Training & designer enablement
Modern luminaires are beyond the skill range of a general electrician. SUFN’s training turns optical parameters into methods a designer can use.
SUFN’s training programme answers a specific commercial problem: designers choose the product and stores deliver it, and if the two do not speak the same optical language the result will not work. Founded in 2017, the academy is Zhongshan’s first professional lighting-designer qualification base, recognised in August 2018 by the Education and Training Committee of the China Illuminating Engineering Society. The same parameter definitions are taught to designers and to dealer store teams. The three programmes answer three separate gaps — method for designers, conversion and service capability for stores, commissioning and fault diagnosis for installers.
1. The base and its credentials
The base was recognised in August 2018 by the Education and Training Committee of the China Illuminating Engineering Society. Its curriculum is organised around the lighting hierarchy: break a space into layers, choose distribution, colour temperature and dimming for each layer, then land on orderable models and quantities. That is the same format in which SUFN issues its project plans.
2. Three programmes
Professional lighting-designer training
Thirteen professional cohorts since 2017, training more than 5,000 designers across product knowledge, trackless-lighting design, smart-system commissioning, installation and repair, retail technique and project delivery.
“Win at the Terminal” camp
Seventeen sessions have been run, with more than 1,000 participants and 95% city coverage, aimed at dealer store teams and focused on display, conversion and service delivery.
“Dialogue with Light” designer salon
More than 1,000 sessions since 2017, reaching nearly 30,000 designers across 90% of cities, run city by city — the widest-reaching of the three programmes.
3. Course structure
| Course | Core content | Audience |
|---|---|---|
| Professional courses (13 cohorts) | Product knowledge in depth, trackless-lighting design, smart-system commissioning, installation and repair, retail technique, negotiation, project delivery and troubleshooting. | Interior and lighting designers, dealer teams |
| Designer specialist training | Whole-home trackless scheme design, light-and-shadow aesthetics, scene composition and high-end project delivery. | Partner designers |
| Smart technology training | Fixture pairing, whole-home linking, commissioning, fault diagnosis and maintenance. | Installers and store technicians |
| Terminal operation and selling | Store display, sample pairing, the route through which customers experience light, pricing logic and objection handling. | Dealer store teams |
| Bespoke corporate training | Content and delivery tailored to fit-out companies, project teams and large partners, on site where required. | Corporate clients and project teams |
4. Study programmes and international work
Tsinghua design study weeks
Run with Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts & Design on interior light environments — the relationship between light, material and space, and lighting strategy for residential, dining and public interiors, with themed sessions and portfolio review.
Politecnico di Milano study programme
An international study programme with Politecnico di Milano comparing European lighting standards, light-environment evaluation methods and luminaire design language against Chinese practice.
5. Formats
Online courses
A continuously updated online library covering product knowledge, optical parameters and installation, available at any time.
Offline intensives
Scheduled offline intensives with hands-on drills on sample fittings and real rooms.
Corporate training
Tailored courses for fit-out companies, project teams and large partners, delivered on site.
Study visits
Tsinghua study weeks, the Politecnico di Milano programme, and visits to the plant and the experience centre.
Let SUFN design your light environment
Send us your floor plan and design brief. Our lighting designers return a layered light plan with colour-temperature ratios, luminaire positions and a buildable product schedule within one business day.