Research and Practice on the “Four-Dimensional Innovation” Model for Cultivating Design Talents in the Context of Hainan International Design Island

Abstract

Against the backdrop of constructing Hainan International Design Island, this paper investigates the “Four-Dimensional Innovation” model and its practical reform in cultivating design talents at Hainan Tropical Ocean University. The model advances teaching reform for design majors through four dimensions—concept innovation, curriculum innovation, mechanism innovation, and evaluation innovation—by integrating industry-university-research-application collaboration, university-enterprise cooperation, academic competition integration, and research‑backed teaching. Taking the Information Design course as a practical vehicle, the study introduces real‑world corporate projects, restructures course content and teaching methods, establishes a “course‑competition integration” mechanism, and transforms research outcomes into teaching cases, thereby forming an integrated implementation path of “industry linkage, pedagogical innovation, competition empowerment, and research feedback.” Practice shows that the “Four-Dimensional Innovation” model effectively promotes the construction of design curricula, optimizes teaching content and processes, significantly enhances students’ practical innovation ability and international competitiveness, and meets the talent development needs of local Hainan enterprises under the International Design Island initiative.