In mid-April 2025, the Strategic School Sound Initiative (SSSI) delegation from SCC, led by Professor Matthew Sansom of the Music Department, visited Beijing to explore future development paths for our School in music technology, the intersection of artificial intelligence and music, and transdisciplinary innovation. The visit aimed to benchmark against the advanced experience of top-tier mainland universities, enhance our academic programmes, and explore models for deep inter-institutional cooperation. Other members of the delegation included Yuanguang Zhu, Instructor I from the Department of Film, Television and New Media, and Jiarui Duan, Assistant Instructor in Music and Special Projects Manager for the School of Culture and Creativity (SCC).

During the visit to the Communication University of China (CUC), the delegation held in-depth discussions with the leadership, department heads, and academic specialists from its School of Music and Recording Arts. Liu Shoubing, Secretary of the School's Party Committee, welcomed the delegation on behalf of the school. Li Yanghonglin, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Associate Professor, provided a detailed overview of the school's history, its achievements in discipline construction, and the operational model of its nationally leading Art Education Centre. Associate Dean Prof. Zhao Zhi’an highlighted the school's successful experiences and future strategies for promoting domestic and international exchange and deepening substantive partnerships. Subsequently, Jiarui Duan delivered a systematic introduction to BNBU's educational philosophy, the academic structure of the SCC, its future direction, and the strategic goals and current progress of the SSSI working group.

Additionally, department heads of key academic units, including Professor Wang Xuan (Head of Composition), Professor Wang Jingyuan (Head of Musicology), and Liu Xiaofei (Deputy Head of Recording Arts), shared detailed insights into their departments’ distinctive specialisations, curriculum innovations, and achievements in talent cultivation.

Both sides engaged in extensive discussions on curriculum design, pathways for integrating music and technology, sharing teaching resources, and models for industry-academia-research collaboration. Preliminary ideas were proposed for specific initiatives, including teaching innovation and collaborative student practical projects. Following the meeting, the delegation toured the school's advanced professional recording studios and mixing suites to learn about their state-of-the-art equipment and its application in teaching. Subsequently, the delegation also exchanged experiences with the Arts Education Center at Tsinghua University regarding the forward-thinking acoustic design and functional planning of the New Tsinghua Auditorium. The concepts discussed offered valuable references for the future construction and renovation of our School's facilities.

This visit to Beijing represents a significant strategic initiative for our School's future academic development. Through in-depth exchanges with top-tier peers in China, the working group not only gained targeted, cutting-edge insights for planning new transdisciplinary directions in music and technology but also broadened its strategic vision. The profound insights gained from this trip will provide a solid foundation for the SSSI's future work and the School's strategic development, marking a crucial step forward in forging a new transdisciplinary blueprint for the integration of music and technology.