Crowdfunding, Entrepreneurship, and Design Education

The purpose of this paper is to develop further insights into micro-entrepreneurship programs participated in by Chinese industrial designers. A model of creative thinking is employed to explain the campaign creation process. A case study research in sample design entrepreneurs was designed and conducted, and it was composed of three steps: preparing for data collection, collecting the evidences, and analyzing the evidences. It was found that five main defects in creative thinking work as obstacles to crowdfunding success. In order to overcome these drawbacks, it is suggested that designers involved in micro-entrepreneurship programs should acquire the abilities of building prototypes, following the design procedure, finding and solving problems, defining ideation and applying the evaluation methods. Current findings and future study can contribute to the curriculum development for China's industrial design education.

So, What is Creativity?

With the impact of the development of the Creative Industries in the UK and other countries, China adopted the term Cultural and Creative Industry in a national strategy to initiate a structural refinement of the industrial sectors. The animation industry in China has long served as a major original equipment manufacturer (that is, producers of contract work for an external brand) to foreign investors. It then started to develop into a center of original design manufacturers (self-originated work sold to others) and original brand manufacturers (self-originated, self-branded work). This led to a rapid demand for creative talent from higher education institutes. Creativity is a relatively complex concept, and successfully fostering creativity in education demands a clear conception of what creativity and creativity education are. The objective of this chapter is to explore how teachers and students perceive the meaning of the term creativity and identify factors that contribute to teachers and students' conception of creativity in education.

Industry

“Industry-academia partnership” refers to the cooperative relationships between universities and enterprises during economic development. The purpose of this study is to establish a cooperative channel, strengthen the two-way exchanges between universities and enterprises, and highlight their complementary relationship. Universities shall guide enterprises toward correct operational philosophy, and assist industrial upgrading and economic development, while enhancing the research level of universities. As a result of this study, industry-academia partnership integrates social resources to give full play to mutual exchange between economic functions and social adaptations in order to promote industrial upgrading.

Play, Think, Design

Designing requires the simultaneous application of diverse modes of thinking and making; the administration of a set of competences, among them creativity, ranked most important by Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design faculty members. An introductory design thinking subject offered by the School uses Play as a means to foster best design learning experiences. It leverages Play's integrative cultural agency to facilitate students' acquisition of creative and instrumental thinking skills. From the formulation of a hypothesis and identification of a context, to subsequent iterative development and testing of a design proposition, the acquisition of fundamental creative design thinking skills are facilitated by play and demonstrated over the course of a project. A survey questionnaire (N=219) and subsequent factor analysis revealed positive student feedback. This chapter describes how the subject was implemented, and suggests how this blend of international cultural influences informing design education could serve China's creativity and innovation industries.

Chinese Students' Experiences in American MFA Programs in Digital Arts

In recent years, the number of Chinese students seeking advanced education in the United States has increased considerably. This paper attempts to compare Chinese students' expectations of the MFA program in digital arts in the U.S. to the actual contents offered by the graduate schools. It addresses the unique challenges they face when pursuing MFA degrees and discuss how they could overcome those challenges to successfully achieve their educational goals, as well as how the MFA programs can assist them in this endeavor. It explains that digital arts curriculums in the US are usually meant to help students achieve an individual approach to the field, while developing their aesthetic and artistic sensibilities through conceptualization. But upon entering graduate schools, Chinese students usually lack proper knowledge of the theory, history, and philosophy of art, which are employed extensively in these programs to engage students in a multidisciplinary practice that emphasizes as much on the conception of the final piece as it does on its technical prowess.

Co-Existence

This paper discusses the design capability challenges that are needed to be overcome by China to transform its current process type manufacturing industries into an innovation-design capabilities facilitated third phase industrialization process. This paper will discuss: 1) China's industrialization process in the context of the relationships between industrialization and innovation and the role that design capabilities play in facilitating the transformation of innovation into globally competitive products; 2) current weaknesses and challenges faced by design education in China and design capabilities needed to be developed to support an industry that is driven by innovation; 3) opportunities and recommendations for future actions.

20 Years of Doctoral Research Studies in Design in Hong Kong

For the past 50 years, the School of Design of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has been a pioneer in nurturing design education in Asia. It is also one of the first schools in the region to grant PhDs in “Design” serving as a role model for other universities in the region. Since the 1990s, the school has produced tens of PhD degree holders across different design specialties. However, as times change and knowledge plays a more fundamental role in the economy, the ability to produce quality design researchers, capable of creating deep and specific insights will become fundamental for the future of design in the region. In this chapter we review the emergence, growth and future of the PhD programme at the school of design of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University against a landscape of challenges of doctoral research education, particularly in the case of design. We also discuss the strategies used in the past, present and future, as the school moves into a new era of economic and geopolitical scenarios in the 21 century.

The Neurolecturer as Model for Design Education

Are there lecturers capable of educating a digital generation of players in state-of-the-art innovation and creativity techniques? Far-reaching challenge to accomplish, but hard to avoid if governments and institutions want to overcome the future challenges of the global economy, particularly emerging nations such as the ‘BRICS' and ‘MINT.' Education design can be instrumental to support a deep transformation of society, but the expertise needed in the classroom must be updated for a new era, characterized by educational approaches aimed at developing multiple intelligences. Teaching styles that match students' personality will enrich that process by taking into account their behavior when making pedagogic decisions. Cognitive neuroscience applied to learning will be a plus to ensure a deep transformation of design education in the in 21st century. The conceptualization of a new kind of lecturer, capable of carrying out this application is the center of this chapter.

Critical Thinking and Design Education in China

“If a science of societies exists, one must certainly not expect it to consist of a mere paraphrase of traditional prejudices. It should rather cause us to see things in a different way from the ordinary man, for the purpose of any science is to make discoveries, and all such discoveries more or less upset accepted opinions” (Durkheim, 1982). The aim of this paper is to describe the surrounding aspects and difficulties for western teachers to teach the important skill of “critical thinking” in China, and to provide a general point of reference about how to do it. Furthermore, this paper's aim is to introduce the development of significant cultural changes in Chinese society in the last twenty-five years. This paper offers a theory of how these changes effect society Critical thinking learning capabilities are deeply related to the community identity and have a relevant influence on many social aspects such as: relationships, behaviour, communication and business. It is also crucial to foster them in design education to promote innovation and the development of emerging nations.

Developing an Integral Approach for Chinese Design Education

Developing Chinese Design Education (CDE) with Chinese characteristics is an old but unending topic that has been discussed in the field of design education in P. R. China for many years. The debate has been constrained by different attitudes towards the nature of design, diverse interpretations of the Chinese cultural tradition and varied perceptions of the role of education. The future development of CDE is eager for new attitude, thinking and approach to rebuild its culture and value system. This article develops a comprehensive framework through redefining the meanings of CDE, applying the principles of spatio-temporal measurement and ADAL model of Integral Theory. This integral approach based on the newly established framework provides a pragmatic and collective method for CDE, not only from a strategic height to simultaneously understand multiple, competing theories and ideas, but also from tactical operational level to holistically manage different perspectives and practical solutions.