From October 20 to 21, 2026, President Dong Zhanjun of Shandong University of Art & Design (SUAD) led a delegation to St. Petersburg, Russia, to attend the "Art and Mutual Learning Among Civilizations" International Academic Forum and the Opening Ceremony of the 2nd China-Russia Cultural Art Festival. President Dong delivered a keynote speech on aesthetic education strategies in the digital intelligence era. SUAD professors also presented papers at the forum.

During the visit, the delegation also visited Saint Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design (SPbSUITD), where talks were held on expanding cooperation into master's-level joint programs and shared laboratories. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the existing undergraduate cooperative program in industrial design.