From 29 May to 2 June, the 2026 KSBDA Spring International Conference and Invitational Exhibition was held at Seoul National University, Korea. Under the theme of “Basic Design and Art at the Boundary between Human Touch and Artificial Intelligence”, the conference brought together dozens of leading figures and educators in the field of design from China, the United States, Canada, Japan, India and other countries. Participants discussed how basic design and artistic creation can preserve human warmth and reconstruct the foundations of creativity in the age of artificial intelligence.

Professor Gao Peng, Dean of SFD, led a delegation to attend the opening ceremony of the conference, where he delivered a keynote speech. The work by Wang Yunfei, Lecturer at SFD, was also invited for exhibition, and he gave a themed presentation on site.

Dean Gao Peng and the SFD delegation with Kim Sung Hyun, President of the Korean Society of Basic Design & Art (third from right), and Nah Ken, Board Member of the World Design Organization (WDO) (second from right)

2026 KSBDA Spring International Conference and Invitational Exhibition

As an important annual academic event organised by the Korean Society of Basic Design & Art (KSBDA), the 2026 KSBDA Spring International Academic Conference and Invitational Exhibition included keynote speeches, workshops, oral paper presentations, poster presentations and an exhibition of invited works. The programme covered a wide range of frontier topics, including design policy, service design, healthcare design, artificial intelligence and changes in the design process, and design strategies in the Global South.

In his opening remarks, Ryu Hong-lim, President of Seoul National University, noted that artificial intelligence is reshaping design processes through powerful algorithms and challenging traditional models of art education. He called for basic design and artistic creation to actively serve as a bridge between technology and humanity, and to redefine the foundations of human creativity in the age of AI through interdisciplinary integration.

Dean Gao Peng delivered an academic report entitled “AI-Empowered Design Education: Explorations in the Design of Psychological Companion Robots for Adolescents”. Taking the adolescent emotional-support companion robot developed by SFD as the main case study, he presented frontier practice in the integration of artificial intelligence and design education.

Dean Gao stated that design is not only about creating products, but is also a systematic methodology for serving public wellbeing with human warmth. The emotional companion robot developed by the team can effectively help reduce adolescents’ psychological defences. Through non-invasive photoplethysmography (PPG), combined with AI-enabled natural language interaction and cognitive behavioural therapy, the project has developed a three-layer intervention model of “safe lowering of defences – problem externalisation – cognitive restructuring”.

The project attracted strong interest from participating scholars. Experts from several countries engaged in in-depth discussion on issues including data security, emotional dependency and cross-cultural applicability.

Dean Gao Peng of SFD delivering a keynote speech

The emotional companion robot designed by SFD faculty members and students

During the conference, Dean Gao Peng and the SFD delegation were invited to visit Seoul Design High School, where they signed a cooperation agreement. SFD will work with Hongik University and Seoul Design High School to jointly establish an “Overseas Practice Base for Creative Talent Development in Design Education”.

The base will operate through a “dual-mentor + project-based” model. SFD will select outstanding students to attend project-based workshops at Hongik University for two to three days. These workshops will be taught in English by Korean professors and will cover areas including intelligent product design, innovative applications of traditional art, and comparative research in design education. At the same time, SFD will also select teacher-training students from Beijing Normal University to undertake an education placement of approximately three days at Seoul Design High School. They will complete classroom observation, teaching assistance and independent teaching in sequence, with one-to-one guidance from experienced Korean teachers throughout the process.

Dean Gao Peng of SFD with Lee Jung-mok, Principal of Seoul Design High School

SFD also plans to establish a “China–Korea Joint Laboratory for Industrial Design Creativity”. In collaboration with the Korean Society of Basic Design & Art, the Korea Institute of Design Promotion and leading design consultancy LYP+, the laboratory will introduce real industry briefs and promote integrated cooperation across industry, academia and research.

Visiting and conducting research in the specialist classrooms of Seoul Design High School

This cooperation with leading Korean universities and well-known secondary schools represents an important initiative by SFD to promote international talent development and deepen interdisciplinary design education. It also provides a new practical model for in-depth cooperation between China and Korea in design education.