From December 17 to 20, 2024, Professor Feng Hao, Vice President of JCU, led a delegation to visit France at the invitation of the Limoges National School of Art and Design and theCollège de Paris. The delegation included Zhang Jingjing, Dean of the International School, He Keding, Head of the Craft Department of the School of Fine Arts, and Wu Weina, Head of the Ceramic Arts Design Department of the School of Design and Art, who participated in a series of China-France educational exchange activities.
At the Limoges National School of Art and Design, the delegation attended the unveiling ceremony of the Tang Ying Ceramic Workshop Overseas Ceramic Culture Center and the awarding ceremony for the "Ceramic Road" International Ceramic Education Alliance (ICEA)'s Executive Council Member Unit. The ceremony was attended by Isabelle Debourg, Deputy Mayor of Limoges and Head of International Relations, Sophie Lecointe, Event Planning Manager of the Regional Cultural Affairs Bureau (Limoges region), Françoise Seince, President of the Limoges National School of Art and Design, and other school representatives.
The delegation held discussions with Françoise Seince, President of Limoges National School of Art and Design, Karine Archer, Director of Academic Affairs, Jessie Derogy, Head of the Ceramics Studio, and other staff. Vice President Feng Hao provided a detailed introduction to JCU's ceramics discipline, research teams, and international cooperation efforts, expressing a desire for deeper collaboration. Zhang Jingjing discussed the possibilities for inter-school project cooperation, teacher and student exchange programs, and future activities at the Tang Ying Ceramic Workshop Overseas Ceramic Culture Center, as well as the project planning for the "Ceramic Road" ICEA.
Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas such as inter-school collaboration, talent development, discipline research, teacher and student exchanges, joint doctoral and master's programs, and the application for Sino-French international collaborative research projects. It is expected that four outstanding French students will be sent to JCU for exchange in September 2025. President Françoise Seince accompanied the delegation on a tour of the school’s ceramics studio, jewelry studio, and fiber studio. Zhang Jingjing was also interviewed by the local television station.
The delegation also visited and reviewed the professional report exhibition of four exchange program graduate students from JCU, having discussions with the students to understand their study and life experiences at the French institution. The group also visited the blue-and-white ceramic lamp posts in the center of Limoges (created in 2018 during the JCU-ENSA Fall project, where Sino-French students jointly created the ceramic pillars), witnessing the fruitful cultural exchange between the two schools.
At the Chambon Campus ofCollège de Paris, Marc Simon and Arlet Simon, representatives of the college, attended the unveiling ceremony of the Tang Ying Ceramic Workshop Overseas Ceramic Culture Center and the "Ceramic Road" ICEA Executive Council Member Unit. The delegation also visited relevant teaching facilities, studios, and dormitories, reviewed the history of cooperation between the two schools, and discussed future collaboration on teaching exchanges, student exchanges, and other topics.
This visit further advanced mutual understanding between JCU and its French partner schools in terms of international cooperation, teaching, research, and talent development. It also deepened inter-school exchange and interaction, laying a solid foundation for future development of the Tang Ying Ceramic Workshop, the "Ceramic Road" ICEA, and further cooperation in student exchanges, international industry-academia-research collaboration, and other initiatives.
