An Ever-Evolving Internship Program with Creativity at its Heart

A special design exhibition was recently held at adidas Greater China headquarters, drawing many colleagues to stop by and take a closer look, pausing in front of their favorite works before casting their votes. This event was different. The designs on display were created by a group of students as part of A.C.E. – adidas Creator Experience – a program initiated by the adidas Shanghai Creative Center (CCS).

The program provides mentorship, design competitions and hands-on internships, with the aim to help young student designers gain an in-depth understanding of the full journey behind a great product – from insight and creativity to commercial execution.

Besides getting real-life experience in product development projects, the participants get the chance to see their work appear on fashion week runways, reach store shelves, and enter a broader industry spotlight. Outstanding interns may also have the opportunity to officially join adidas after graduation.

“By leveraging the experience and resources that CCS has built over the years, we hope to provide students with a platform where they can experience the full process of bringing a product from 0 to 1. Seeing them grow through this process is what is worth celebrating most.” – Patrick Ng, Senior Vice President Product, adidas Greater China

FROM INFANCY TO EXPLORATION AND MATURITY

From “crossing the river by feeling the stones” in its first year, to exploring at a deeper level in its second, A.C.E. has now entered its third year.

“This year, we received nearly 1,000 resumes. The first two editions relied more on our proactive outreach and campus promotion, the biggest change this year is that many students came through recommendations from senior students – some even came because they had heard about the program’s reputation. This shows that A.C.E. has already built strong word of mouth and influence among design students.” – Gillian Chen, Senior Director Talent & DEI

This year’s program attracted not only students specializing in footwear and apparel design, but also non-design majors with a strong passion for creativity. These young people, coming from different academic backgrounds, life experiences and creative contexts, brought richer imagination and more open approaches to problem-solving.

In this year’s works, we also saw more attempts around structural innovation, material innovation and AI-assisted design, highlighting that A.C.E. continues to evolve as a platform.

A DESIGN COMPETITION FOCUSED ON TEAM SPORT

2026 has truly brought team sports into the spotlight, with Suchao in Greater China and the FIFA World Cup 26™ in Canada, Mexico and the United States dominating public discussion. With that, this year’s A.C.E. internship competition centered on the theme 'Team sport for modern Chinese,' encouraging a new generation of designers to place team sports at the heart of their creative thinking and transform national pride into innovative narratives and product design.

On the day of the final, creative outcomes were presented in a dedicated exhibition space built for A.C.E. participants. They did not limit ‘team sport’ to traditional sport fields but instead turned their attention to more diverse and authentic sports scenes in China.

Countless inspirations drawn from real life leapt from design sketches into reality, allowing team sports to be understood and reimagined in more distinctive and open ways.

Zhu Xinxin from Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology has her own view of team sport. “When I do yoga with my friends, aren’t we also a team?” Starting from light sports scenarios such as outdoor activities and yoga, she identified “comfort” as the core need and drew inspiration from the rhythm and tension of “moving with ease” in Chinese calligraphy to design a shoe that balances barefoot-like perception with basic protection.

Zhang Youqing from Shih Chien University in Taiwan identified synchronized diving as a niche field and translated the high level of coordination between two athletes – in rhythm, angle and timing of water entry – into product-structure innovation: centered on shared modules, she created a multifunctional bag design that can be detached, recombined and flexibly adapted to different scenarios.

Chen Zongnan, also from Shih Chien University in Taiwan, previously worked part-time at an adidas store. After learning about the A.C.E. program, he applied on his own initiative – and won an offer! He introduced the Chinese concept of qi into his creation. The life energy qi is the central concept for performing movements in Chinese Wushu, a traditional martial arts form. Using the sculptural texture of leather to express the flow of energy across the shoe body, he boldly blends sports style with fashion expression.

Pang Jingru from Donghua University in Shanghai also started from elements of ancient Chinese culture by drawing inspiration from Cuju, the earliest form of football, dating back over 2000 years and the traditional Chinese imagery of song, representing the perseverance and unmovable power of the green pine tree standing gracefully and growing freely. Also inspired by modern Chinese sports culture and adidas’ Wuzong series, she presented three creative apparels series that blend streetwear trends, pitch culture and new Chinese aesthetics.

FEEDBACK FROM OUR STUDENTS

For those participating in A.C.E., the most valuable gain is by no means just an offer. What is even more rare is that experienced industry mentors are willing to share their knowledge without reservation: they do not judge what is right or wrong, good or bad, but instead stand in the students’ shoes and help them polish their work step by step.

“At A.C.E., mentors and students have an equal voice. I can express my ideas boldly and stay committed to the direction I truly want to pursue. Mentors do not simply tell us what we should do. Instead, while respecting and preserving our original ideas, they help us think through our concepts more clearly.” – Zhu Xinxin, 2026 A.C.E. participant

“A.C.E. taught me to understand design again from the perspectives of the brand and the consumer: a work is not only about whether it looks good, but more importantly about what needs it responds to and what problems it solves. I also began to think more systematically about the relationship between aesthetics, function, and real usage scenarios.” – Zhang Youqing, 2026 A.C.E. participant

... AND FROM AN ADIDAS PERSPECTIVE

“This is my third year serving as an A.C.E. mentor. Over the past three years, I have seen many great ideas and strong designs. They come from the students’ youthful dreams, the sports they love and the details of everyday life. We hope students will keep their original passion and love, because that is their most precious and most moving weapon.” – Freddy Lin, Senior Designer, CCS

“They see many things that we may not necessarily be able to see ourselves. Through A.C.E., we hope to discover more ‘unpolished gems.’ Being part of this journey and growing together with these highly talented young people is also a precious experience for us.” – Jewel Lin, Senior Designer, CCS

A.C.E. AND BEYOND

We are already starting to see how A.C.E. is building a solid foundation for the future. Feng Tao – a participant from the 2025 program – has now officially joined adidas through the management trainee program, thanks to his outstanding performance and continuous growth during the program.

“I studied industrial design, and in the past, there were very few people around me with whom I could have in-depth conversations about shoes. After joining A.C.E., I felt for the first time that there could be a group of people naturally coming together around the same passion. Now that I have officially joined adidas, that feeling has become even stronger. I feel very lucky to continue doing design in this kind of environment.” – Feng Tao, 2025 A.C.E. participant & 2026 management trainee

In the future, Feng Tao will not only continue to work in product design at CCS, he will also gain a better understanding of the business chain through cross-functional rotations. For him, A.C.E. is the starting point toward a broader career-development path.

Beyond the program itself, A.C.E. has also gradually formed a self-sustaining “alumni network.” For many students, this is not only an internship experience, but also possibly their first group of career partners and industry connections. This bond will continue to grow along their future career paths and become another valuable asset for the future.