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On December 6, 2025, the 2025 International Conference on Digital Design Engineering（ICDDE 2025）& Forum on High-Quality Development of Vocational Education for Institutional Leaders was successfully held at Guangzhou Polytechnic University. Guided by the World Eco-Design Organization (UN Special Consultative Status NGO), and co-hosted by the National Eco-Industrial Design Institute (EIDI) and Guangzhou Polytechnic University, the conference was themed “Integration · Intelligence · Leadership.” Focusing on how emerging technologies—such as Artificial Intelligence, Digital Twins, and AIGC—are driving the shift from “form expression” to “digital design engineering,” the event explored interdisciplinary synergies among design disciplines, engineering technologies, industrial innovation, and vocational education. More than 200 representatives from vocational undergraduate institutions, “Double High Level Plan” colleges, research institutes, and industry attended the conference.
At the opening ceremony, Prof. Ma Renting, President of Guangzhou Polytechnic University; Prof. Ying Fangtian, Director General of the World Eco-Design Organization (WEDO), Dean of the National Eco-Industrial Design Institute (EIDI), Fellow of the European Academy of Engineering, and Professor at Zhejiang University; and Mr. Fang Changming, Second-level Inspector of the Division of Vocational Education and Office of Lifelong Education Administration of the Education Bureau of Guangzhou Municipality, delivered keynote remarks.
Remarks by President Ma Renting
Prof. Ma introduced the Guangzhou Polytechnic University’s practical explorations in digital design, Guangzhou Polytechnic University, and reform of national vocational education. He emphasized that digital design engineering represents a strategic nexus linking technological innovation and industrial upgrading, and that the university is committed to building a high-level technical and skilled talent training system that serves regional economic development.
Remarks by Prof. Ying Fangtian
Prof. Ying shared his views on global eco-design and digital transformation, noting that digital art and design are reshaping the very logic of design paradigms, driving deeper integration across design, technology, business, user experience, and culture. Design has become a pivotal engine for industrial upgrading and sustainable development. He emphasized that this conference brings together stakeholders from academia, industry and education to explore interdisciplinary integration and university–industry–research collaboration, which is of significant strategic importance. As an international organization in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), WEDO remains committed to advancing sustainable development through the power of design and hopes that this conference will further advance the global design innovation ecosystem and enable design intelligence to play a greater role in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Remarks by Mr. Fang Changming
Mr. Fang stated in his speech that the Education Bureau of Guangzhou Municipality will ontinue supporting vocational colleges in advancing digital transformation and integration between industry and education pilots. He emphasized providing policy and platform support for emerging interdisciplinary fields such as digital design engineering, fostering coordinated development between a modern industrial system and a modern vocational education system.
The forum on “The Future of Digital Design Engineering: Cross-Disciplinary Integration and Educational Innovation” was moderated by Prof. Chen Zhaojie of Guangdong University of Technology. The session highlighted diverse application scenarios of digital design engineering across artistic creation, cultural innovation, the content industry, and the fashion sector, offering a comprehensive view of how emerging technologies are reshaping design practice and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Moderated by Prof. Chen Zhaojie
Keynote by Prof. Tan Liang
Prof. Tan Liang, doctoral supervisor at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, delivered a report titled “From Algorithms to Generation: Art and Design Thinking Driven by AI.” He traced the evolution of Generative AI and discussed its impact on artistic and design mindsets, emphasizing the need for critical reflection on algorithmic bias and copyright ethics. He highlighted that AI should be viewed as a tool that expands artistic boundaries rather than replaces human creators in a human–machine co-creation relationship.
Keynote by Prof. Paul Denison
Prof. Paul Denison of Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts presented “Redefining Creativity: Fostering Empathic Design in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” Reflecting on design history and design education, he argued that in an era when AI heavily participates in concept generation, design education should further strengthen intuition, empathy, perception, and storytelling. Through empathic design and experiential learning, students can “enter the lived world of users,” restoring the unique human value of creativity.
Keynote by Mr. Chen Chiheng
Mr. Chen Chiheng, General Manager of South China Region at Yuguang Tongchen Cultural Technology Co., Ltd., gave a talk titled “Systematic Evolution and Challenges of Generative AI in Design and Content Industries.” Drawing on commercial practice, he outlined systematic applications of generative AI in planning, storyboarding, visual development, editing, and compositing. He analyzed pressing challenges—such as copyright ownership, portrait rights, safety compliance, and aesthetic homogenization—and stressed that workflow reconstruction centered on “human–machine collaboration” and the cultivation of compound talent will be key to sustainable innovation in the content industry.
Keynote by Prof. Duan Na
Prof. Duan Na from the School of Art and Design at Guangzhou Polytechnic University presented “Cultivating Technical Talent for the Digital Development of China’s Sports Footwear and Apparel Industry.” Based on the university’s joint construction of a Sports Industry College with Li-Ning Group, she discussed the industry’s urgent need for talent skilled in 3D modeling, virtual simulation, additive manufacturing, and other technologies. She introduced the university’s “real needs, real projects, real scenarios, real development, real outputs” training philosophy and the “order-based class + industry academy” model, demonstrating the vital role vocational institutions play in supporting leading enterprises and driving industrial upgrading.
Event Highlights
The conference featured a parallel session on outstanding papers in digital design engineering, chaired by Prof. Chen Zhenyi of Wuyi University. Scholars presented cutting-edge research on intelligent design tools, digital twins, and human–computer interaction optimization, showcasing how digital technologies are reshaping design methodologies and innovation models. The conference also recognized outstanding papers and excellent organizing institutions to further encourage dissemination and application of research achievements. Additionally, five group standards were released, covering digital elderly-friendly design, additive manufacturing processes, and AIGC video animation workflows—providing important technical references for education, research, and industrial practice.
The concurrent Forum on High-Quality Development of Vocational Education for Institutional Leaders focused on smart campus development, the construction of industrial college, reforms in talent development models, and the application of AIGC in education. Participants agreed that digital technologies are becoming a key driving force reshaping vocational education systems. They emphasized that vocational institutions must actively integrate into the emerging landscape of new productive forces by optimizing professional clusters, updating curricula, and deepening school–enterprise collaboration to develop high-quality talent training systems aligned with industrial digitalization.
Digital design engineering is emerging as a powerful engine for intelligent manufacturing, cultural creativity, and green development. It also places new demands on vocational education in cultivating technical and skilled talent and advancing technological innovation. Building on the momentum of this conference, ongoing efforts will focus on frontier research in digital design theory, development of standards systems, and reform of educational frameworks. By strengthening collaboration among domestic and international universities, research institutions, and industry partners, the conference aims to deepen integration across technology, industry, education, and talent—contributing new knowledge and strength to the construction of a “Manufacturing Power” and “Digital China.”
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