Research on the Upgrading Path of Design Discipline Construction in Application-oriented Universities from the Perspective of Symbiosis

Against the backdrop of the dual transformation of the economy and society and the transformation of government roles, design studies, as an emerging interdisciplinary discipline, necessitates systematic upgrading aligned with social development. Currently, the disciplinary construction of design studies is confronted with the dualistic antagonism between the "research-oriented" and "application-oriented" orientations. In response to the requirement of "characteristic development of application-oriented universities" proposed in the Outline for the Construction of an Educational Power (2024–2035), as well as Zhejiang Province’s strategy for the integration of the digital economy and cultural industries during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, this research takes "digital civilization" as the contemporary context. Based on the symbiotic exploration of the "height" of disciplinary characteristics, the "length" of sustainability, and the "width" of coordinated development, it reconstructs the construction logic of the application-oriented discipline of design studies, thereby facilitating the upgrading path of local undergraduate universities from "following" to "leading".