Source: School of Communication and Design
Written by: School of Communication and Design
Translated by: Liu Songjie
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

The School of Communication and Design of Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU), the School of Software of SYSU and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) held the First Humanistic New Media Conference in the East Campus of SYSU from May 31 to June 2. The Assistant President of SYSU and the Dean of the School of Software Li Wenjun, the Dean of the School of Communication and Design Hu Shuli, the Deputy Dean of the School of Communication and Design Zhang Ning, Zhang Zhi’an and Li Yanhong, and the Deputy Dean of the School of Mobile Information Technology Yang Ran attended the forum.

This conference invited five famous scholars from MIT, who are in the field of computer science, mobile technology, public transmission technology, and communication studies, to deliver speeches and take part in the discussions. Professors from MIT introduced their experiences in the field of humanistic science and technology, and public interests-oriented science and technology. They talked with researchers from SYSU about how to combine new media technology with public interests, the theory of public communication and Chinese experiences, and how China can use Internet technology for public welfare objectives.

Professor Hu Shuli, the Dean of the School of Communication and Design gave a speech of “The Experimental Experiences of New Media in the Last Decade”. She said the School will continue to cooperate with world famous universities to deepen academic discussions of humanistic new media, and introduce their teaching experiences in this field. She also expressed her hope that Internet technology can be used with a goal of serving public interests in news media, and by doing so facilitate the journalistic transformation in China and set up a rational and stable public opinion sphere.

Wang Jin, Professor of Comparative Media in MIT and Visiting Professor of the School of Communication and Design, believed that a culture of combining public communication with science and technology can only be cultivated in China through guiding scientific research with humanistic ideas, and helping researchers to form a scientific way of thinking.

The forum also displayed some public interests-oriented technological works and software, which were developed by universities that can take the advantage of combining different research areas, and were good examples of humanistic new media. Among them, one noticeable work is the course of "Co-Design for Public Welfare" jointly developed by the School of Communication and Design and the School of Software. This course is taught by two teachers from two schools in an innovative way, and is available for students in both schools.

This forum, co-hosted by the School of Communication and Design and the School of Software, is the first academic conference that focuses on the theme of “public communication and technology” in mainland China. The event, as one of the celebrations of the 10th Anniversary of the School of Communication and Design, is also an effort of the School to promote public interests-oriented science and technology through cooperation with MIT.

As the first advocate of humanistic new media, the School of Communication and Design plans to promote Internet applications in the field of humanities, to ensure a leap-forward development in Internet technology guided by humanistic ideas, through a series of humanistic new media conferences in the next decade.