Hisense Electric Co., Ltd : Creating a Dialogue: Hisense Collaborates with MIT

On January 6th, 2012, Hisense signed a strategic cooperative agreement with MIT's (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Media Lab on talent training and project cooperation in fields of smart technology, artificial intelligence and human-computer dialogue. The partnership is recognized as the first alliance between a Chinese company and the MIT Media Lab, an internationally acclaimed institute for research and innovation. In honor of the collaboration, MIT has declared January 6th as "Hisense Day" and opened its labs to 60 Hisense senior managers and engineers. 

While playing a leading role in the evolution of modern science, MIT remains a top institute of technology in the US for 19 consecutive years. MIT boasts 16 Nobel Prize winners in the past six years, the largest number among all US technology institutes. Founded by Professor Nicholas Negroponte in 1980, the MIT Media Lab has attracted worldwide talent in technology, humanities and art to promote innovation. The lab has already established a reputation for being a frontrunner in innovation and is regarded as an ideal place for entrepreneurs to invest in promising technology.

Ms. Yu Shumin, President of Hisense Group, stated during the signing ceremony that as Hisense has stepped into the Smart era, it is imperative to gain insight consumer needs in advance and develop solutions to meet them. Building a strategic alliance with the MIT Media Lab will allow Hisense to accelerate its product development with more cutting-edge technologies. At the same time, Hisense will learn from the cooperation to raise its level of innovation and global competitiveness.

Although MIT has collaborated with other world famous brands, such as, Apple, IBM and Samsung, the director of the Media Lab, Mr. Joi Ito stated that Hisense is the first enterprise to build a comprehensive strategic cooperation with the Media Lab. Furthermore, he acknowledged that only an enterprise like Hisense (with a focus on technology progression and long-term development) desired to establish the partnership with MIT to improve its innovative ability. Mr. Ito hopes MIT's alliance with Hisense is a successful and positive example with the expectation that MIT's innovative sprit is more widely accepted in China.