Planning Design Competitions to Cultivate Innovative Design Capabilities Among Hong Kong Secondary School Students

Abstract

Despite the recognized importance of creativity in secondary education, the role of design as a faculty for teaching abstract creative concepts effectively is seldom explored in depth, hindering students’ development. To address these issues, this study aimed to motivate secondary students to engage more deeply in innovative design by proposing a university-led workshop approach within a design competition module. This module was first implemented at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the 2023/24 academic year, involving 301 students from 52 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Grounded in Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle, this research examines the current challenges of design education and explores the role of the proposed competition in cultivating secondary students’ innovative design capabilities. The findings contribute to understanding how this creative pedagogy can enhance secondary students’ interest and motivation in developing creative design skills by integrating university-led workshops into competitions, thereby enabling both secondary and tertiary educational institutions to address creative design challenges.

1. Introduction

The increasing complexity, frequency, and diversity of global challenges, including environmental hazards and societal issues, render creativity and its processes essential for advancing humanity through problem-based learning (O. S. Tan et al., 2009). The Global Goals (2025) also emphasize the importance of fostering an innovative industry, as articulated in Goal-9, and Goal-4 highlights that education is crucial for unlocking unforeseen opportunities across disciplines. This underscores the necessity of promoting and advancing creative education to address future global challenges.

Design, as a means of producing solutions, can transform abstract ideas into practical applications (Maani, 2015). Kilicaslan and Ziyrek (2012) assert that design, as a production process, emphasizes creativity, which can be enhanced through learning and practice in design education. Thus, design education, which addresses the demands of the creative industry, is recognized as a valuable academic discipline that enables students to study effectively in a rigorous and practical manner, particularly through the introduction of design thinking and problem-solving skills (Matheson et al., 2006). Additionally, Wong and Siu (2012) suggest that design education not only cultivates creative thinking but also translates creativity into cognitive and practical skills for adolescents. Therefore, promoting innovative design within the educational framework is essential for the development of creativity.

Building on this momentum, there are two design-related subjects offered in Hong Kong secondary schools that have been part of the curriculum for over a decade: visual arts (VA) and design and technology (D&T). Recently, the Hong Kong government promoted innovation-related subjects, such as STEM, by implementing facilities like 3D printers and CAD modeling software in some secondary schools. This creates a solid groundwork for cultivating some maker skills among students.

Despite the benefits, design education in secondary schools still encounters several challenges for meaningful discussion and faces significant obstacles, hindering students’ ability to cultivate their creativity in design. Firstly, the concept of design remains relatively new within the educational context and represents a dynamic field of knowledge that has continually evolved through broader societal and technological changes (Tu et al., 2024). This evolution poses difficulties for secondary educators in effectively teaching design. Meyer and Norman (2020) note that the design discipline has become increasingly complex over the decades, while the current system of design education struggles to keep pace with its ongoing changes. Secondly, design education encompasses both theoretical and practical knowledge essential for fostering students’ creative capabilities, necessitating enhancement through experiential learning. Consequently, its learning patterns differ from those of traditional approaches in secondary schools. Panke (2019) further highlights that, despite the benefits of design thinking in education, it often encounters tensions with traditional learning approaches in standard classrooms and faces challenges in complex contexts, resulting in the ineffectiveness of both the overall approach and specific methods.

Building on this foundation, the central research question investigates whether workshop-enhanced design competitions foster creativity and innovation among secondary students through structured, university-led interventions. Using Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle as the research methodology, this study aims to investigate the challenges secondary education students face in studying creative design further in planning the design competition, thereby seeking to identify the encouraging and hindering factors that influence these intentions. Additionally, this research explores the impacts of the proposed design competition in both secondary and tertiary education, offering its value and insights that can be generalized across various educational settings and regions. To conduct this analysis, a sample of Hong Kong students participating in a design competition was selected. The competition, organized by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University—renowned for its expertise in creative design—serves as an appropriate case study.

This study primarily targets secondary students, who are typically preparing for their future and are capable of assimilating relatively complex and abstract knowledge. During this developmental stage, identity formation is a crucial task that assists students in discovering their interests and shaping their personalities, thereby facilitating the transition from secondary school to university (Christiaens et al., 2021). Furthermore, J. Tan et al. (2024) found that students’ development can significantly be improved through design education integrated with the maker process, enhancing their work performance, creative abilities, and operational skills related to learning achievements.

The significance of this research extends beyond academic discourse, providing practical insights for educators and secondary students. By elucidating the competencies required for participation in university-led workshop-enhanced design competitions, this study contributes to the advancement of design education. It advocates for a pedagogy that not only cultivates students’ interest in developing innovative design capabilities but also enhances their motivation toward tertiary design education. Consequently, this research establishes a substantial foundation for fostering the future creative development of secondary students and promoting creative design through universities.

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. First, Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (KELC) is introduced as the primary methodology to structure and evaluate the proposed competition module. Within this framework, the literature review offers an overview of previous research on the challenges of innovative design education in secondary schools and presents hypotheses for cultivating design capabilities among these students. On top of that, the module design is detailed and applied within the competence framework of design studies. This is followed by a description of the sample selection, data collection procedures, and results. Next, the discussion section examines design pedagogy in relation to the existing literature. Finally, the conclusion summarizes key findings, discusses their significance, and suggests directions for future research.

2. Materials and Methods

The use of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (KELC) in this study is justified by its ability to systematically structure the proposed competition framework, thereby enhancing the reliability and value of the research in fostering student creativity. This is achieved by adhering to its four main stages, shown in Figure 1: reflecting, interpreting, planning for action, and teaching activities. Shih et al. (2019) point that KELC is a well-established learning theory that identifies the process of transforming experiences into new knowledge. This experiential learning process requires collaboration between students and educators to “learn from one another through direct experiences tied to real-world problems” in semi-structured approaches (Bartle, 2015; Gaspar & Abarca, 2023).

According to KELC, the methodology of this study begins with reflection (Figure 1). This paper commences with a literature review addressing confusion and complexity in design education, which reflects on the general challenges faced by students in acquiring creative skills through design (Step 1). These observations are then integrated with current issues from universities and secondary schools in Hong Kong as a case study to assess the validity and reliability of these challenges and to formulate hypotheses for improving students’ learning in creative design (Step 2). Subsequently, based on these educational experiences, an alternative educational module that combines both workshop and competition elements is developed as a framework to enhance secondary students’ creativity in both personal and professional contexts (Step 3). Finally, the proposed module is implemented with secondary students and schools in Hong Kong, validating its effectiveness through observations and feedback from stakeholders (Step 4). Recommendations for the design framework are made based on insights gathered from the final feedback.

2.1. Reflection of Design Education Challenges (Step 1)

Due to the complex features of creative design education, including its multidisciplinary and broad categories, secondary students may develop misconceptions about design principles without proper clarification. Since design is characterized by human-centeredness and social innovation, collaborative efforts involving diverse stakeholders and competencies are essential, yet often challenged within the community (Björgvinsson et al., 2012). This indicates that design knowledge is rich and multidisciplinary, encompassing conceptual skills such as design thinking and practical skills like computer modeling, which must be clearly and systematically taught to secondary students in the design field. Additionally, the various categories of design, including advertising, communication, architecture, and product design, exhibit high diversity and often overlap with other disciplines, increasing the complexity and potential misunderstandings in learning design (Meyer & Norman, 2020).

On top of this challenge, students may easily have a conflict between creative design and other creative disciplines, particularly fine art. Since both fine art and design disciplines emphasize the development and application of creative skills, their outcomes differ significantly, necessitating a detailed discussion for secondary students to distinguish between them. Additionally, the complex definition of design and the prevailing notion that most creative works are artworks create confusion among students and designers alike (Avital, 2017). The subject of fine art in schools emphasizes creative self-expression derived from individual consciousness and the external environment through the use of various traditional and contemporary media, such as oil painting and mechanical devices. Tyler and Likova (2012) identified eight studio habits of mind for teaching students in visual arts classes, highlighting envision and express as essential for enhancing students’ thinking skills. In contrast, the subject of design can be defined as a human-centered practice aimed at solving various problems creatively for society by producing both concrete and conceptual outcomes, such as a water bottle or a traffic system. Maani (2015) noted that creative design involves the co-evolution of the problem and solution through the continuous iteration of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation processes. In fact, Jacobs (2018) also identified the issue of ambiguous models in creative disciplines and clarified both the similarities and differences between art and design, stating that design thinking addresses externally defined problems, whereas art thinking creates internally defined problems to solve.

Although numerous creative-enhanced learning models have been established for secondary students over the decades, including visual arts, design and technology (D&T), and STEM education, most models still inadequately convey the significant value of creative design. This limitation may hinder students’ interest in learning design, as design emphasizes not only creativity and the making process but also human centeredness in society. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) can be viewed as a key component of the secondary school curriculum that promotes engineering design in conjunction with science and mathematics (Tytler et al., 2020). Similarly, in Hong Kong’s D&T program, technical aspects such as “innovation” and “entrepreneurship” are defined as major core elements for educating secondary students (EDB, 2009). Regarding creative design, these programs primarily emphasize the practical making process by integrating problem solving with mechanical and engineering knowledge, while rarely focusing on human-centered thinking in a creative manner, such as addressing users’ needs and wants. Conversely, Delane (2014) noted the importance of promoting a human-centered design process among secondary students, as the visual arts curriculum tends to overemphasize creative thinking while neglecting problem solving from an empathetic perspective.

In fact, the similarities with other creative disciplines and the complexities of design education stem from the lack of explicit promotion of creativity, leading to students underestimating its importance in the design process (McInerney, 2023). According to the 2024 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, the number of students taking the visual arts exam is six times higher than those in design and technology, with 3724 and 558 students, respectively (HKEAA, 2024). Vossen et al. (2018) also found that secondary students in regular courses exhibited lower positive attitudes toward research and design activities than those in design classes. Despite the importance of promoting creative design in secondary schools, efforts by both secondary and tertiary institutions are often inadequate due to their overly general approach.

2.2. Interpretation of Design Education Challenges (Step 2)

As noted in Step 1, the complexity of design education and the limited emphasis on design in secondary schools result in students being less aware of creative design education. These obstacles may impede the development of essential skills, such as creative confidence, which are crucial for engaging in innovative thinking and problem solving. Ladachart et al. (2024) suggest that design-based learning can enhance students’ creative confidence by involving them in designing solutions to human-centered problems. Siu and Wong (2016) emphasize that emotional awareness in students is vital for teachers to foster students’ design capabilities in projects. Moreover, secondary students’ unfamiliarity with creative design can have significant implications for universities. There is an increasing need for students below the college level to possess creative and innovative skills to navigate the complexities of modern society and meet workforce demands. The lack of exposure to creative design in secondary education may hinder students’ ability to engage effectively in higher education, where creativity is increasingly recognized as a vital component of problem solving and innovation (Leavy et al., 2023; De Meester et al., 2020).

Currently, annual open days and online platforms are the primary methods for promoting creative design programs at universities. For instance, Hong Kong Polytechnic University utilizes visual exhibitions and online guided tours to showcase learning outcomes in design facilities, requiring audiences to passively receive information through textual descriptions and illustrations Gan et al. (2021) observed that non-interactive advertising methods, such as text and static images, rely on one-way communication, which may be ineffective in targeting specific segments. This highlights the need for more effective promotional strategies to attract secondary students interested in pursuing creative professions in tertiary education.

In this context, a comprehensive design studio at the university provides a solid foundation for design learning. Universities employ broader pedagogical strategies to convey complex design knowledge, including creative design thinking, design communication language, and the design process. Marshalsey (2023) suggests that traditional education systems, characterized by a one-way delivery of intensive information, may not sufficiently equip students with the skills needed to tackle contemporary challenges. Through the implementation of experiential learning in university programs, design thinking and creative pedagogies are applied in project-based practical settings, effectively equipping students with diverse design skills (Wrigley & Mosely, 2022). Additionally, professional educators at universities can enhance their experience in design programs, making it more effective and systematic for students. Another reason is the comprehensive integration of creative learning spaces in design education, which enhances student engagement. By recognizing the impact of mainstream teaching environments on design studio learning, educators can create environments that prioritize creativity and sensory experiences (Marshalsey, 2023). This approach encourages students to actively participate in their learning processes, honing their prototyping skills. Based on these reasons, universities play a pivotal role in disseminating innovative design knowledge to secondary students, fostering a deeper interest in design education.

To motivate secondary students to learn design skills, a workshop-enhanced approach within the design competition module is proposed due to its interactive and competitive elements. In terms of interaction, the workshop, which offers an informal learning channel, not only enhances students’ motivation and engagement with the learning material but also aids in clarifying abstract concepts through conversation (Lai, 2010). As a result, students can acquire accurate knowledge of creative design and receive valuable feedback on their initial concepts from mentors during the tutorials. In addition, design programs, which involve conceptual ideas of creativity and maker skills, are challenging to present successfully through these platforms. Therefore, it is recommended that these interactive engagement methods provide immediate feedback to learners, to enhance their conceptual understanding and motivation effectively (Tlhoaele et al., 2014). Regarding competition, innovative themes and rewards are major components of the design competition framework, which can enhance participants’ creativity and elevate their motivation by enabling them to successfully meet contest challenges (Han et al., 2021; Gross, 2020). Liu et al. (2022) found that competitions positively impact students’ active learning, effectively improving their learning performance. Furthermore, awards serve as a motivational system within society, encouraging individuals to exert effort (Frey, 2006). Thus, both internal rewards, such as the creative design knowledge gained by students, and external rewards, like certifications and awards, can attract student participants to perform actively and further develop in the creative industry.

Building on this, this study aimed to explore the impact of university-led workshop-enhanced design competitions on developing design capabilities among secondary students. The central premise is refined into five specific hypotheses:

H1. 

Workshop-enhanced design competitions have a significant positive influence on secondary students’ creative or innovative thinking skills.

H2. 

Workshop-enhanced design competitions have a significant positive influence on secondary students’ prototyping skills.

H3. 

Workshop-enhanced design competitions have a significant positive influence on secondary students’ understanding of the design process.

H4. 

Workshop-enhanced design competitions have a significant positive influence on secondary students’ communication skills.

H5. 

Workshop-enhanced design competitions significantly motivate secondary students with an interest in creative or innovative design.

2.3. Planning for Actions: Hatch Design Award Competition (Step 3)

In response to the hypotheses formulated in Step 2, there was a workshop-enhanced competition module conducted by the School of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, namely, the Hatch Design Award Competition. This module aims to promote design discipline among secondary students and cultivate their interests in it by establishing a platform to showcase and foster their creative capability. Thus, the competition’s design theme, “Designing for Happiness and Everyday Life: AI and Future Design”, encourages students to explore users’ needs and desires in their innovative ideas rather than solely concentrating on an engineering competition. Zoltowski et al. (2012) also note that students must also experience the human-centered aspects of design, broadening their thinking by considering various stakeholders when learning design. To emphasize the diversity of creativity in advanced design education, this human-centered theme is divided into five design faculties: Communication Design, Community, Space and Service Design, Product Experience Design, Play Design, and AI and Future Design.

To demonstrate the design discipline in the short term, the Hatch Design Award Competition requires participants to showcase their creativity through project-based learning, characterized by interactive and competitive processes within the workshop and contest sectors. Al-Kamzari and Alias (2025) note that this student-centered pedagogical approach offers hands-on projects for students, fostering the application of theoretical concepts in practical settings. This enhances their critical thinking and design capabilities by encouraging them to solve real-world problems through the development of both creative and practical skills.

Table 1. The major events of the Hatch Design Award Competition.

Stage	Content	Ongoing Items
1.	First Round Submission	Submitting initial draft presentation slides, which involve design research, design process, and initial concepts via images, drafts, or demo videos.
2.	Four-Day Incubation Program	Providing an interactive workshop series and tutorials for each shortlisted group. The process of creative design and the design communication skills would be taught during the workshop.
3.	Final Submission and Presentation	Submitting final presentation slides, which involve design research, design process, the final design, and a physical prototype. Qualified teams would be invited to participate in presentations and Q&A sessions with their PowerPoint and actual prototype.

outlines the major learning opportunities in the design competition. Initially, student participants must submit their design projects as presentation documents before the first round. The requirement for research background, brainstorming processes, and initial concepts in the project guides and encourages secondary students to identify real-world problems independently, providing evidence for hypotheses H1 to H4 without workshop assistance.

After the first screening and selection of the shortlist, shortlisted students are invited to join a four-day incubation program aimed at cultivating innovative design capabilities and enhancing the quality of their entries. During this program, guest speakers, including university professors and professional designers, share their experiences and design skills to help students improve their work. Design knowledge and communication skills are key capabilities in innovative design and are major teaching topics. Regarding design knowledge, students are expected to learn diverse creative thinking methods, such as empathy map application and routed design processes, to refine their projects and concepts. In terms of communication skills, a talk on presentation skills will cover designing presentation PowerPoints using scenarios and illustrations, with interactive training for each team. These workshop activities also support hypothesis development. During tutorial sessions, guest speakers, university design lecturers, and college design students serve as mentors. Each team presents their ideas related to their design categories, and mentors share insights and prototyping skills to help students solve design problems.

Subsequently, shortlisted students must resubmit their improved entries before the final presentation in the shortlist stage. As shown in Table 1, their final submissions for the Hatch Design Award Competition include a prototype and a presentation document, demonstrating innovative maker skills and design thinking abilities in a creative educational context. Students’ creative design and learning outcomes will be presented and evaluated by academic staff from the School of Design at the university, based on criteria such as creativity, appearance, design process, user understanding, and overall quality.

2.4. Teaching Activities: Outcome of Hatch Design Award Competition (Step 4)

To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed workshop-enhanced competition in fostering innovative design capabilities among secondary students, an overview of the refined Hatch Design Award Competition for 2024, developed by Hong Kong Polytechnic University, was presented. This overview also served to test the hypotheses derived from previous research in Steps 1 to 3. The competition was divided into five stages: launching, the first round, the shortlist, the incubation program, and the final presentation (Table 1).

In this competition, 52 local and international secondary schools in Hong Kong participated, involving over 301 students. Each school could participate only once, and participants could work in groups of two to three members from the same school or participate individually. After the first-round submission, the participants were narrowed down to 60 individuals, comprising 31 groups. Due to the large scale of the events, the Hatch Design Award Competition ran for approximately eleven months, from September 2023 to July 2024 (

Table 2. Timetable of design critiques for Hatch Design Award Competition from 2023 to 2024.

Critique	Design Stages	Dates
1.	Launching and Briefing Section	15 September 2023
2.	Deadline for First-Round Submission	29 December 2023
3.	Announcement of Shortlisted Submissions	8 February 2023
4.	Four-Day Incubation Program	16, 17, 23, 24 March 2024
5.	Final Presentation and Certification Ceremony	20 July 2024

below). Consequently, this program was primarily conducted in Hong Kong, where secondary students could easily access their teachers, program mentors, and design facilities in both secondary schools and universities.

This research utilized a mixed-methods approach, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. The qualitative component consisted of an observational study assessing shortlisted students’ performance through their design projects, with a focus on evaluating changes following participation in the university-led workshop. Additionally, an online questionnaire was conducted to collect students’ feedback after the competition, aiming to validate the effectiveness of the Hatch Design Award in enhancing creativity among secondary students and encouraging their further development in tertiary education. To ensure the rigor of this study, this research concentrated primarily on the 60 shortlisted participants who demonstrated exceptional performance.

Initially, a brief segment of the Hatch Design Award Competition was conducted for relevant stakeholders, including secondary school teachers, students, and their parents during the launch phase (Table 2). In this segment, speakers with diverse backgrounds in design disciplines were invited to introduce various design fields, such as communication design and product design, while sharing their expectations for the entries. Subsequently, students were encouraged to collaborate with their teachers to develop their creative ideas in their own unique ways.

During the incubation program, workshops and ideation consultations were held on both face-to-face and online platforms to further enhance the potential of the shortlisted secondary students’ design entries. This approach provides evidence for the supporting hypotheses H1, H2, H3, and H4. Each group of student participants spent time discussing their goals and projects with a team of professional tutors and senior design student ambassadors. This allowed them to receive tailored advice in personalized sessions and gain specific creative design-related knowledge in both practical and theoretical aspects from their mentors. The diverse design academic backgrounds of the mentors, which included college students and professors, enabled them to assist each group of secondary students in addressing their practical challenges during the making process.

After the final stage of shortlisting in the Hatch Design Award Competition, online surveys were administered, collecting responses from 38 of the 60 shortlisted participants following the initial round of selection. The survey included both students and teachers from secondary schools and comprised two close-ended questions related to perceptions of the overall university-led design competition. The findings from this survey are presented to examine hypothesis H5.

3. Results

3.1. Participants’ Perceptions Toward the Workshop-Enhanced Design Competition

As shown in Figure 2, the average score for overall satisfaction with the Hatch Design Award Competition provided by students and teachers was relatively high, at 4.32 out of 5. Additionally, 89% of participants rated the Hatch Design Award Competition higher than 4 out of 5, indicating that most of them enjoyed participating in its offered programs. Figure 3 presents the results regarding participants’ intentions to join similar Hatch Design Award Competition programs in the future, with more than 80% of respondents expressing interest in enrolling in the universities’ design programs. This positive feedback indicates a significant impact of the workshop-enhanced competition on stakeholders in secondary education, thereby supporting the acceptance of hypothesis H5.

3.2. The Impact of Student Projects Following Participation in the Design Workshop Program During the Competition

The university’s incubation program enabled secondary students to acquire practical design skills tailored to their concepts. They evaluated the potential of their chosen regions and refined their projects using these skills. Hypotheses H1, H2, H3, and H4 were tested through analysis of their designs, showcasing the impact of the workshop-enhanced competition on their capabilities.

Team 1 exemplified the contribution to hypothesis H1 through their design outcome, which involved developing a sustainable packaging design for a gerbil carrier, showcasing innovative material exploration (Figure 4 right). Their research identified a trend in pet ownership during COVID-19, leading them to create eco-friendly pet packaging. Initially focused on folding features (Figure 4 left), the team expanded their approach through workshop participation, exploring biodegradable materials with mentor guidance due to the complexity of their concept (Figure 4 right). They tested material durability and considered visual esthetics, such as color combinations, to enhance their creative design skills. Consequently, this team received the prestigious award of Winner of AI and Future Design from professional judges, highlighting their innovative thinking (Figure 5).

However, when the same analysis was applied to other shortlisted projects, there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of the incubation program in cultivating students’ creative thinking skills. The findings indicate that only a few teams exhibited creativity and innovative thinking comparable to the awarded teams, including Team 1. Despite these contrasting results, a significant number of shortlisted teams were equipped with competence and knowledge in human-centered design thinking, which could serve as a foundation for developing innovative thinking. This aligns positively with the rationale for their shortlisting. The following are examples of a detailed thinking process captured in through a final report:

R-1: “In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the number of blind people worldwide, which is a concerning trend. We found that population aging, infections and diseases as well as environmental factors and lifestyle choices are the major factors.”

R-2: “During my summer holiday, I have traveled to the beachside … I spotted a few common problems that constantly bothering the users there… I’ve decided to make some improvements and changes for these facilities, by starting from one of them.”

These statements demonstrate that shortlisted students effectively leveraged their personal experiences and academic research to analyze real-world problems. This underscores the positive impact of the workshop-enhanced design competition in cultivating students’ thinking capabilities within the design project, thus partially supporting hypothesis H1 and H3.

Students also accessed professional design facilities, including CAD modeling software and 3D printers, to develop their ideas, supporting hypothesis H2. Team 2 redesigned a wrist wrap for healthcare purposes, initially conducting background research and creating sketches. The left side of Figure 6 illustrates their initial concepts generated through hand sketching and text descriptions in the first-round submission. Mentors introduced them to a 3D printed wrist wrap using CAD models during the workshop (Figure 6 middle), inspiring further development through computer modeling. Consequently, students presented their final design via CAD modeling (Figure 6 right), demonstrating a more comprehensive understanding of their design in three-dimensional aspects.

Figure 6 Learning process of student participants in Hatch Design Award Competition.

The design competition actively engaged students in understanding and practicing the design process. Participants showcased their skills in reports, using mind maps and sketches for brainstorming and demonstrating problem solving through mockup testing. Team 3, in designing a sand toy for children, applied various design skills to enhance their workflow. Their report indicated that they used mind maps to analyze user needs and identify problems (Figure 7 left). Additionally, they created rough mockups to test the dimensions of their concepts (Figure 7 middle). This evidence supports hypothesis H3.

Student reports and presentations revealed the widespread application of communication skills introduced in the workshop, confirming hypothesis H4. Team 4 used scenario graphics to present their concept of a floating platform for Hong Kong sea swimmers (Figure 8), effectively demonstrating product location and features. This evidence underscores the workshop-enhanced competition’s role in improving student designs.

Table 3. Hypothesis remarks.

H.NO.	Hypotheses	Remarks
1.	Workshop-enhanced design competitions have a significant positive influence on secondary students’ creative or innovative thinking skills	Partially accepted
2.	Workshop-enhanced design competitions have a significant positive influence on secondary students’ prototyping skills	Accepted
3.	Workshop-enhanced design competitions have a significant positive influence on secondary students’ understanding of the design process	Accepted
4.	Workshop-enhanced design competitions have a significant positive influence on secondary students’ communication skills	Accepted
5.	Workshop-enhanced design competitions significantly motivate secondary students with an interest in creative or innovative design	Accepted

summarizes the results of the hypotheses. The findings indicate that the university-led, workshop-enhanced design competition effectively fosters innovative design capabilities among secondary students, contributing to ongoing discussions in the literature. While the evidence for significant improvements in creative thinking is limited, design skills such as human-centered design thinking, prototyping, design process understanding, and communication skills were found to positively influence the educational intentions of secondary students.

4. Discussion

The objective of this study is to cultivate innovative design capabilities among secondary students through a university-led workshop-enhanced design competition. The findings provide valuable insights into the factors influencing students’ motivation and design knowledge, both before and after participating in the competition. Grounded in Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (KELC), the results promote a deeper understanding and analysis of the factors contributing to challenges in design education. Initially, conflicts between creative disciplines and the complexities of design education reveal significant challenges in fostering secondary students’ design skills, as identified in numerous studies (Björgvinsson et al., 2012; Meyer & Norman, 2020; Tyler & Likova, 2012; Jacobs, 2018; Delane, 2014). These literature reviews align with the problem of low positive attitudes toward design among Hong Kong secondary students (Step 1). Through interpretation (Step 2) and planning for action (Step 3), this study supports the idea that comprehensive design studio scholarships at universities could positively impact the operation of workshop-enhanced competitions, albeit with mixed results (Marshalsey, 2023; Wrigley & Mosely, 2022; Lai, 2010; Liu et al., 2022). Thus, the findings suggest that university-led workshop-enhanced competitions can motivate secondary students to improve their design knowledge and capabilities.

The application of this competition module with Hong Kong secondary schools (Step 4) shows significant improvement in participants’ communication skills, prototyping skills, and overall design process, closely related to the findings in Steps 2 and 3. These results underscore that integrating project-based learning with a competition system supported by interactive university workshops can foster participants’ multi-design capabilities. A key factor in this enhancement is engagement with real-world projects, requiring secondary students to experience the complete creative design process, from background research to problem analysis. This encourages them to develop creativity through design thinking and the maker process. Wong and Siu (2012) support the notion that the creative design process, encompassing both processes and outputs, can cultivate students’ theoretical and practical design skills.

Another factor is the assistance provided by university-led workshops, which offer comprehensive design studios and well-planned programs guided by professional mentors. Kim et al. (2023) note that universities can provide access to professional facilities, such as 3D printers and CNC machines, along with structured courses and experienced educators to support student learning. Given that most secondary students lack experience in complex innovative disciplines featured in the competition, such as design and engineering, mentors play a crucial role in guiding them to learn and develop their ideas appropriately (Dolenc, 2013). This underscores the critical role of universities in advancing creative design education.

While the findings insufficiently showcase the cultivation of innovative thinking capabilities among secondary students, some participants’ final refined entries demonstrate the development of innovative thinking and concepts. One explanation is that shortlisted students learned to apply human-centered design thinking to discover real-world problems and users’ needs. Robbins and Fu (2022) indicate that design thinking practices can significantly enhance organizational innovative capability, positively influencing overall innovative performance. This connection is supported by the findings of shortlisted students’ entries, demonstrating that applying design thinking in research and development settings contributes to developing innovative capabilities within organizations. Consequently, integrating design thinking capability into proposed frameworks, particularly in design innovation education, may facilitate shifts in students’ mindsets toward more innovative and critical thinking, addressing design thinking as a precursor to innovative thought (Patel et al., 2024).

Therefore, the post-implementation survey results are relatively positive, showing participants’ satisfaction and motivation in the design competition. One reason is the internal rewards gained by secondary students, including learning experiences and achievements in the program. Azzahra and Junaedi (2024) note that positive learning experiences, which include positive outcomes, can enhance students’ motivation.

The pre–post analysis further reveals that university-led design competitions can strategically cultivate secondary students’ interest in creative design, potentially encouraging them to pursue further education. Through interactive university workshops, secondary students may access the university, communicate with mentors, particularly college students, and better understand teaching patterns, infrastructures, and design programs. McPhail (2015) identifies that programs engaging secondary students in aspects of campus life and fostering connections with peers and academic staff can help reduce transition issues and enhance the acquisition and retention of university undergraduates.

Additionally, the study’s findings underscore the positive impact of collaborative learning during the workshop program, enhancing students’ confidence in their ability to collaborate and communicate with teammates and university mentors. This aligns with previous research, which found improvements in students’ presentation skills following participation in interactive workshops (Lai, 2010; Tlhoaele et al., 2014). This holistic approach to skill development is particularly significant in preparing students for real-world challenges, where teamwork and collaboration are essential (Chan & Sher, 2014).

Despite these valuable insights, this study is limited by its reliance on a single sample comprising secondary education students in Hong Kong, which does not reflect the multicultural and multinational nature of the initiative. Future studies incorporating participants from other educational levels would yield a more comprehensive understanding of how contextual variables impact learning outcomes. Expanding the sample to include participants from multiple countries could further enrich the analysis.

Another limitation is the narrow disciplinary focus of the sample, consisting solely of university-led workshop-enhanced competitions from innovative design fields. Including a wider range of innovative academic disciplines in future research, such as social science, engineering, and art, would offer valuable insights into how secondary students cultivate cognitive capabilities, such as creative thinking and problem-solving skills, in diverse educational backgrounds within the proposed competition framework. This broader approach could help identify whether certain disciplines foster more innovative design capabilities than others and inform the development of more inclusive creative education programs.

5. Conclusions

This study contributes to the understanding of creative educational intentions in four key ways. First, it enriches academic discourse by providing insights into the challenges secondary students face in developing design capabilities within educational settings and underscores the potential hindrance to cultivating creative industries if students lack familiarity with creative design, which is essential for skill development. Second, this study emphasizes the importance of fostering design capabilities, including creative thinking, communication skills, design processes, and prototyping skills, which benefit not only the creative industries but also personal development.

Third, this study proposes a framework for a workshop-enhanced competition to motivate secondary students interested in innovative design and cultivate their design capabilities. The findings suggest that creative pedagogy in design can be enhanced through a competitive system supported by guided workshops. Universities play a vital role in this framework by providing comprehensive design studios, mentors, and programs for inexperienced students. Finally, this paper evaluates the impact of the proposed competition by employing Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (KELC). The results indicate significant improvement in students’ performance after participating in the workshop, fostering positive attitude and motivation toward this pedagogy. Despite the difficulty in showing the improvement of creative thinking, the competition encourages and inspires several students to explore their creativity in design.

In conclusion, this study advances the understanding of the difficulties in learning creative design in secondary education and establishes a framework for adopting workshop-enhanced competition modules to promote holistic creative development. Future research should explore how the workshop-enhanced competition can amplify broader and diverse educational backgrounds, particularly in fostering students’ cognitive capabilities.