On the afternoon of November 25, the Institute of Creativity and Innovation (ICI) held its 2025 annual meeting of the Joint Management Committee (JMC) in a hybrid format. The meeting was hosted in Conference Room 1603 of Songen Building on Xiamen University’s (XMU) Siming Campus. XMU President Zhang Zongyi chaired the meeting. Joint Acting Vice-Chancellor Mark Ellul of the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) attended the meeting online.
The meeting reviewed and approved ICI's annual work report for 2024–2025, its development plan for 2026, and the adjusted list of JMC members.
The Committee members unanimously acknowledged the steady progress and positive development momentum across all of ICI’s endeavors. They noted that its distinctive "intercultural, interdisciplinary" educational features are becoming increasingly prominent, and the quality of talent cultivation continues to improve, laying a solid foundation for a promising future.
President Zhang Zongyi fully affirmed the Institute’s achievements over the past year under the JMC's leadership and expressed high expectations for its future. He stated that the faculty serves as the core driver of the Institute’s high-quality development. While expanding the scale of the XMU faculty and optimizing its structure, it is essential to further consolidate the strengths of the resident UCA faculty to enhance the quality of its teaching team on all fronts.
He stressed the need to continue deepening academia-industry integration to explore new growth areas, and produce impactful outcomes, thereby translating creative design into tangible drivers for local development. He also highlighted the importance of strengthening international outreach, leveraging alumni resources, and continuously elevating the Institute’s profile and communicating the success story of the two universities' collaborative education.
Regarding long-term development, he urged solid progress in the application for the Sino-foreign joint master's programme, and called for a proactive assessment of the new demands placed by the era of artificial intelligence. He concluded by advocating a focused effort on the three key pillars—"creativity, innovation, and internationalization"—to cultivate high-quality talent equipped for the needs of future society. President Zhang also expressed his sincere gratitude to the outgoing JMC members for their significant contributions to the Institute’s development.
Professor Mark Ellul spoke highly of ICI’s progress over the past year and expressed great encouragement at the fruitful outcomes achieved through the partnership. He stated that his visit in September provided him with deeper, firsthand insight into ICI’s remarkable progress, and extended his heartfelt thanks to all faculty and students for their unwavering efforts.
He noted that the two universities share highly aligned goals and looked forward to leveraging the joint master’s programme as a catalyst to bring the partnership to a new phase of greater depth and higher quality.
Professor Ellul emphasized the imperative to proactively address the profound impacts of artificial intelligence on the economy, employment, and globalization. This should be achieved by strengthening academia-industry partnerships, integrating alumni resources, and bridging the gap between talent development and market demands. He expressed his hope for the continued deepening of two-way exchanges to further consolidate consensus and jointly enhance the partnership.
In conclusion, he also thanked the outgoing JMC members for their contributions to fostering closer ties between the universities and advancing ICI's development.
Following the meeting, the two universities exchanged gifts, symbolizing their enduring friendship and shared vision for future collaboration.
The attendees of the meeting included Shi Dalin, Vice-President of XMU; Lyndsay Duthie, Pro-Vice Chancellor of UCA; Anastasios Maragiannis, Pro-Vice Chancellor of UCA; Terry Perk, former Pro-Vice Chancellor of UCA; and Lu Maozu, Senior Consultant of the Committee.
Also in attendance were representatives of both incoming and outgoing JMC members; leadership members from XMU’s Academic Affairs Office, Office of International Cooperation and Exchange, and ICI; as well as the Director of UCA Global.
