National Design Art Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center

The Design Art Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center of Taiyuan University of Technology is derived from the arts and crafts laboratory such as dyeing and weaving, decoration, ceramics of College of Light Textile Engineering and Fine Arts (Shanxi Institute of Light Industry in 1965). Covering more than ten undergraduate majors, it is an art experimental teaching center shared by multiple disciplines. Besides undertaking the teaching tasks of 33 experimental courses and 155 experimental projects, such as artistic modeling skills training, material structure analysis and technological process verification for art undergraduates, it is also the humanistic quality education base of the university. About 57,500 students come to the experimental center for practice every year. By the end of 2009, the center was approved by the Ministry of Education as a national design art experimental teaching demonstration center construction unit.

Since the end of 2009, the total input in the construction and operation of the center has been RMB 13.8098 million, of which about RMB 4 million has been used for the upgrading and expansion as well as environmental improvement of the center. At present, covering an area of 9,663 square meters (1,037 square meters are added), the center is characterized by the Shanxi Merchants' residential buildings and is pulsed with artistic atmosphere. Since 2010, a total of 5,556,600 yuan has been invested to add 292 sets of first-class equipment in the province such as motion capture system.

The center implements the system that the director is thoroughly responsible for the center, and has established a more perfect university-college management system. Supported by the key construction of the master’s program of art design in Shanxi province, it can independently coordinate its experimental teaching resources, so as to promote the level of undergraduate teaching and keep training and strengthening the faculty. Moreover, it gives full play to the advantages of resource such as talents and equipment, operates the experimental teaching openly and serves the talent cultivation of the university as well as economic and cultural construction, which plays a good demonstration role in experimental teaching of art in this area.

Upholding the concept of "integrating resources, inheriting culture, adhering to people-oriented, striving for realistic and innovative", the center guides teaching reform with discipline construction and drives teaching with scientific research. In addition, through the provincial teaching reform project, the center has built art studio (laboratory) teaching system and mode, which is used as the platform to develop more experimental project, so as to provide students with more freedom to choose, realize the effective joint of teaching and scientific research with market and enterprise, and promote the coordinated development of students' knowledge, ability and quality.

The teachers of the center have undertaken 19 scientific research projects including national Social Science Fund and Natural Science Fund Program, and won 51 national, provincial and ministerial awards such as national art exhibition. And 89 national and provincial awards have been won for the experimental achievements.

Taking the initiative to integrate into the local economic construction, the center has been identified by provincial and municipal departments as the Shanxi Province Art and Design Graduate Education Innovation Center, Shanxi Province Arts and Crafts Research and Development Base, and Jinzhong City Tourism Product Development Base. Living in the era when art design is thriving, the Design Art Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center of Taiyuan University of Technology will remain committed to moving forward and make full use of its characteristics and advantages, further advancing the development of art education and humanities research in Shanxi province.