors, entrepreneurship tutors and exhibition to promote interactions and sharing of resources.  

2016 Wuxi Conference for the Technological Fruits of Industry-University-Research Cooperation & Signing Ceremony for Projects of Industry-University-Research Cooperation

A total of 15 universities and 3 enterprises from across the country released and displayed nearly 200 items of technological results in total. Attending experts and representatives of local enterprises interacted with each other and signed contracts for 38 projects at the site.

Final of the 8th Network Originality Competition

Appraisal for the 5th Taihu Award Design Competition 

Works from over 200 enterprises and artists nationwide joined the appraisal for the 5th Taihu Award, fully demonstrating the characteristics of the time, such as “intelligence and green” and “services and high end”. Two groups, i.e. product group and porcelain group, were classified in the appraisal, and 75 pieces of works were awarded. The Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer from the National Supercomputing Center in Wuxi, which boasts the fastest computing speed at home, was particularly favored by experts and awarded a special prize.

Special prize in the product group: Sunway TaihuLight

Exhibition outcomes：

1.Building a bridge between entrepreneurship teams and financial capital

The 2016 Annual Wuxi Maker Convention was held concurrently with the expo, enabling the connection between domestic investors and entrepreneurship projects. A number of senior insiders, local entrepreneurs and pioneers in starting business, including Pegasus’ founder Yuanyue and Zhiyuan Xingfang’s president Wang Xiaoyong, representatives from 100-plus famous investment institutions and 100-plus entrepreneurship teams nationwide, and dozens of industrial experts attended the event. Issues like “values of innovation and new normal of investment”, “integration between industry and innovation and independent innovation in South Jiangsu” and “new ecology characterized by the integration between industry and innovation in the Internet plus era” became the focus of attention.    

2. Building a bridge between creative design talents and enterprises

The expo also included a job fair targeted at college graduates majoring in design, which attracted graduates of the design discipline from over ten universities nationwide as well as more than 160 small, middle and large-sized enterprises from cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Suzhou and Hangzhou that offered over 2,300 jobs in total. The large crowds at the site on the opening day made attendees see the infinite energy incubated on the promising land of entrepreneurship.

3. Building a bridge between creative design experts and enterprises

The International Design Forum integrated academic research with industry for the first time. Over 20 foreign designers and 128 senior enterprise executives had in-depth discussions about how design is applied to industry, how to integrate the whole industrial chain with design and how to drive industrial upgrade. The forum lasted for 3 days with 800 attendees in the main event.