The "Breakthrough and Ascension: Conference on Higher Education in Chinese Stage Design in the Digital Intelligence Era" was recently held at the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Initiated and hosted by the Shanghai Theatre Academy and co-hosted by the China Institute of Stage Design, the conference was organized by the Stage Design Department of the Shanghai Theatre Academy. It invited representatives from 28 high-level art institutions across the country and brought together nearly 100 experts, scholars and industry leaders to deeply explore an important theme: how to face and grasp the new era proposition of stage design education in the context of new productive forces bringing significant changes to the stage design industry -  breakthrough and ascension  to cultivate high-quality and innovative stage design talents, expand the connotation and boundaries of stage design and promote cultural prosperity and development.

Xie Wei, Party Secretary of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, and Huang Changyong, Deputy Party Secretary and President, delivered the opening and closing speeches respectively, with Nie Wei, Vice President, presiding over the opening ceremony.

One of the significant outcomes of this conference was the establishment of the "China Digital Performing Arts Education Alliance." Xie Wei, Party Secretary of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, Pu Cunxin, Chairman of the China Theatre Association, Xu Yong, Deputy Party Secretary and Vice President of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, Lin Chuili, Director of the Comprehensive Reform Office (Research Office) of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Sun Zhongfeng, Director of the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai’s Jing'an District, and Cao Lin, President of the China Institute of Stage Design jointly pressed the start button, announcing the birth of the China Digital Performing Arts Education Alliance at the Shanghai Theatre Academy. The China Digital Performing Arts Education Alliance aims to focus on higher education in digital performing arts and build a communication platform for the cultivation of stage design talents in the digital era, with more higher education institutions and other organizations expected to join in the future, thus leading the development direction of higher education in Chinese stage design.

Hu Zuo, Party Secretary and Dean of the Stage Design Department of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, stated that as educators, we have the responsibility to conduct forward-looking thinking and exploration on the future development of stage design education. While advancing the digitalization process, we must also steadfastly safeguard the core values of art education and strive to find a balance and symbiosis between technological application and humanistic spirit. This conference aims to open a window to the outside world in the context of the digital intelligence era, build a platform for exchange and interaction among Chinese stage design educators, and take new steps in exploring "higher education in Chinese stage design in the digital intelligence era."

The multiple expert seminars held during the conference further demonstrated the limitless possibilities of deeply integrating Chinese stage design education with technology. For the Shanghai Theatre Academy, such possibilities align perfectly with the discipline construction direction of "Chinese discourse, science-art integration, international influence and pioneering initiatives", and hold significant and positive implications for accelerating the construction of the "three major systems" of art studies with Chinese characteristics.

Concurrently with the opening of the conference, the graduation design exhibition of the STA Stage Design Department, themed "Meta-Creation," also commenced. "A New Beginning, Dreams Built on Original Aspirations, Forging New Horizons" reflects a respect for tradition and an expectation for the future.