Abstract
This paper explores current challenges of and competencies in design education through an industry lens, highlighting both the opportunities and obstacles arising from the growing integration of AI. Drawing on the interviews with design leaders, scholars and students, the findings reveal diverse perspectives and challenges related to AI, including four main aspects: (1) AI can serve as an assistive tool in design practice; (2) AI creates new requirements and needs for designer roles and affects job displacement; (3) AI can improve work efficiency and reshape organisational structures; and (4) AI raises ethical issues such as plagiarism. Moreover, two AI-related cultural challenges unique to the Chinese context are also identified: (1) AI-driven unemployment can increase the ‘curse of 35’ career bottleneck; and (2) the rise of AI may impact unspoken social norms, or ‘guanxi’, as a source of competitive advantage.
Keywords
Competency development, Design education, Design management, Artificial intelligence
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1259
Citation
Gao, X., and Bakırlıoğlu, Y. (2026) Navigating AI in design leadership: Insights on emerging competencies and cultural challenges in China, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1259
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Navigating AI in design leadership: Insights on emerging competencies and cultural challenges in China
This paper explores current challenges of and competencies in design education through an industry lens, highlighting both the opportunities and obstacles arising from the growing integration of AI. Drawing on the interviews with design leaders, scholars and students, the findings reveal diverse perspectives and challenges related to AI, including four main aspects: (1) AI can serve as an assistive tool in design practice; (2) AI creates new requirements and needs for designer roles and affects job displacement; (3) AI can improve work efficiency and reshape organisational structures; and (4) AI raises ethical issues such as plagiarism. Moreover, two AI-related cultural challenges unique to the Chinese context are also identified: (1) AI-driven unemployment can increase the ‘curse of 35’ career bottleneck; and (2) the rise of AI may impact unspoken social norms, or ‘guanxi’, as a source of competitive advantage.