On the afternoon of March 27, 2024, the 254th lecture of XJTU Foreign Language and Culture Forum was successfully held in the B1001 lecture hall of Shall Building on Xingqing Campus. The lecture was presided over by Associate Professor Du Lixia, with XJTU teachers and students as attendees.

The lecture contained two parts, a lecture presentation and a Q&A session.

The guest speaker was Professor Ania K. Lange, Director of the Herbst Program at the University of Colorado Boulder. With the title of The Role of the Historical Knowledge in Engineering Education Case Study: Florence Duomo (1420-1436) and Engineering Project Management, Prof. Lange introduced the Florence Cathedral built by Filippo Brunelleschi in the 15th century—the most significant, innovative, and sophisticated project of the European Renaissance period. She also explained, for engineering majors, how to make innovation in product and process from the study of historical cases, and how to learn the essence of project management from their predecessors.

In the Q&A session after the lecture, Prof. Lange also shared her own experience in interdisciplinary research, including literature, architecture, Chinese studies, etc. and insights on the diversity of world architecture. The lecture sparked the participants’ enthusiasm in interdisciplinary and cross-cultural research, broadening their international perspectives.

Written by: Li Zitan

Edited by: Chu Jianwei