Overview
Affiliated University
Dongguan University of Technology is the sole provincial-city jointly established model university for the development of new high-level science and engineering universities in Guangdong Province. It is located in the Songshan Lake Science City, the pioneering launch area of the Comprehensive National Science Center in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In 2021, the university was designated as a project construction entity for newly authorized doctoral degree-granting institutions and a key discipline construction university among Guangdong province’s high-level universities. The university currently offers 15 authorized master’s degree programs and has six disciplines ranked among the top 1% globally in the ESI rankings (Engineering Science, Materials Science, Chemistry, Environment/Ecology, Computer Science, and Agricultural Science). It hosts 28 national and provincial first-class undergraduate program construction sites, 2 Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratories, 13 Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Centers, and 3 Guangdong Pilot-Scale Testing Platforms（广东省中试平台）. The university also participates in the development of 5 major national platforms, 1 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory, and 4 Provincial Key Laboratories. Additionally, it has co-established the China-Latin America and Caribbean Countries Technology Transfer Center, a national-level research platform.
School Positioning
The International School of Design at Dongguan University of Technology, established in November 2025, is a key interdisciplinary hub within the university’s 15th Five-Year Plan, integrating the arts and engineering. Leveraging the resources of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Dongguan’s status as a "World Manufacturing Capital," the School is guided by the principles of arts-engineering integration, industry-education collaboration, digital intelligence empowerment, and international cooperation. It aligns with Dongguan's vision of fostering "intelligent manufacturing + technological innovation" by embedding Chinese design, ecological civilization, and cultural confidence into its talent cultivation framework. Committed to the educational philosophy of engineering-led, design-driven, communication-empowered, and industry-globalized new productive forces, the School strives to become a premier hub for intelligent design in the Greater Bay Area, a center for the transfer and commercialization of technological innovations, a driver of digital fashion and trendsetting products, and a landmark for the regeneration of regional cultural design.
Disciplines and Programs
The School is actively pursuing the establishment of a master’s degree program in Design, focusing on disciplines such as Industrial Design Engineering, Digital Intelligence Innovation Design, and Urban-Rural Integrated Design Innovation. It currently offers two undergraduate programs: Industrial Design (Bachelor of Engineering), established in 2005 as a Guangdong Provincial First-Class Undergraduate Program, and Cultural Industry Management (Bachelor of Arts), established in 2014 as a university-level specialty featuring industry-education integration, with its practice-based teaching system receiving a Guangdong Provincial Teaching Achievement Award. In line with emerging trends in design education, the School is now developing several cutting-edge programs, including Art and Technology, Intelligent Interaction Design, and Sino-foreign Cooperative Education in New Media Art.
The School has 27 full-time faculty members, of whom 75% hold doctoral degrees, 43% hold senior academic titles, and 100% are dual-qualified teachers with industry experience. It houses one Guangdong Social Science Research Base (Urban Culture Research Center), one Guangdong Literary and Art Critics Center (New Industrial Literature and Art Criticism), one Guangdong Provincial Modern Industrial College (Deli College), one municipal innovation laboratory (Urban-Rural Integrated Social Innovation Design Laboratory), and the first-ever Intangible Cultural Heritage College established at an undergraduate university in China.
Committed to integrating science, education, and industry, the School has developed a series of art+technology laboratories and training facilities. These currently include a woodworking laboratory, photography and digital capture laboratory, user experience and cognitive science laboratory, advanced manufacturing and molding laboratory, urban regeneration and social governance innovation laboratory, intangible cultural craft laboratory, and cultural and creative workshop. The total equipment investment for these facilities is approximately 12 million RMB. In addition, the School is establishing several new practice platforms, including laboratories for new material processes, printing and packaging, digital media interaction, virtual reality, art and technology, ergonomics, S-CMF digital intelligence, aesthetic education, and a master artisan workshop for intangible cultural heritage, along with a makerspace and an art and design exhibition center.
Educational Features
The International School of Design has innovatively implemented the "Study-Practice Alternation" international training model, dedicated to cultivating innovative high-end applied design talents through an integrated bachelor-master-doctoral pathway. In line with the interdisciplinary characteristics of the AI era, the School serves the high-quality development of strategic emerging industries in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It has established in-depth industry-education collaborations with leading enterprises and industry associations in Dongguan, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. These partnerships have facilitated the development of industry-education integrated courses, workshops, joint design exhibitions, student internship bases, industrial colleges, joint laboratories, and super workshops.
The School explores diversified and multi-path approaches to international talent cultivation. Leveraging the university's cooperation network with 98 higher education institutions and organizations across 35 countries and regions—including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Russia, ASEAN nations, the Middle East, and Latin America—the School offers international design education through seven innovation centers, such as the Dongguan University of Technology European Innovation Center and Hong Kong Innovation Center, as well as its Swiss overseas campus.
As a founding member, the School has co-launched the "International Design Education Industry-Integration Alliance" together with over 20 design schools from domestic and international institutions including Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Jiangnan University, Guangdong University of Technology, Nanjing University of the Arts, Conservatoire national des arts et métiers, and the University for the Creative Arts, as well as more than 10 organizations and industry associations such as the Industrial Culture Development Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Guangdong Industrial Design Association, Publication&Printing Association Dongguan, Dongguan Art Toy Association, and Dongguan Famous Furniture Association. The Alliance is committed to advancing the deep integration of AI with design education and industrial development.
