On February 28th, we received a notification email from the official website of the German iF DESIGN AWARD. This year, the iF Design Award received nearly 11,000 entries from 56 countries/regions. Three design projects jointly completed by the Packaging Planning and Design Specialty Group of our School of Communication and enterprises have won awards: "High Mountain Tea", designed by Li Gongwei and Yu Guang; "Green City Litchi Wine", designed by Yu Guang, Liu Xisheng, and Chen Xun; and "Bird's Nest Sugar Water", designed by Yu Guang.

Established in 1953, the iF Design Award is held annually by the iF Industrie Forum Design, the oldest industrial design organization in Germany. It has been internationally recognized as a prestigious award in the field of contemporary industrial design. Since its inception in 1953, the iF Design Award has established itself as a premier event in the design world. The award's selection criteria are stringent, prioritizing the practicality and market adaptability of the works. During the evaluation process, the expert jury conducts comprehensive reviews and assessments of the works, including technological innovation, design creativity, and user experience. Therefore, winning this award not only reflects a high level of design but also indicates significant market potential and commercial value. Each year, designers, experts, and enterprises from around the world participate in this event to showcase their innovation and design talent.

The Packaging Planning and Design Specialty Group of the School of Communication has always been committed to establishing close cooperation with the industry. Through the integration of industry and education and cooperation between the school and enterprises, the group combines the school's cutting-edge research results with the needs of the industry to promote design innovation. The three award-winning packaging design works are the results of in-depth cooperation and joint research between the school and enterprises.

The Specialty Group has always adhered to close integration with the industry, combining the actual needs of enterprises with the school's professional research, to promote innovation in the professional field. Through continuous exploration and innovation in practice and active adoption of cutting-edge teaching methods in teaching, the group provides students with a broader perspective on design. In this context, teachers of the Packaging Planning and Design Specialty Group actively promote interdisciplinary education in teaching, emphasizing the importance of simultaneous interdisciplinary learning and practice. In the process of industry-education integration, school teachers and enterprise experts jointly form interdisciplinary teams to better understand market needs and provide strong support for subsequent product development.

The simultaneous winning of these three awards is the highest praise for the deep cooperation between the school and enterprises. It not only demonstrates the leading position of the Packaging Planning and Design Specialty Group in professional settings, but also shows the high recognition of enterprises for the school's research and achievement transformation. The achievements in this international top-tier professional event reflect the close alignment of the expertise and efforts of both students and faculty members in the field of product specialization with the teaching philosophy and professional development requirements advocated by the School of Communication, emphasizing the integration of industry and education. It reflects the realization of the integration of professional awards with enterprise outcomes, and will continue to play an important role in serving the economic and social development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, applying more cutting-edge design concepts to the construction of disciplines and specialties, and exploring more breakthroughs in the practice of industry-education integration education. (School of Communication, by Yu Guang)