[Podcast] Design Futures: Fostering Transdisciplinary Innovators in Art and Technology
6 January, 2025
Keywords: ArtTech applied education, ArtTech, sustainable development, ATF24.
As part of the ArtTech Fusion 2024 (ATF24) series of University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH), the main panel discussion session “Design Futures: Fostering Transdisciplinary Innovators in Art and Technology” revolves around new creative trends, encouraging multidisciplinary connections to help future generations of creators preserve and to develop sustainable cultural heritage in the digital age.

The main panel discussion “Design Futures: Fostering Transdisciplinary Innovators in Art and Technology” featured the participation of Speaker Prof. Zhiyong Fu from Tsinghua University, China. He is a leading expert in the field of interactive design and innovation. Focusing on the intersection of art and technology, Prof. Zhiyong Fu introduced advanced technology applications in the preservation of Chinese cultural heritage as well as methods to promote the development of creators related to this field.

Figure 1. Overview of the main session at Hall UEH-B1.302
Nurturing transdisciplinary creators in the field of ArtTech (Art Technology)
During the session, Prof. Zhiyong Fu presented the importance of developing transdisciplinary talents related to the intersection of art and technology, especially in the context of strong development of technology and globalization. According to the professor, to cope with complex challenges in the future, the education system needs to have a multidisciplinary approach, combining elements of art and technology to encourage creative thinking. His content includes 03 parts:
(1) Building a multidisciplinary and sustainable Art Technology education system: The professor emphasized the importance of establishing a complete and comprehensive education system to provide a solid foundation for students to access and apply knowledge and skills in both art and technology. The key goal is to create favorable conditions for students to develop open thinking and innovation, stimulating creativity in practical projects. This requires proper investment in facilities and highly qualified lecturers to inspire and orient students.

Figure 2. Model applying Arts and Technology in education
(2) Integrating “Maker” into the training program: In addition to theoretical knowledge, integrating practical activities listed as Hackathons and innovation competitions will help students gain practical experience, improving their ability to apply and to innovate in a multidisciplinary environment. These playgrounds are a place for students to demonstrate their talents, and an opportunity for them to be exposed to practical problems, to practice critical thinking and effective teamwork. Through participating in such practical activities, students will experience a real working environment with challenges and pressures similar to those in reality. This will help them improve their ability to face and solve problems flexibly and creatively. This is also an opportunity for students to practice time management skills, teamwork and effective communication – skills necessary for success in an interdisciplinary working environment.

Figure 3. Model of principles for connecting the Maker community
(3) Combining research on future trendy topics and design thinking to promote interdisciplinary and sustainable direction: The professor emphasized the importance of encouraging students to research future trends and apply design thinking to solve social problems. This will help students think strategically, clearly visualize the future, and apply creative design thinking to propose breakthrough solutions. The combination of knowledge regarding future trends and design capacity will play an important role in orienting students’ interdisciplinary professional careers.

Figure 4. Model of promoting interdisciplinary creators
With the topic revolving around these three focuses, Professor Zhiyong Fu outlined a profound and comprehensive vision of training high-quality human resources to meet the needs of modern society. His contributions are not only theoretical but also highly applicable, with the ultimate goal of forming interdisciplinary experts who are creative, dynamic and capable of solving future challenges.

Figure 5. Professor Zhiyong Fu’s talk regarding the educational development direction for the ArtTech field
The role of ArtTech in the current context and in the future
In order for the audience to clearly visualize the development trend of ArtTech and the role of this field in each person’s life, Professor Zhiyong Fu presented the importance of integrating art and technology through examples of typical situations and real-life examples. With great influence in the art and technology community in China and around the world, Professor Zhiyong Fu shared valuable experiences and breakthrough approaches in combining art and technology to create new values, and enriching cultural experiences for people.
Projects listed as Qingming Shanghe Tu 3.0 and Digital Dunhuang are clear examples of the application of advanced technologies listed as virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), and 3D modeling to preserve and to promote cultural heritage, helping to reach a global audience. These projects have successfully combined modern technologies with long-standing cultural heritages, creating new and deeper interactive experiences for the public. The public can understand and appreciate cultural values more intuitively and vividly than ever before.

Figure 6. Qingming Shanghe Tu 3.0 and Digital Dunhuang projects
In addition, digital creative platforms listed as Ant Group’s Whale Exploration allow users to experience and own digital items, affirming the role of digital technology in developing and preserving culture. Such digital platforms have opened up new opportunities for spreading and sharing culture with the global community while creating new forms of cultural ownership and experience, in line with the current trend of digital technology.

Figure 7. Whale Exploration – a digital creative platform
In addition, the professor introduced to participants the project “Bali Travel Guide 2050” – a unique creative work that helps visualize the future of tourism in Bali (Indonesia) in 2050. This work showed a pioneering vision of how technology coulf impact the travel experience in the future. By combining virtual and real spaces, the work helps users explore Bali through new elements listed as meta-universe cultural tourism and virtual guides, creating a unique, limitless experience. Bold ideas listed as “space restaurants”, “trees from outer space”, and “electronic pets” show the limitless potential of using technology to recreate and expand cultural spaces in unprecedented ways.

Figure 8. “Bali Travel Guide 2050” project applying metaverse to tourism
Through these examples, Professor Zhiyong Fu has highlighted the particularly important role of digital technology and future design in expanding creativity, creating sustainable value for the society and promoting the development of culture and arts. New technologies listed as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and digital platforms are not simply tools but also creative means to expand the limits of human imagination. We can preserve and disseminate cultural heritage more effectively while creating new, unique and engaging experiences for the public around the world.

Figure 9. Speakers and participants taking photos at the end of the program
Professor Zhiyong Fu’s talk is very useful and highly applicable in developing a sustainable interdisciplinary education system. The vivid real-life situations regarding the undeniable role of technology in creating and preserving culture have outlined a solid foundation for training future generations. The harmonious combination of art and technology in education will help students access diverse knowledge amd expand their capabilities, preparing them to face global challenges in the future.
Accordingly, to develop a high-quality workforce meeting the needs of modern society, a creative and flexible educational roadmap is needed. Building interdisciplinary training programs that simultaneously integrate art and technology elements will create great internal strength for students to develop innovative thinking and a spirit of creativity. These are the essential qualities to master new technologies and flexibly apply them to solve multidimensional social problems.
Furthermore, when students are exposed to practical learning environments listed as creative projects, Hackathons and future trend research, they will have the opportunity to cultivate important soft skills such as critical thinking, effective teamwork and strategic thinking. These are the key skills to succeed in today’s challenging interdisciplinary working environment.
By absorbing the best from both the arts and technology, students can develop creativity, critical thinking and leadership skills to become talented interdisciplinary professionals ready to lead the technological revolution of the future. This is not only a training roadmap but also a guideline to form strong leaders capable of inspiring and creating new breakthroughs in solving complex global challenges.
ATF24 – A platform to contribute to orienting the future of the young creative generation towards sustainability
In line with the development trend of the ArtTech field, the international series ArtTech Fusion (ATF) is organized annually by ArtTech Hub (ATH) under the UEH College of Technology and Design (CTD), University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) in coordination with domestic and foreign units with different themes each year. 2024 is the 3rd time the international series ArtTech Fusion is organized with the theme “New ArtTech for Future Generations” to inspire and promote creative thinking and innovative actions of the future generation to build a sustainable society. Throughout the 3-day ATF24 journey (October 22-24, 2024), there were more than 30 academic and practical activities including 05 keynote speeches, 10 special sessions, 05 parallel sessions, 05 workshops, 01 book chapter, 09 exhibitions, 01 heritage connection trip, 01 tangible performance. |
Authors: Ms. Duong Thi Thuy Trang; Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Hien – University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City
This article is part of the series spreading research and applied knowledge from UEH with the message “Research Contribution For All”. UEH cordially invites readers to read the next UEH Research Insights newsletter.
News, photos: The Authors, UEH Department of Communications and Partnerships

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