Image by TISDC | Taiwan International Student Design Competition 2026 Final Selection Jury
TISDC 2026: Designing for Resilience
On 1 October 2026, BEDA General Secretary Prof. Regina Hanke joined the Final Selection Jury of the Taiwan International Student Design Competition (TISDC) in Taipei. This year’s theme was “Resilience”. Here is what the jury saw, why BEDA takes part, and why European design students should enter.
Key facts: TISDC 2026 at a glance
- What: The Taiwan International Student Design Competition (TISDC) is one of the world’s largest design competitions for students
- Theme 2026: Resilience
- Scale: 22,427 entries from 1,385 schools in 92 countries and regions
- Edition: 19th (held annually since 2008)
- Categories: Product Design, Visual Design, Digital Animation, Architecture and Landscape Design, Fashion Design
- Organiser: Department of Higher Education, Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, with sponsorship from the iSee Taiwan Foundation
- Final Selection Jury: 2 October 2026, Taipei, with 35 international jurors
- Entry fee: None
- Official website: www.tisdc.org
What is the Taiwan International Student Design Competition?
TISDC is an annual international competition for design students. Entries are judged on quality and on how design responds to contemporary issues and creates social value.
The competition has grown from 662 entries in 2008 to 22,427 in 2026. Around three-quarters of this year’s entries came from outside Taiwan, and the number of participating countries and regions rose from 73 to 92 in a single year. This growth highlights the need for such an international platform of exchange among design students.
The 2026 jury brought together representatives of design organisations worldwide, including the World Design Organisation (WDO), Art Director Club (ADC) and the Cumulus Association.
What does “Resilience” mean in design?
The 2026 theme responds to the current global situation. Students explored how design can help people, communities and systems adapt, recover and thrive in a changing world. Their work approached the theme through cultural identity, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and awareness of the invisible aspects of our environment.
For Regina Hanke, resilience is not about avoiding difficulty:
“Resilience is needed on many levels right now. For me, it doesn’t mean avoiding challenges. It’s the ability to bring optimism and Tatkraft, the German word for the drive to act, to situations that require us to rethink and adapt.”
Many entries addressed exactly this: design that helps people manage daily challenges, reduces climate impact, or strengthens awareness of cultural heritage.
Inside the Visual Design jury
Regina Hanke served as a juror in the Visual Design category alongside with esteemed colleages from around the world. As a member of the Deutsche Designtag, Professor of Communication Design and Design Management at Macromedia University of Applied Sciences in Berlin she leads BEDA’s EU co-funded MADres project.
“The student projects submitted in the Visual Design category offered a refreshing and thought-provoking perspective on an enormous range of topics. For me, they highlighted the relevance of design in resilience: how visual communication can build awareness of topics such as the SDGs and cultural heritage, strengthen identities, and imagine alternative futures.”
The entries showed remarkable creative power, and many students interpreted resilience in open and personal ways.
“The most memorable works were those where creative courage, a thoughtful response to resilience and a daring visual execution came together. As a professor whose goal is to shape the future of design, and as a representative of BEDA, I am delighted to see inspiring and edgy works from this new generation.”
Looking back on the jury meeting itself, she added:
“It was a great jury meeting, with lively discussion and a truly international view of design. BEDA has supported the TISDC for many years, and we see its reach and impact growing. It is an important international event that fosters design exchange across borders.”
Congratulations to all participants.
Why is BEDA at TISDC? Design diplomacy
For BEDA, the Bureau of European Design Associations, being in the room is more than judging. It is design diplomacy: building trust and exchange between design communities across continents.
“One aspect is often overlooked: design diplomacy. At a time of intensifying geopolitical competition, design and the conversations around it can open doors to diplomatic exchange. From my perspective, diplomacy begins with understanding your own position and your counterpart.” says Prof. Regina Hanke
A jury of 35 people from different design cultures, discussing the same works against the same criteria, is a practical exercise in that kind of understanding. BEDA is one of TISDC’s international partner organisations and has supported the competition for many years.
A message to European design students and their educators
TISDC is free to enter. It is one of the most visible stages for student design worldwide, and the bar keeps rising. If European design is to shape global conversations, our next generation needs to be part of them.
If you are studying design in Europe, or teaching those who do, these pages are the place to start: