On May 23, the opening ceremony of the 2025 Degree Show of the Institute of Creativity and Innovation (ICI), Xiamen University (XMU) was held at Xiamen Fliport C & E Center, officially kicking off the "ICI Design Season 2025"—the annual academic event of the ICI, XMU. Centered on the ICI Degree Show, this event aims to bring design beyond the classroom and into society, responding to urban renewal and rural revitalization while exploring the interdisciplinary integration of creativity, industry, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. It provides a platform for students to share completed, ongoing, or evolving innovative works, showcasing the dual value of design as both a process and a practice.
Former Deputy Chair of XMU Council Lai Hongkai, Assistant President of XMU Professor Xie Zhaoxiong, and Mr. Su Ke, Deputy Director of the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, attended the opening ceremony. Representatives from relevant departments in Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, and Nanping cities, peer universities, and industry-academia collaboration partners, along with heads of various departments and faculties of XMU, as well as media representatives, were present. The leadership team of the ICI, faculty representatives, and the class of 2025 graduates were also present at the event. The opening ceremony was hosted by Ms. Wang Yi, Chair of the ICI Council.
Professor Xie Zhaoxiong, Assistant President of XMU, expressed gratitude to all leaders and friends who have long supported the development of XMU. He affirmed the ICI, the first Sino-foreign cooperative education institution in XMU’s century-long history, for its achievements in integrating advanced educational concepts and resources from both China and the UK. He highlighted the ICI's innovative approach in establishing a "co-construction, co-governance, and mutual benefit" model for Sino-foreign cooperative education and its excellent results in talent cultivation. He encouraged the 2025 graduates—whether pursuing further studies at top institutions like Zhejiang University, Nanjing University, National University of Singapore, and University College London, or joining renowned enterprises such as CSCEC Overseas, BYD, and iFlytek—to maintain strong curiosity, continuously enhance their innovation and creativity, dare to explore and create, and strive to make greater contributions to serving the nation and benefiting humanity.
In his address, Dean Qin Jian of the ICI noted that in an era where artificial intelligence is reshaping industrial landscapes and new quality productive forces are thriving, design education is undergoing a profound transformation. The ICI has been actively reforming and innovating, gradually establishing an “interdisciplinary and cross-cultural” educational system to cultivate top-tier creative talents. With critical thinking as the edge, inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural practice as the bridge, and social care as the anchor, the 2025 graduates, this cohort of young designers, address social issues with keen insight, seek balance in the tension between technical iteration and cultural inheritance, and explore possibilities at the intersection of the virtual and the real. Their works in this exhibition have showcased their cognition of reality and reflections on the future. This collection embodies the transition of design education from "formal creation" to "value leadership."
Associate Dean Philip Lambert of the ICI, in his address, emphasized that this ICI Degree Show is not only a showcase of design achievements but also a testament to the four-year growth journey of young creators who have braved breakthroughs and innovations. With curiosity, imagination, and critical spirit, they have explored new media, challenged established norms, crossed disciplinary boundaries, and even ventured into uncomfortable zones. Their works, whether thought-provoking or delightful, always offer new perspectives on the world. Over the past four years, students have engaged with professional educators from over 18 countries, broadening their global horizons and mastering cross-linguistic and interdisciplinary collaboration—a testament to the success of the deep cooperation between XMU (China) and the University for the Creative Arts (UK) across cultures, educational systems, and perspectives. He wished them to remain curious and spread positive energy in their future creative endeavors.
Following the speeches, the ICI signed cooperation agreements with Xiamen C&D International Travel Group and Xiamen University Press to jointly create a brighter future. After a vibrant performance by ICI faculty and students, Ms. Wang Yi officially announced the opening of the ICI Degree Show.
Subsequently, the guests present toured the Degree Show together, appreciating student works and engaging in in-depth exchanges with faculty and students. The exhibition showcased over 200 graduation projects from the 2025 cohort of the ICI’s three majors: Visual Communication Design, Environmental Design, and Digital Media Art. Notably, this marked the first collective debut of works by the inaugural cohort of Digital Media Art graduates. These works represent not only a culmination of four years of academic journey but also innovative proposals dedicated to a better life in the new era. They vividly demonstrate students' critical thinking, bold exploration, and future-oriented creative practices in addressing global issues such as technological innovation, climate crisis, digital ethics, community symbiosis, and cultural heritage.
As the core component of "ICI Design Season 2025," the 2025 ICI Degree Show will run until June 1. Alongside the exhibition, a series of complementary opening-week events—including comprehensive guided tours, graduation project sharing sessions, and thematic workshops—have been added to foster deep industry-academia-research dialogues. "ICI Design Season 2025" also features five parallel exhibitions, which will be staged successively from June 7 at venues including the XMU ICI Open Museum, Three Shadows Xiamen Photography Art Centre, Xiamen Powerlong Art Centre, Xiamen Haicang Cultural Centre, and Xiamen Jimei Shimao Festival City, continuing until July 7. This season exhibits over 500 works—more than double the number in the previous "ICI Design Season"—spanning graduation design achievements, cross-year course projects, and creative practices across different learning stages. Through "ICI Design Season 2025," Xiamen University Institute of Creativity and Innovation aims to showcase its distinctive outcomes, unique charm, and educational strength as a Sino-foreign cooperative institution. Moving forward, the institute remains committed to connotative and innovative development, focusing on cultivating high-level innovative talents to inject new vitality and make fresh contributions to advancing the design industry and societal progress.
ICI DEGREE SHOW 2025
Voices from Faculty and Students
Zhong Zhen, Associate Professor and Chinese Lead of the Environmental Design Program: The works in this ICI Degree Show vividly reflect young designers' social responsibility and expansive professional vision. Centered on core societal issues such as urban renewal, cultural-tourism integration, regional coordinated development, and enhancement of living quality, these projects actively respond to real-world challenges through innovative design languages, embodying the core value of design in serving society. The Sino-foreign cooperative model of the Institute has endowed young designers with cross-cultural academic perspectives and diversified thinking pathways. Their works, rooted in local contexts yet integrating international cutting-edge concepts, not only demonstrate substantive outcomes of internationalized design education but also reflect the new generation's self-commitment to integrating social responsibility into professional practice.
Samuel Penn, Subject Lead of Environmental Design: I’m pleased to present this year’s graduation exhibition in Xiamen, showcasing the work of 70 students whose projects span architecture, landscape, interiors, and urban design. Environmental Design is a discipline with deep roots in China and a strong tradition of connecting spatial thinking with cultural and social insight. At ICI, this tradition is enriched through close collaboration between Xiamen University and the University for the Creative Arts—bringing together the rigour of Chinese academic practice with the exploratory ethos of UK design education. This year, students have used Xiamen as both context and provocation—uncovering overlooked conditions, engaging with local communities, and testing new spatial possibilities. Some propose direct interventions, others offer more speculative or interpretive responses, but all reflect a sustained and thoughtful enquiry into the built environment. The exhibition captures a generation of designers thinking critically, working collectively, and engaging with place in meaningful and inventive ways.
Duncan Breeze, Subject Lead of Creative Foundations: This year’s grad exhibition brings together a wide variety of work from across ICI’s three core disciplines, and really shows how our students have embraced creative and interdisciplinary thinking. What’s on display reflects the kind of experimentation the students have excelled at — where design, media, criticality and entrepreneurial thinking come together in unconventional and meaningful ways. The projects explore complex ideas and take risks, often moving beyond traditional boundaries to find new forms of expression. Collectively, the work demonstrates the bold, thoughtful, and forward-looking approach that this student cohort developed throughout their studies.
Visual Communication Design Undergraduate Huang Wenze (Class of 2025): Graduation Project—Design Variations of Rules
This project explores the contradictory relationship between rules and humanity through four lenses: screen, print, map-oriented design, and GRIT. Moving beyond design itself, I drew insights from broader domains such as music, literature, and film to seek answers beyond conventional correctness. The fascinating designs by teachers and peers ignited my creative spark, gradually guiding me to discover my own voice.
Environmental Design Undergraduate Dai Yuwen (Class of 2025): Graduation Project—"Su" Street Museum
Focusing on Xi'an Community, this project revives intangible cultural heritage by embedding elements like Qiaopi (overseas Chinese remittance letters), tea culture, bead embroidery, and patterned tiles into street nodes, exploring dynamic interactions between culture and space. The process deepened my understanding that design’s responsibility extends beyond shaping space—it activates memory and emotion. Grateful for my mentor and team’s support, I’ve transformed abstract thinking into tangible practice. I hope to further immerse in local cultural contexts, extending design’s transformative power in authentic places.
Digital Media Art Undergraduate Ji Junming (Class of 2025): Graduation Project—The 101st Artwork
This work examines the evolution of relationships between AI and humans in art a period of future technological development. The 101st Artwork uses keywords like "technology," "art," and "transformation," employing a trained large language model to generate artistic concepts, which I then materialize, attempting to redefine human-machine collaboration in artistic creation, offering new perspectives on artistic subjectivity. Through AI-mediated artistic thinking, I aim to explore future creative paradigms and contribute fresh dimensions to the study of artistic agency.
