Works created by students from the Shanghai Art & Design Academy are exhibited on campus. [Photo/WeChat account: sh-jiading]

The Shanghai Art & Design Academy is home to 35 traditional handicrafts that are intangible cultural heritages. They include jade carving, block carving and silver jewelry.

The academy has been vigorously cultivating talents for intangible cultural heritages and is ranked first in this area among vocational education and higher education institutions nationwide.

"Each year, 30 outstanding students out of nearly 1,500 student applicants are enrolled in the master workshop for intangible cultural heritage work," said Tang Tingqiang, deputy dean of the academy.

The academy does not charge tuition and accommodation fees from the selected students. Instead, each student is given a living allowance so that he or she can be fully focused on learning traditional skills, Tang added.

Located within the academy is an "intangible cultural heritage street" which is flanked by workshops for jade carving, wood carving, woolen needlepoint tapestry, and other techniques. Works created by students are also exhibited to raise public awareness of intangible cultural heritage.

To further boost intangible cultural heritage, the academy also integrates it with other industries to promote the application and presentation of the traditional crafts in modern design and digital media, according to Xu Tao, Party secretary of the academy.

The academy held the 9th International Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Forum on June 10, attracting experts and scholars from over 20 countries including Egypt and Argentina, as well as renowned universities like Tsinghua University, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts.