2026 APEC International Seminar to Discuss AI-Driven Design Innovation
The Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI) opened the 2026 APEC International Seminar on AI-Driven Design Innovation on 16 September. This two-day seminar brings together experts from eight APEC economies—Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Peru, the Philippines, Chinese Taipei, and Thailand—alongside nearly 100 specialists from government, industry, academia, and research institutions.
According to the President of TDRI, Chi-Yi Chang, with support from the Department of Industrial Technology (DoIT) under Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs through various technology development programmes, TDRI continues to drive the integration of design and technology. The institute is also developing AI technology and application platforms for the design sector. These efforts include the development of design knowledge engineering and core AI capabilities, ranging from prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), AI skills, workflows, and AI agents, to the development of AI tools tailored to the practical needs and workflows of designers.
These various initiatives are accelerating AI transformation within Taipei’s design industry and helping companies streamline research during the early stages of product development. Such tools are capable of reducing annual development costs by 5–10% and cutting manual data analysis time by approximately 30%. Several of TDRI’s AI design strategy and product data analysis tools have already been adopted by five major domestic design industry associations, covering industrial design, graphic design, interior design, and interaction design. These achievements have not only been recognised through the Golden Pin Design Award but have also been introduced in the United States, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and other nations.
In addition to discussing four main themes—AI-based design trends, policy, talent development, and industrial transformation opportunities—the conference also features an AI-Driven Design Innovation Workshop. Experts from participating countries will discuss how AI can strengthen the innovation capabilities of SMEs, as well as explore directions for talent development, policy support, and regional cooperation. Participants will also visit the Taiwan InnoTech Expo (TIE) 2026 to witness Taipei’s innovation capabilities in AI, semiconductors, and other technology sectors firsthand.
Through this APEC seminar, TDRI aims to assist SMEs in the Asia-Pacific region in seizing opportunities from AI transformation, strengthening innovation capabilities, and collaborating to build a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable innovation ecosystem within the region.