The first edition of the Polito Alumni Convention has been inaugurated in China

The first edition of the 2023 Alumni Convention in China, entitled “Sustainable Urbanization: how smart should cities be?”, was held with great success in the city of Shanghai. The event was attended by more than 150 former students who attended courses in Engineering, Architecture, Design, and Urban and Environmental Planning at Politecnico. The event is one of a series of initiatives aimed at consolidating the University's presence in China, a process that began in 2020 with the establishment of the Polito China Alumni Association (PCAA), which has helped to strengthen the network of Politecnico alumni in China's social and economic fabric in recent years.

The Convention, promoted by Rector Guido Saracco, was part of a mission by the University delegation visiting some of its Chinese partners in the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, and Wuxi from September 7 to 12. Members of the delegation included Professor Carla Chiasserini, Delegata del Rettore agli Ex Allievi e Accompagnamento al Lavoro, Professor Michele Bonino, Director of the Department of Architecture and Design-DAD and Director of the China Center, Professor Ettore Bompard of the “Galileo Ferraris” Department of Energy-DENERG, Tao Huang, associate professor at DENERG and liaison for Politecnico for relations with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Monica Fassetta, Responsabile dell’Ufficio Alumni, sport e relazioni con il territorio and Lorenza Scaldaferri, Research Fellow and Head of the Polito Wechat Official Account.

The university team then met with the main institutional representatives of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Vice President of Postgraduate Education and International Affairs Lisa X. Xu and Director of the Department of Electronics and Computer Science-DET Wang Keyou, as well as several strategic partners for the consolidation of institutional relations between the two countries.

The delegation also visited the Italian Embassy in Beijing where, on September 11, the second documentary of the project “la Via del Restauro” (The Way of Restoration) for the recovery and enhancement of the rural landscape of the Langhe Roero area in Piedmont, coordinated by Politecnico together with theCentro di Conservazione e restauro La Venaria Reale, was screened at the Italian Cultural Institute.

Luca Borsano, President of PCAA, introduced and moderated the Convention, sponsored by the Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai and organized together with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in China, with the direct participation of the Consul General in Shanghai, Tiziana d'Angelo, and the Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Shanghai, Francesco D'Arelli.

The event featured interesting speeches, thanks in particular to the contributions of the Vice Rector for Internationalization at Tongji University, Lou Yongqi, Professor of Industrial Design at Wenzhou-Kean University, Maurizio Vrenna, Xi Zhixia, Chairman Assistant Tsingshan Holding Group Company Limited, and Zhang Yu, Professor at the Harbin Institute of Technology.

The convention concluded with a round table discussion on the processes of rapid urbanization currently affecting Chinese society, comparing different models and case studies to outline innovative projects for the regeneration of urban spaces. The legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic, the consequences of climate change, and the impact of technology offer new scenarios and perspectives for addressing the challenges of our time.

“We are very pleased with the hospitality we received,” commented Professor Carla Chiasserini, “and with the success of this first convention. It was an important result of the work done to grow the community of alumni working and living in China, and at the same time a first step in continuing to expand and strengthen our alumni community in China.”