Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries - WEDC

Scholarships for LDC Students to the International Design Education Program 2022 are Now Open for Application (Deadline extended to 31 March)

cheng9 — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 08:41:00 +0000

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To apply, please follow the application guide and instructions.

Update: To encourage more students from the LDCs to participate, the deadline for applying to the IDE program is extended to 31 March 2022, 11:00 am EST.

Gebze/Ningbo - The 2022 application period to the International Design Education (IDE) Program is open from January 26 to February 28, 2022. Aiming to provide educational support to the world’s 46 least developed countries (LDCs), scholarship opportunities are provided to students of the LDCs. Eligible students who hold Bachelor’s degrees can submit an online application here with supporting documents. Upon review process, selected students will be granted scholarships. Students who successfully complete the Program will be conferred with a Master’s degree in industrial design engineering by Zhejiang University.

The scholarships of the IDE Program were jointly launched in 2021 by the 51�Թ� Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries (UN Technology Bank), the World Eco-Design Conference (WEDC) and Zhejiang University, Ningbo (ZJU, Ningbo). In offering 2.5 year long postgraduate program to 50 eligible students each year, ZJU, Ningbo provides an opportunity for LDC students to specialize in industrial design while also cultivate interdisciplinary design talents. The LDC students will study industrial design at ZJU, Ningbo, and promote knowledge transfer to their home countries. The South-South program will contribute to enhancing science, technology and innovation in LDCs and add to capacity to innovate, solve problems, boost national economic growth and achieve sustainable development.

During the scholarship selection process to the IDE Program in 2021, ZJU received 83 applications, 16% of which were female, from students of 14 LDCs, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Comoros, Ethiopia, Guinea, Lesotho, Mali, Nepal, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Yemen and Zambia. After a comprehensive review, 36 outstanding students from these LDCs were offered scholarships. The scholarships enabled these students from 14 LDCs to unleash their potential and constitute various cultural interactions, bringing inspiration and energy to industrial design in the IDE Program. For example, in January 2022, the first cohort of the IDE Program students have designed and presented a “Culture from afar-Charity Digital Arts Exhibition”, demonstrating the best of the achievements of the First IDE Program. In the future, more designs and exhibitions initiated by the students will be displayed in public during joint events such as the 5th 51�Թ� Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), the Ecology Exhibition of the World Eco-Design Conference, and further harness the potential commercial opportunities.

The Acting Managing Director of the UN Technology Bank, Mr Taffere Tesfachew, has stressed the importance of enhancing science, technology and innovation in the LDCs as a means to achieving sustainable development, as well as contributing to graduation from LDC category. The scholarships to the IDE Program contribute to fostering entrepreneurship in the LDCs, supporting structural transformation and addressing the issue of youth unemployment and skills mismatch. Mr. Tesfachew further encourages eligible female applicants to apply for the scholarships.

Mr. Hu Zhengyu, Party Secretary of ZJU, Ningbo highlighted that, the IDE Program has made substantial achievements since its implementation in 2021. He hopes that the admission in this year will continue playing the role of a hub, supporting more students who are ideal for the cultivation concept of the International School of Design and enabling them to stay up to date and resonant with new technology, new industry, new business forms, new modes, and new era. He affirms the academic teams of ZJU will support the international students to strengthen their understanding of industrial design and contribute to the discipline.

The President of the WEDC, Mr. Ying Fangtian indicates that, the IDE Program is an important force in achieving leapfrog development for the international design education. The three parties hope to further promote the implementation of cooperation and continue to attract more higher education institutes and international organizations to join the international design collaboration, taking initiatives to foster more and more young designers who have international perspectives and worldviews.

In the future, both the UN Technology Bank and WEDC will continue to promote the development of science, technology and innovation for the LDCs, and will keep strengthening their strategic partnership. This partnership will play a key role in providing extensive educational support to the LDC students and promoting education in industrial design.

Please find the application guide and instruction below:

Download the press release PDF

About 51�Թ� Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries

(UN Technology Bank)

The UN Technology Bank is a new global organisation, dedicated to enhancing the contribution of science, technology and innovation for sustainable development in the world’s 46 least developed countries. Least developed countries are low-income countries confronting severe structural impediments to sustainable development. They are highly vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks and have low levels of human assets.

The UN Technology Bank supports national and regional technological efforts in least developed countries, reinforcing partnerships across sectors and helping nations identify and use appropriate technologies to transform their economies and improve livelihoods.

Website: http://www.un.org/technologybank

Media Contact: Ms. Chen-Wen Cheng cheng9@un.org

About World Eco-Design Conference (WEDC)

The WEDC is an industrial, academic and world-wide non-profit social organization, which aims to promote the integration and sustainable development of design, ecology and society on a global scale, by strengthening exchanges and cooperation on ecological design among countries and regions.

Website: http://www.wedo2018.com.cn/

About Zhejiang University (ZJU)

Zhejiang University is ranked among China’s leading Universities for both the quantity and quality of its master’s degree programs. Several hundred academic majors are established in colleges and departments affiliated to seven faculties of science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, information technology, humanities and social sciences. Zhejiang University, Ningbo was jointly built by Zhejiang University and the Ningbo Municipal People’s Government on August 1st, 2018. Relying on Zhejiang University’s high-quality educational resources, Zhejiang University, Ningbo strives to create a high-level, research-oriented, international campus that integrates research and technology transfer.

Website: http://www.zju.edu.cn/; http://nb.zju.edu.cn/

Front Page Article:

Outstanding Students from LDCs Successfully Sail into International Design Education Program at Zhejiang University - Admission

mbuldys — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 15:42:00 +0000

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36 students from LDCs were awarded a full scholarship and will join the program at the ZJU-ISD in September 2021.

World Eco-Design Conference

Gebze – The selection process for successful applicants under the International Design Education (IDE) scholarship programme, an initiative jointly organized by the UN Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries, World Eco-Design Conference (WEDC), and the International School of Design at Zhejiang University (ZJU-ISD), Ningbo to support students from least developed countries (LDCs) has been completed.

Overall, the Zhejiang University received 83 applications from 16 LDCs including, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Comoros, Ethiopia, Guinea, Lesotho, Mali, Nepal, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Yemen, and Zambia. 15.6% of the applications were from female applicants.

After a comprehensive review, 36 students (7 females) were awarded full scholarships and will join the IDE program at the ZJU-ISD this September.

The IDE program course offers potential for LDCs to drive innovation, problem-solving capacity and economic growth potential and will support the attainment of the SDGs.

“Eco-design provides an opportunity for LDCs to combine innovation, design and sustainable production models using minimal resources that are environmentally friendly and promote sustainable development. This is the first cohort of students towards enhancing eco-design in LDCs through this partnership,” said Joshua Setipa, Managing Director of the UN Technology Bank.

The UN Technology Bank, the WEDC, and the ZJU-ISD will continue to widen the coverage of the IDE program to offer opportunities to more students. The three parties seek to collaborate with various universities and research institutions globally to build an international design education network that promotes the integration of industry and education to expand the innovative development of the design industry.

The admission plan for the next International Design Education program is scheduled for early February 2022.

Download the press release (EN)

Front Page Article:

The International Design Education program in LDCs

mbuldys — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 09:21:00 +0000

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Gebze/ Ningbo – Industrial design offers great potential for least developed countries (LDCs) as a driver of innovation, problem-solving and economic growth. The UN Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries, the World Eco-Design Conference (WEDC) and the International School of Design at Zhejiang University (ZJU-ISD) in Ningbo, China announced a jointly signed agreement on cooperation and promotion of the implementation of International Design Education (IDE) program.

Under this partnership, eligible students from the world’s 46 LDCs will be supported to undertake training on industrial design. Students with a bachelor's or master's degree in any major can log into the International Student Application & Admissions System of Zhejiang University, fill in the online application form and upload all supporting materials and submit their application materials to nbxq010@zju.edu.cn before 30th April 2021.

The cooperation aims to enhance the design education capacity of the LDCs, and jointly build an international design education cooperation base. The parties agreed that the signing of the Cooperation Agreement is a starting point for establishing a long-term strategic partnership.

The UN Technology Bank and the WEDC will partake in outreach activities to promote the IDE program across the LDCs, so eligible students who meet the admission criteria can submit admission applications. Zhejiang University consented to provide scholarships and identify high-quality supervisors for IDE students and ensure access to adequate research facilities and resources. More education support to the LDCs is anticipated as the program expands and the cooperation between the UN Technology Bank and the WEDC flourish in upcoming months.

Mr. Zhengyu Hu, Party Secretary of Zhejiang University, Ningbo, pointed out that recruiting international students from the LDCs to study in Ningbo was pivotal in creating the IDE initiative. Mr. Hu highlighted the actual need to set a foothold in the Zhejiang University's expansion - Zhejiang University, Ningbo and the whole design industry of Ningbo. In this sense, the IDE program is a strategic measure of the international design education that LDCs students can acquire at Zhejiang University and bring it back home.

The University plans to take advantage of its scientific research, talents, and management to carry out various IDE program tasks conscientiously, including further cooperation development in international design education and substantially carrying forward the spirit of the Zhejiang University's motto of "Seeking Truth, Pursuing Innovation." Mr. Hu underlined the University's openness in welcoming students from other countries and expressed the importance of making a difference by each international student while studying in China.

Mr. Joshua Setipa, UN Technology Bank's Managing Director, affirmed his appreciation to Zhejiang University and the WEDC for long-term concern and support to the education development of LDCs. Mr. Setipa noted that the IDE program aligns perfectly with the UN Technology Bank mandate and will provide significant intellectual support and promotion of science, technology, and innovation in the LDCs.

Mr. Ying Fangtian, President of the Organizing Committee of the WEDC, indicated that the IDE program serves as an incubator for bridging innovation and entrepreneurship by transforming projects and research into start-ups, from making research achievements of students to commercialization and manufacturing. Mr. Ying shared his view of this partnership as the opportunity to bring out more academic achievements, realize the integration of production and education, strengthen university-industry cooperation, and promote industrial innovation development.

Download the press release

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