meet the universities
- Academy of Visual Arts Hong Kong Baptist University
- Hong Kong Design Institute
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design
With “Material Life Matters”, the Hong Kong Baptist University explores new ways of living with more meaning and passion, through objects that can inject joy and resilience in a time of contagious fear and anxiety. The school found ceramics as the best medium for its explorations. Sara Ricciardi is a histrionic and “colourful” designer. Attentive to everyday rituals and not only to the functionality of objects, the emerging talent of Italian design is an ideal figure to follow the development of projects.
The Academy of Visual Arts (AVA) is the first university academy of its kind in Hong Kong, providing professional visual arts undergraduate, postgraduate and research degree programmes linked to international exchange and the fast-growing creative industries.
AVA is committed to nurturing creative and professional talent of international renown and strives to provide the very best in visual arts education, combining studio-based research, critical and historical studies and sustainable service for the cultural and creative sectors as well as for the community at large.
The Academy of Visual Arts does not distinguish between the Arts and Design. All creative disciplines are understood as equally valuable outlets for ideas and concepts. AVA builds an environment where students develop their individual critical skills, ideas, preferences, and professional ways of working. It is these distinctly personal abilities that will provide the solid foundation for them to master any creative task during their life-long careers.
An open mind and heart are also conditions for constructive creativity. AVA takes an inclusive and holistic approach to visual arts. We break down boundaries of concepts, beliefs, traditions, perceptions and hypotheses, and create awareness, respect and experience. Students learn to fully perceive their surroundings, sense the impact of form and colour and sound, appreciate the intrinsic nature of things, and to articulate inter-connectedness. An AVA student is aware, working with contemporary issues of society, be they local, regional or global.
The establishment of the Academy of Visual Arts in Hong Kong Baptist University was announced in November 2004, and in the following year, AVA launched its Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Visual Arts Degree Programme in September 2005 on Kai Tak Campus, the historical building premises previously the Royal Air Force Officers’ Mess. The Academy of Visual Arts was officially inaugurated on 13 January 2006.
The Academy expanded in 2011, into the Communication and Visual Arts Building in Kowloon Tong. In 2013, the University entered into a lease of the Kai Tak Campus with the Government; the historical campus now houses AVA’s Centre for Research and Development, a gallery and different studios for teaching and learning.
The project developed by the Hong Kong Design Institute is entitled "Home - Family Connection Through Design". It investigates alternative forms of inhabiting high-density megacities like Hong Honk: innovative ways of collective living, hybridization between life and work, houses shared by different generations of relatives. Federico Peri 's experience in the interior design of interiors and hybrid objects will be useful for students to develop complex and multifunctional projects. The partner of this project are TCL Multimedia Technology Holding Ltd and The Hong Kong Furniture and Decoration Association.
The Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) is a leading design institution under the VTC Group. It provides high-quality education to cultivate knowledge and professionalism, nurturing emerging talents who underpin the creative industries in Hong Kong.
With years of experience in design education, HKDI brings together the strengths of its design departments – Architecture, Interior and Product Design, Communication Design, Digital Media and Fashion and Image Design – to provide over 20 design programmes. Highly flexible in articulation and advanced education, HKDI offers students a three-year university degree pathway from a Higher Diploma to one-year Bachelor degrees offered by reputable universities in the UK.
HKDI adopts a “think-and-do” approach through its contemporary curriculum and active collaborations with local and international academic and industry partners. Students are given opportunities to acquire hands-on experience and participate in global exchange programmes to expand their horizons while enhancing their creative thinking and social sensitivity.
With “SuperStack” students from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University – School of Design showcase the new concepts of quality living in the tiny home environment, including but not limited to how we anticipate the new normal of the superimposed user’s patterns of family members. Designer, trend forecasting consultant and art director of companies in the furniture and design sector, Federica Biasi is an all-round creative, who is able to understand global dynamics and contextualise them in different scenarios. The partner of this project is Bamboo International (Group) Co. Ltd.
PolyU Design has been an important hub of design education and research for Hong Kong since 1964. The School is leading in Asia and 24th globally on the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) art and design rankings. Academic programmes are offered at bachelor, master, and doctoral levels in highly diverse design expertise including Product Design, Communication Design, Advertising Design, Digital Media, Interior Design, Environment Design, Social Design, Urban Design, International Design and Business Management, Design Management, Design Strategy and Interaction Design.
Famous designers who graduated from PolyU Design include Raman Hui (Animation), Freeman Lau (Branding and Art), Vivienne Tam (Fashion), Eric Chan (Product), Anthony Lo (Automotive), Yip Kam-tim (Film), Dennis Chan (Jewelry), among others. The School is actively engaged in applied research and consultancy support for industry throughout Asia.
Research is currently organised under three initiatives of interest: Design Social for innovation in the development of new processes, systems, networked and relational outcomes; Design Economies for consumer-centric approach to design business innovation; and Design Making for collaborative design to provide solutions to niche markets. The School provides a well-equipped teaching and learning environment in the Jockey Club Innovation Tower, a landmark building designed by the late Zaha Hadid.
