On September 16, Shanghai Magnolia Award of 2020 was presented to 50 outstanding foreigners from 19 countries, five of which were from the education sector. Prof. Jarmo Suominen, Vice Dean of the Shanghai International Institute of Design and Innovation and Deputy Director of the Sino-Finnish Center of Tongji University, was among the recipients.

Prof. Jarmo Suominen (fourth from left) receiving the award

Professor Jarmo Suominen is widely acknowledged in the international academia y in the field of design-driven innovation, and his theory of "Platform Model Under Service Logic" has remained influential in the field. He has received awards in Finland and Europe, including the Mayors Innovation Award of Espoo in 2016, the National Award for Innovation in 2016, the Espoo Medal for Innovation in 2016, the International Innovation Award in 2017, the Top 100 Global Leaders in Education in 2019 among others.

Jarmo has been a visiting professor at Tongji University since 2012 and was selected as a high-end foreign expert by the State Administration of Foreign Affairs (SAFE) in 2015. In 2016, he started to serve as the vice dean of the Internationalization Model School Promotion Program of SAFE, as well as being the Vice Dean of the Shanghai International Institute of Design and Innovation of Tongji University. He has since shared his world-class teaching practices and academic research with Tongji University, contributing innovative ideas for the construction of world-class design disciplines and talent cultivation as well as cooperating with relevant industries in Shanghai to apply research results to Shanghai's urban construction and development process to serve the construction of the Shanghai Science and Innovation Center.

Professor Jarmo Suominen at Shanghai International Institute of Design and Innovation

The Shanghai Magnoiia Award is one of Shanghai's awards for foreigners, established by the Shanghai Municipal Government in 1989 to honor and encourage foreigners for their outstanding contributions to Shanghai's economic construction, social development, and international communications. There have already been a total of 13 foreign experts from Tongji University who have received the prestigious Shanghai Magnolia Award.

Source: https: //news. tongji. edu. cn/info/1003/74964. htm