Concurrent with the Tower's opening, the School of Design held a series of events to celebrate its 50 years of success, reflecting on achievements with the specific aim of plotting new courses into the future. A major exhibition held from 19 March to 30 April entitled "The Next 50: Layers of Design Creativity from Hong Kong" was a collaborative effort of seasoned creators and cross-disciplinary inventors staged in the Jockey Club Innovation Tower. The event showcased the School's heritage, how graduates have developed a culture of entrepreneurship in Hong Kong and how design can lead innovation in society as we head into the future.
Also featuring as part of the celebrations was a Master Lecture Series led off on 19 March by Mr Patrik Schumacher of Zaha Hadid Architects, who discussed "Design across scales and continents". Prof. Richard Goossens from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands spoke on "Design-driven innovation in healthcare". The series was rounded out on 28 April by the "Dialogue with Thomas Heatherwick", the founder and principal of Heatherwick Studio who designed the award-winning UK Pavilion for the Shanghai World Expo 2010.
On 20 March, the G/Local International Symposium for Social Innovation brought together leading design thinkers to discuss the significance, successes and limitations of design for social good. Ms Kigge Hvid, CEO of INDEX: Design to Improve Life in Denmark, delivered a public lecture on "Award winning works of social innovation". A panel discussion on the "Global Challenges and Trends of Social Innovation" then rounded out the stimulating exchange of ideas for the day.
As Prof. Tong said at the Tower's opening ceremony, PolyU is "in a unique position to support the local, and indeed the regional, design industries". Following the opening of the Jockey Club Innovation Tower, the design teaching, research and other related activities taking place in it will certainly be helping to shape social futures in Hong Kong and well beyond for a better world. ♦
