News | "AI in Design" International Summer School Recap

From June 24 to 28, 2024, the School of Innovation and Creative Design at Southern University of Science and Technology (hereinafter referred to as “the School of Design”) successfully hosted the “AI in Design” International Summer School. This summer program invited undergraduate and master's students from universities worldwide to participate. Through lectures, workshops, corporate visits, and thematic discussions, it aligned with the School of Design's educational philosophy of “Design + Technology,” exploring the integration of AI and design in both academic research and practical applications. Participants hailed from 16 universities including Georgia Institute of Technology, Rhode Island School of Design, Queensland University of Technology, and design institutions within the Greater Bay Area such as SUSTech, Shenzhen University of Technology, Shenzhen University, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou). Students represented diverse nationalities including China, the United States, South Korea, India, and Italy.

The international summer school featured five thematic tracks—Interaction, Metaverse, Co-Creation, Cultural Heritage, and Material Exploration—combining lectures with workshops and integrating science education to enable faculty and students to jointly explore the frontiers of AI and design. The inaugural session, led by Assistant Professor Li Xuelian and Delft University of Technology Lecturer Aadjan van der HELM, centered on “AI and Interaction: Empowering Design with AI.” During the lecture, Aadjan demonstrated how to integrate AI tools into the design process, offering practical insights for designers. He emphasized the need for designers to remain attuned to AI's strengths and limitations while prioritizing collaborative approaches. During the workshop, students formed groups of 3-4 members. Under faculty guidance, they utilized ChatGPT as an auxiliary tool to develop design concepts. Through interaction with ChatGPT, each group was tasked with generating three design ideas and building upon them to propose design concepts. Final outcomes were presented and discussed via posters and LEGO brick models.

“AI and Interaction” Workshop Venue

In the workshop titled “AI and the Metaverse: Imagining a World Rich in Spatial Information, Interaction, and Intelligence,” Assistant Professor Luo Tao demonstrated the boundless potential of AI within the metaverse across multiple domains, including education and training, healthcare, work collaboration, entertainment and socializing, and retail e-commerce. Five student groups selected a specific domain and brainstormed applications for AI within that field in the context of the metaverse. By guiding dialogues between two AI agents, each group developed creative concepts and generated 360-degree scenes on the SkyBox AI platform to showcase their innovative outcomes. Throughout the workshop, student teams demonstrated remarkable enthusiasm and creativity. From simulating conversations with AI agents to technical implementations in Unity, the groups thoroughly explored diverse facets of AI.

“AI and the Metaverse” Workshop Venue

Assistant Professor An Pengcheng delivered a keynote lecture titled “AI and Co-Creation,” discussing the latest advancements in AI with faculty and students. He explored how our perspective can shift from viewing AI solely as a tool for productivity and automation to recognizing it as a collaborator in human-AI creative synergy. Using art therapy and education as examples, he illustrated how AI can serve as an expressive medium that unconditionally embraces human imagination, or function as a partner or proxy agent in the creative process—rather than merely an automation or beautification tool. This lecture ignited students' interest in interdisciplinary learning, including exploring how AI can fuse knowledge from fields like art, design, psychology, and computer science to generate entirely new creative outcomes. Simultaneously, students began contemplating how to consider AI as a dynamic, creative element within the design process, rather than merely a static solution.

“AI and Co-Creation” Workshop Venue

In the lecture titled “AI and Cultural Heritage,” Assistant Professor Zhang Wanlin introduced discussions on the relationship between cultural heritage and personal identity, shared humanities and cultural diversity, and explored how AI can be applied to the cultural heritage field. Using her personal research findings and those of scholar Inky Gibbens on “What is cultural heritage and why is it important?” and “How can AI be applied to cultural heritage?” to initiate discussions on the relationship between cultural heritage and personal identity, shared humanities, and cultural diversity. Using her personal research and scholar Inky Gibbens' work on endangered dialects as examples, she further explored the connections between heritage knowledge, design, and practice with human values and sustainability, sparking lively student discussions on the contemporary societal value of cultural heritage. She provided a detailed overview of AI technologies applied to cultural heritage preservation, including algorithms for analyzing and restoring damaged cultural assets or structures, as well as AI-supported platforms and methodologies for safeguarding archaeological artifacts. By integrating current AI advancements with practical needs in cultural heritage conservation, the lecture deepened students' understanding of the potential synergies and applications between these fields.

“AI and Cultural Heritage” Workshop Venue

In the “AI+Material Exploration” workshop, Assistant Professor Enza MIGLIORE guided students in exploring AI applications within material-driven design. Participants learned how to leverage AI to visually and conceptually explore and manipulate material properties, pushing material boundaries while crafting narratives about future lifestyles. Students selected an existing material, conducted in-depth analyses of its technical characteristics, user experience, and application potential, and rapidly visualized and iterated new materials through AI interaction. They ultimately generated three images and a 3D model to showcase the new material, its potential applications within products or systems, and corresponding user scenarios. This workshop strengthened students' design capabilities in future-oriented and systematic thinking through collaborative AI processes.

“AI + Material Exploration” Workshop Venue

Another signature activity of the summer school was exploring Shenzhen. Students visited Dafeng Village, Huaqiangbei Electronics Market, the Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, Sanuo Group, Shenzhen Sidi Technology Co., Ltd., Chaihuo Maker, and the Artron Art Center. These visits provided insights into this vibrant hub of technological innovation and its unique industrial and cultural ecosystem. On the final day, Zhang Chongxiao, founder of Sandwave Technology, delivered a lecture titled “Design Realization.” He explained how an idea and a design can evolve into a product through R&D, prototyping, and mass production in Shenzhen. He also discussed how design professionals can leverage resources in Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area to scale their designs to millions of users, thereby contributing to improving the world.

Zhang Chongxiao Delivers Lecture Titled “Design Realization”

Over the four-day program, faculty from the School of Design delivered a series of engaging lectures, workshops, and activities. Students engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as “How AI and Design Will Transform Our Future” and “The Role of Design in This Transformation.” They showcased the outcomes of their discussions and design work through AI-generated posters. Through collaboration and intellectual exchange, participants not only deepened their understanding of AI-design integration but also sparked numerous innovative ideas.

Design Outcomes Exhibition Venue

Group Photo Session

The successful execution of this summer school not only provided students with invaluable learning opportunities but also served as a fruitful experiment in exploring innovative models for design education. The School of Design will continue to advance the deep integration of design and technology, cultivating more forward-thinking design talents.