Danish designer witnesses Shenzhen from farmland to city of future

Thomas Kvan, from Denmark, is the founding dean of the School of Design at the Southern University of Science and Technology based in Shenzhen. He has witnessed China's dramatic transformation over the past decades brought about by the reform and opening-up policy.

"China has made tremendous progress from being a country dominated by agriculture, through to a country today, which is highly sophisticated and has a lot of systems that are very effective to ensure that so many people have access to a better quality of life, better education, and better opportunities for the future," Kvan says.

Shenzhen is a pioneering city that embraces change and offers fertile ground for aspiring entrepreneurs and designers, according to Kvan, and that is why he chose to start the school of design in the city.

“Shenzhen is a pilot zone. It's a place of opportunity. Therefore, starting something new in Shenzhen is quite possible,” he says.

Watch the video to find out more.