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ICID is pleased to welcome Professor Masayuki Suzuki of the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Chiba University, Japan, as a visiting scholar for a six-month research sabbatical from October 2026 through March 2027. Professor Suzuki has long been engaged in research on regional revitalization, community regeneration, and cultural and creative industries. He has also maintained a strong interest in the adaptive reuse of historic buildings and regional development in Taiwan.Drawing on a collection of approximately 570 case studies of cultural and creative projects and spatial regeneration in Taiwan, Professor Suzuki’s research will examine how architectural heritage can be integrated with community development, cultural and creative enterprises, and resident participation. Through spatial analysis, field interviews, and case studies, his research will explore how the adaptive reuse of individual spaces can help drive broader urban and regional regeneration.ICID warmly welcomes Professor Suzuki to the academic community of NCKU and the Institute. Through research discussions, academic exchanges, and interactions with faculty members and students, we look forward to fostering dialogue on regional revitalization practices in Taiwan and Japan, exploring opportunities for collaborative research and teaching, and further strengthening academic ties between NCKU and Chiba University.

In summer 2026, nine students from National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) took part in a five-week arts internship at Loughborough University’s School of Design and Creative Arts in the United Kingdom. Led by Professor Ming Turner and supported by Taiwan’s Ministry of Education through its “學海築夢” overseas internship programme, the group comprised three students from the Institute of Creative Industries Design (ICID) and six from the Master Program on Techno Art.Centred on the theme “Ecologies,” the internship explored the intersections of creativity, design, nature and people, extending these enquiries to materials, culture and the environment. Through fieldwork in the British countryside, students collected natural objects, created artworks using unfired earth and constructed a “world of hills.” They also explored fabric as a carrier of memory and responded to their surroundings through creative writing and sound recording. These explorations culminated in five series of works spanning multiple media.The resulting exhibition, Unbounded — Coexistence, was open to the public at MPND Gallery in Loughborough on 18–19 August. Jointly organised by MPND Gallery, Loughborough University and NCKU, it marked the students’ first exhibition in a UK gallery. The opening evening welcomed members of the local arts community, students and faculty. One of the most popular attractions was an interactive activity inspired by the Taiwanese prize game chuo chuo le, in which visitors poke through paper-covered compartments to reveal small surprises. For the activity, students painted stones collected from a farm with Taiwanese motifs and offered them as gifts, introducing visitors to Taiwanese culture through play.From fieldwork and art-making to exhibition curation, students applied their skills across media to curatorial practice and workshop design. Collaboration with UK students and faculty also strengthened their intercultural communication skills, broadened their international arts perspectives and helped them build new connections. After the exhibition, the painted stones remained with visitors in Loughborough. What the students brought back to Taiwan was a way of working: observing, making, engaging in dialogue and presenting their work, starting from scratch in an unfamiliar environment. How this approach develops in their future practice remains something to look forward to.

In September 2026, the Institute of Creative Industries Design (ICID) at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) welcomed Prof. Dr. Felix Kosok, Professor of Communication Design at German International University Berlin and Lead Design Discourse for World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026. With his work spanning design, democracy, civic participation, and urban transformation, Kosok brought international experience from WDC Frankfurt RheinMain 2026 into a graduate-level educational setting at NCKU. Through public lectures, workshops, and academic exchange, his visit explored how City Design Power can be understood, identified, and strengthened within the local context of Tainan.The programme began with the public lecture “World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026 – Empowering Citizens through Design.” Drawing on the experience of World Design Capital, Kosok introduced how design can extend beyond shaping the physical environment to strengthen citizens’ capacity to participate, collaborate, and take part in shaping their cities. Rather than asking simply what should be designed in Tainan, the programme focused on a broader question: How can a city build the capacity to act on what it decides?During the two-day workshop, students—primarily from ICID, with additional participants from Urban Planning and Gerontology—worked with city data, maps, and an ecosystem canvas to examine Tainan as an interconnected urban system. They identified key actors, resources, relationships, existing strengths, and gaps in civic participation and cross-sector collaboration. By looking across different scales, students were encouraged to understand urban challenges not as isolated problems, but as part of wider networks of people, institutions, resources, and relationships.These observations were then translated into a series of reframed design challenges. Rather than moving immediately toward solutions, students practised identifying how problems are formed, which relationships need to become more visible, and how design might facilitate dialogue and collective action. The process expanded the role of the designer from a provider of solutions to someone who can connect perspectives, navigate complex systems, and create conditions for participation.Kosok’s workshop also served as the first stage of ICID’s broader international programme, “From Understanding the City to Reimagining the City.” The urban questions and design challenges identified through City Design Power were carried forward into the following Evolutional Creativity programme led by Eisuke Tachikawa. Together, the two programmes created a connected learning journey—from understanding existing urban systems and capacities for action to generating and iterating possible futures.

In September 2026, the Institute of Creative Industries Design (ICID) at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) welcomed Japanese designer Eisuke Tachikawa. A board member of the World Design Organization (WDO) and founder and CEO of NOSIGNER, Tachikawa works across industrial design, graphic design, architecture and social innovation, using design to address disaster resilience, environmental change and complex social challenges. His methodology, Evolutional Creativity, draws on variation and selection in biological evolution to explore how creativity emerges and develops. His visit brought this approach, developed through design practice, into graduate teaching and academic exchange, connecting it with discussions on climate adaptation, urban systems, artificial intelligence and the future of creativity.The series began with “ADAPTMENT: Climate Adaptive Design.” Drawing on adaptive mechanisms in nature, Tachikawa invited students to reconsider climate adaptation. Beyond seeking a single, fixed solution, he encouraged them to explore how cities and societies can function like living systems—observing, adjusting, learning and evolving in a continually changing environment. Through case studies and discussions across different scales, students re-examined the interconnected relationships among climate, cities, the environment and everyday life.The subsequent two-day workshop focused on Evolutional Creativity. Participants explored different forms of “Variation” to expand possibilities, then applied “Selection” through observation, comparison, evaluation and refinement, gradually developing creative proposals through repeated iterations. The workshop also included experiments in AI collaboration, enabling students to test how Evolutional Creativity could work alongside generative artificial intelligence. These experiments raised a central question for contemporary design education and research: when AI can rapidly generate numerous possibilities, at which stages do human judgement, intention, values and choice remain indispensable?The workshop built on the City Design Power programme led by Felix Kosok the previous week. Students first identified actors, resources, relationships and design challenges within Tainan’s urban systems, then brought these challenges into the Evolutional Creativity process for further development. Together, the two weeks formed a continuous learning journey titled “From Understanding the City to Reimagining the City,” moving from an understanding of existing urban systems towards the generation of possible responses and future directions.Through this international series, ICID brought design practitioners who are actively developing new methods and addressing contemporary and future challenges into direct dialogue with students and faculty. Beyond introducing methods and case studies, the programme sought to open up the boundaries between design practice and academic inquiry, allowing knowledge and approaches developed through practice to be applied, discussed, critically examined and extended within a university setting.By integrating Tachikawa’s design methodology into ICID’s teaching and connecting it with Tainan’s local context, students’ observations and interdisciplinary discussions, the exchange opened further possibilities for sustained collaboration among design practice, higher education and research. For students, the experience went beyond exposure to international case studies: it offered opportunities to identify problems, build connections and develop responses to real-world challenges across different scales and from the perspectives of diverse stakeholders. For the methodology itself, the university served as a platform for continued testing, discussion and the deepening of knowledge developed through practice.Spanning climate adaptation, urban systems, AI and creativity, Tachikawa’s visit offered more than a set of design tools. It introduced a way of understanding change: design involves continually observing uncertain environments, generating possibilities and making choices, while evolving through practice, teaching and exchange.

Yueh-Lin Yang, a doctoral student at the Institute of Creative Industries Design (ICID), is presenting his solo exhibition, *Suchness: as it is*, at the NCKU Art Gallery, part of National Cheng Kung University’s Art Center.The exhibition begins with organic forms found in nature. For Yang, weathering, insect damage, growth, decay and regeneration are all traces that life leaves over time. He sees them as imprints shaped by time and the environment, rather than imperfections. Instead of pursuing intact forms, he is drawn to the openings and empty spaces left by transformation. These openings allow light to pass through and air to flow, making each form unique.Yang interweaves ceramics, glass and screen printing in his work. By weaving clay into organic forms, he explores the rhythms of the body and the material through repetitive handwork. Glass flows at high temperatures before cooling and solidifying, suggesting a fleeting moment in which light, shadow and the energy of life are held in place. Screen printing, meanwhile, records the stories and traces of life. Through the exhibition, Yang invites viewers to slow down, notice the subtle presences often overlooked in everyday life, and rediscover—and perhaps embrace—their connection with nature.The exhibition poster was designed by Dalton Bruyns, an Australian ICID student and graphic designer, making the exhibition a collaboration across cultures and disciplines within the institute. ICID students come from diverse backgrounds and pursue their own creative practices alongside their research. Visitors are warmly invited to the NCKU Art Gallery to experience their creativity and energy firsthand.

Congratulations to Associate Professor Hui-Wen Lin of our institute on receiving the Outstanding Teaching Award for the 2025 Academic Year and being recognized as an Outstanding Teacher. We warmly invite everyone to join us in celebrating her remarkable dedication and excellence in teaching.

TAINAN, Taiwan — The Institute of Creative Industries Design at National Cheng Kung University held a final exhibition for its course “Contemporary Cultural Translation and Interpretation” on May 31 at the Zuozhen Church in Tainan, showcasing student works inspired by the culture of the Siraya people. Led by Professor Hui-Wen Lin, the course was conducted in collaboration with the Bama community in Zuozhen, Laolao Studio, and Jishe Workshop. The initiative offered both local and international students an opportunity to engage deeply with Siraya cultural heritage, culminating in a student-curated exhibition translating their research into contemporary design works.The course adopted an intensive teaching format that integrated cultural semiotics, field research, and hands-on design practice. Students began by studying local museums and artifacts to understand the historical context of the Siraya people, before transforming traditional visual symbols into contemporary creative expressions. Yet, for many participants, the experience extended far beyond design. Upon entering the community, several students realized they had unconsciously assumed the role of “helpers.” However, the Bama community—particularly its younger generation—has long been actively engaged in cultural revitalization, with substantial experience in preserving and reinterpreting its heritage. Vukin Takalomay, convener of the Bama youth group, noted that the community hopes to establish a systematic framework to help non-Indigenous designers better understand cultural contexts before initiating creative work, thereby fostering a more balanced and respectful model of collaboration. Within this framework, students in the course participated as authorized “co-creators” rather than external contributors.Conducted entirely in English, the course brought together 10 international students from the United States, Spain, Thailand, Indonesia, Paraguay, and China, who collaborated with Taiwanese students on team-based projects. Cross-cultural exchanges enriched the learning process. For instance, a Spanish student expressed surprise and delight upon discovering that certain place names in Taiwan retain Spanish linguistic traces due to historical connections, creating an unexpected sense of familiarity.From cultural research and fieldwork to prototyping and production, the course environment fostered active exploration, dialogue, and comparative learning. Students completed the full design process and presented their final works—ranging from garments to accessories—to community members. The exhibition not only highlighted creative outcomes but also demonstrated new possibilities for cultural preservation through contemporary design practice.

Co-Designing the “Cultural Crossroads” at Minglun Hall, Tainan Confucius Temple—Taiwan’s First Confucian Academy.On February 11, 2026, the Institute of Creative Industries Design (ICID), National Cheng Kung University, organized the “Cultural Crossroads” Design Workshop at Minglun Hall (明倫堂; Hall of Ethics) within the Tainan Confucius Temple, Taiwan’s first Confucian academy founded in 1665. Convened by the Tainan Confucius Temple Cultural Foundation, the workshop was structured around six nodes × six thematic issues, including Confucius Temple 360 and the night-time economy; Tainan Art Museum and the City Biennial; the National Museum of Taiwan Literature and literary outreach; the Taiwan Fu City God Temple and place-based governance; homestay operators and cultural brand value; and NCKU’s Institute of Gerontology in relation to third-act (later-life) design.Group discussions addressed topics such as the planning of night-time cultural programming, multi-sensory spatial experiences, senior participation, and the integration of cultural narratives into hospitality branding. Participants included representatives from cultural institutions, local government, industry practitioners, and academic researchers, forming a cross-sector platform for dialogue.Building on the established identities and agendas of these cultural institutions, ICID facilitated interdisciplinary dialogue through a design thinking framework and group-based co-creation. The workshop was led by ICID Chairperson Yang Chia-Han, with graduate students trained in workshop design serving as facilitators. Their academic backgrounds—ranging from aging studies and place-based development to Taiwanese literature—supported cross-sector exchange and reflected the institute’s integrative approach to cultural collaboration.

Gímgoânheng, a century-old fabric store in Tainan, has long been dedicated to weaving local culture as its warp and creative aesthetics as its weft. Through textile print design and curatorial practices, it continues to promote cultural creation and exchange.The 2026 Gímgoânheng Arts & Cultural Grant Program is now officially open for applications. We sincerely invite creators from various fields—including art, design, illustration, photography, fashion, and other creative disciplines—to submit their proposals. Selected participants will be offered free exhibition space, feature coverage in an arts publication, and digital marketing support. This program supports creators in showcasing their work within Tainan's historic architectural spaces, allowing more people to discover the possibilities of creative expression.Application Deadline: May 3, 2026

Naomi Sím (Shen Wan-Ying), a master’s student from our institute, was recently invited by the National Museum of Taiwan Literature to appear at the 2026 Taipei International Book Exhibition as an emerging Taiwanese writer. She participated in the panel discussion titled “Translation and Transits of Taiwanese Literature.” At the event, she engaged in dialogue with Taiwanese translator Jenna Tang, American translator Jeff Miller, Korean translator Kim Tae-sung, editor Will Buckingham from the UK-based independent publisher Wind&Bones, and Kuo Pei-Yu, editor-in-chief of Guerrilla Publishing.This invitation not only recognizes Naomi Sím’s creative achievements but also highlights the effectiveness of our institute’s interdisciplinary training. In her literary practice, she incorporates design thinking concepts such as “user-centeredness” and “translation” learned in class. After the event, she shared with the institute: “My training here has taught me to view the literary translation industry from a macro perspective.” She believes that her short story Cuilan ê Love Letter gained international attention partly because she conducted “user experience research” during the early stages of writing—treating readers as “users” and even developing “personas” to guide her creative process. By considering topics that might resonate with potential readers before writing, her approach resembles a form of design practice. Naomi humorously remarked that she may not be a traditional literary writer, but rather a “designer-novelist.”Her outstanding performance at the event reflects the institute’s core mission of integrating creativity, industry, and design thinking. The institute will continue to encourage students to step beyond the classroom and transform their design capabilities into tangible actions that impact the industry.