The strategic cooperation brings together academics from across all faculties of UNNC and industry professionals to promote the rich cultural heritage of Ningbo and to advance digital heritage research and its application. It also aims to enhance local creativity, in order to better communicate Ningbo’s culture and history to the world.

Under the new framework, UNNC and the Museum co-launched the Digital Heritage Centre, a UNNC based platform focusing on making heritage accessible.

Professor Eugene Ch’ng, Director of the Digital Heritage Centre, recently completed a provincially funded project to digitally reconstruct Ningbo’s Sanjiangkou port area during the Yuan Dynasty (dating back 700 years ago) using Virtual-Reality (VR) technologies. Digitally reproducing the ancient artefacts was made possible with support from Ningbo Museum.

The project is set to tour Ningbo, allowing citizens to interact with the ancient port in a virtual way.

At the launch ceremony, UNNC Professor Eugene Ch’ng spoke about the importance of digital heritage technologies and his vision for the centre.

“Cultural heritage is being exposed to greater threats than ever”, said Professor Eugene Ch’ng. “But digital technologies are making it possible both to preserve and communicate, as well as to mitigate against further damage. Our centre will gather experts across a wide array of research fields to tackle the pressing challenge of heritage destruction.”

Professor Cui Ping, UNNC’s Associate Provost for Innovation and Advancement, commented that cooperation came naturally to the two parties.

“UNNC has many international talents with cross-disciplinary research backgrounds,” she said. “By connecting each other’s strengths, we can create a platform that tremendously aids Ningbo’s heritage preservation and cultural innovation.”

Aside from unveiling the Digital Heritage Centre, the ceremony also recognised Ningbo Museum as an official UNNC Talent Development Base, giving students hands-on experience of curating exhibits and developing creative products for museums.

WANG Lijun, Director of Ningbo Museum, welcomed the cooperation. “We’ve had quite a few opportunities to work with UNNC and the University of Nottingham in the UK," he said. "During this coming Spring Festival, our museum will host an exhibition featuring historic lace and the textile heritage of Nottingham. This new framework will undoubtedly take our partnership to the next level.”

WANG Lijun was also awarded UNNC’s Special Advisor certificate.