On September 10th, Prof. Yrjö Sotamaa, Executive Vice Director of the Sino-Finnish Center and Advisory Dean of the College of Design and Innovation (D&I), Tongji University won the Shanghai Magnolia Award 2011. Mr. Li Mingjun, Director-General of Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office presented him the award on the ceremony at Xijiao Guest House. Prof. Wu Zhiqiang, Vice President of Tongji and Prof. Lou Yongqi, Executive Vice Director of the Sino-Finnish Center and Deputy Dean of D&I, Tongji University attended the presentation ceremony. Mr. Matti Heimonen, Consul General of Consulate General of Finland, Shanghai was the only Consul General in Shanghai invited to attend.

Prof. Sotamaa has been promoting cooperation in innovation between Finland and China since 2009. After the founding of Aalto University in January 2010, Tongji was its first strategic cooperation partner. In November 2010, the Sino-Finnish Centre was established together by Aalto-yliopisto and Tongji, and started to offer an innovative curriculum such as Tongji on Track 2011 Project. Prof. Sotamaa is also the main representative of the Helsinki World Design Capital 2012 (WDC2012) project in China.