The School of Applied Technology and Design was formerly known as the School of Art and Design, established in 2013. Adhering to the educational philosophy of "industry demand-oriented, application-focused, and excellence in design service capabilities," the School closely follows industrial development trends. It has developed distinctive educational features characterized by "industry-education integration, competency-based training, and collaborative innovation." It is committed to cultivating high-quality, applied, and outstanding design talents equipped with design ethics, professional skills, engineering implementation ability, and collaborative communication skills.

Currently, the School comprises five departments: Industrial Design, Environmental Design, Fashion and Apparel Design, Visual Communication Design, and Dance Studies, along with one basic teaching and research section. It offers six undergraduate programs: Industrial Design, Product Design, Environmental Design, Fashion and Apparel Design, Visual Communication Design, and Dance Studies, with nearly 1,300 full-time undergraduate students. Since 2020, the School has been recruiting and cultivating master's students in Industrial Design Engineering.

Guided by Party building to foster synergy and nurtured by ideological and political education, the School has achieved notable recognition in recent years. Over the past three years, one Party branch in the School was selected as a model branch under the "Strong Nation Journey" special action plan in Guangdong Province, and another was awarded as an advanced grassroots Party organization in the Jiangmen City education system. The School's ideological and political work was included in the "Red Home" video exhibition list of the national publicity campaign "Respecting Chinese Excellent Traditional Culture" in colleges and universities. The stage play "Chinese Aviation Pioneer – Feng Ru" was selected as a key cultivation project in the "Promotion Action of Scientists' Stories Stage Plays" organized by the China Association for Science and Technology.

The School is strengthening its faculty development to solidify the foundation for its growth. The teaching staff has a reasonable age distribution and a clear professional title structure, with rich practical teaching experience. Currently, there are 60 staff members, including 52 full-time teachers and 8 administrative personnel. Among the full-time teachers, there are 5 professors, 13 associate professors (senior titles), 8 master's supervisors, 5 doctoral degree holders, 8 dual-qualified teachers (including registered interior designers, art and craft masters, and professionals with over 4 years of industry experience), and 11 talents with overseas backgrounds. In the past three years, one teacher won the third prize in the Guangdong Province Teaching Innovation Competition; two won the third prize in the Guangdong Province Young Teachers' Teaching Competition; and two won the first prize and one the second prize in the Guangdong Higher Education Institutions' Aesthetic Education Teachers' Basic Teaching Skills Competition. The "Aesthetic Education Intelligent Evaluation Studio," led by the School's teachers, has been selected as a Guangdong Province Higher Education Institutions' Aesthetic Education Master Teacher Studio.

The School strengthens the central role of talent cultivation and continuously improves its quality. It hosts 2 first-class undergraduate programs in Guangdong Province, 1 distinctive major, and 5 provincial-level comprehensive reform pilot programs. It has secured approval to develop 1 national first-class undergraduate course and 7 provincial first-class courses. The School also operates 1 provincial-level practical teaching base, 1 provincial-level experimental teaching demonstration center, 1 provincial-level inheritance base of excellent traditional Chinese culture, and the Jiangmen Art and Design Museum (a municipal-level exhibition hall). It leads the joint establishment of industrial colleges such as the Wuyi University – Digital and Intelligent Home Appliance Innovation Design College. The quality of talent cultivation continues to rise, with dozens of graduates employed (or currently employed) by renowned enterprises such as GAC Toyota, BYD, Pan Asia, Midea, Gree, and Galanz. Over the past three years, undergraduate and postgraduate students have participated in authoritative domestic and international design competitions, including the National Industrial Design Competition, National Advertising Design Competition, International Fashion Design Competition, and the German iF Design Competition, winning nearly 150 international awards, almost 60 national awards, and over 160 provincial/ministerial-level awards.

Focusing closely on regional strategic needs, the School continuously enhances its research innovation capabilities and industrial service efficiency. It hosts four provincial-level research platforms, including the Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for New Chinese-Style Furniture Design and the Guangdong Provincial Industrial Design Innovation Service Demonstration Base, as well as seven municipal-level research platforms. In the past three years, faculty and students have undertaken one National Social Science Foundation project, four Guangdong Provincial Social Science Foundation projects, and three projects from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's think tank, with total research funding nearing 7 million RMB, including nearly 6 million RMB from horizontal projects. The School has conducted demand-oriented, industry-education integration projects with well-known enterprises and brands such as CIMC Group, ABB Group, Philips, Jongtay, Fujian Suyen, Guangdong Onen, Huadi Co., Ltd., Han’s Laser, and Cosco Shipping Aluminum Industry. Many design solutions have been industrialized. For instance, the ultra-thin range hood designed for the leading kitchen appliance enterprise Vatti Co., Ltd., achieved mass production and won both the American IDEA Product Design Award and the German iF Product Design Award.

The School actively engages in international exchanges and cooperation to promote internationalized education practices. It has launched faculty visiting and academic advancement programs with the University of British Columbia (Canada), Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Macau University of Science and Technology. Joint undergraduate and postgraduate training programs have been established with the Singapore University of Technology and Design and City University of Macau. Additionally, short-term study programs have been set up with countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative.

The School is dedicated to cultivating outstanding, applied design talent who are proficient in design, skilled in technology, grounded in business ethics, rich in humanistic knowledge, and broad in vision, providing high-quality talent and intellectual support for regional economic and social development!