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Professor Ma Sai Appointed Dean of Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts & Design

Professor Ma Sai, a graduate of Dongseo University’s College of Digital Design, was appointed as a dean of Tsinghua University, one of China’s most prestigious universities, where he will lead the Academy of Arts & Design. Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts & Design is the third largest in Asia and the second largest in China according to the QS World University of Arts and Design rankings. The Academy offers fine arts and design majors such as painting, sculpture, craft, art history, fashion design, pottery design, industrial design, visual design, environmental design, and information design.

According to a June 27 article in Art News of China, Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts & Design conducted a selection process for a new dean and deputy deans at the expiration of the previous dean’s term on June 9th, and Professor Ma Sai was elected to become the university’s fourth dean along with four new deputy deans.

Professor Ma graduated from Tsinghua University’s Department of Industrial Design (formerly the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts) in 1993 before being appointed professor. In 2003, he entered the Department of Design at Dongseo University’s College of Digital Design, where he obtained a master’s degree in visual design in 2005. After completing his studies at Dongseo University, Professor Ma headed the Department of Literature at Tsinghua University in 2011 and served as deputy dean of Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts & Design from 2012 to 2018.

Currently active as a leading design scholar in China, Professor Ma has published more than 20 articles in core academic journals, as well as textbooks and other academic works. He has also led large-scale projects, serving as project manager for China’s 2020 state-focused research project “Digitalized Ecological Creativity Design Study in the Shougang Economic Quarter,” as event planner for China’s 70th anniversary in 2019, and as design manager, for Ningxia Hui and for Guanxi Zhuang Autonomous Region’s 60th anniversary.

In 2022, Professor Ma was named an “All-China Youth Outstanding Literary Worker” jointly by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the Chinese Literary and Arts Association. He has received numerous commendations and contribution awards from government agencies at various levels, contributing to the high status of Dongseo University alumni.