Anthony Paul De Ritis is full professor in the Music Department in Northeastern University’s College of Arts, Media and Design, where he served as its Chair from 2003-2015; his colleague, John Friar, is Executive Professor of Entrepreneurship in the D’Amore-McKim School of Business. Together they have been invited on several occasions to lecture and give workshops at Tsinghua University’s x-lab in Beijing, China.
Tsinghua x-lab
Tsinghua’s x-lab is a university-based education platform designed to foster student creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. It brings together Tsinghua students, faculty, alumni, experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and experts from across society.
The “x” in the platform’s name refers to the mission of “pursuing the unknown” at the intersection of multiple academic disciplines and needs. “Lab” emphasizes the experiential, collaborative, and action-based process that is core to the x-lab’s approach to learning. These form the basis of the three unique value propositions that the x-lab offers: 1. linkages among multiple disciplines within Tsinghua; 2. integration of resources within and outside the university; and 3. new learning methods to develop individual and team capabilities to generate business model innovations and support social activism.
Officially launched in April 2013, the x-lab operates under the auspices of the School of Economics and Management and links 14 schools and departments across Tsinghua University, including Mechanical Engineering, Natural Sciences, Information Science and Technology, Arts and Design, Medicine, Aerospace , Environment, Architecture, Materials Science and Engineering, Public Policy and Management, Journalism and Communication, Law, and Engineering Physics.
The Tsinghua Entrepreneur & Executive Club (TEEC) and Tsinghua Science Park (TusPark) are strategic founding partners.
Tsinghua x-lab United Design Center
In order to better drive x-lab entrepreneurs’ innovation and creativity through nurturing, integrated thinking and experiential learning, x-lab launched the United Design Center in April 2014. The United Design Center’s mission is to integrate design thinking into the project nurturing system and reinforce the competitiveness of the innovation driven entrepreneurial projects.
De Ritis was appointed as a member of Tsinghua x-lab’s United Design Center as an academic expert in November 2014.
Lectures and Workshops at Tsinghua’s x-lab:
- September 25, 2013; Anthony De Ritis, lecture: “Art, Creativity and Design Thinking”
- October 23-25, 2013; Anthony De Ritis and John Friar, three-day workshop: “Design Thinking Ideation as an Innovation Process”
- March 10, 2015; Anthony De Ritis, lecture: “An Introduction to Design Thinking”
- August 27-29, 2015; Anthony De Ritis and John Friar, three-day workshop: “Design Thinking Ideation as an Innovation Process”
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