From June 3 to June 7, 2025, the Cumulus Spring Conference of the Cumulus Association was held at the L’École de Design Nantes Atlantique in France, gathering 500 participants from more than 70 countries worldwide to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Cumulus Association. As the very first Cumulus member institution in the Macao SAR, the Faculty of Innovative and Design at City University of Macau appointed Assistant Professor Jing LIU to represent FIAD at this conference and exercise voting rights in the election for the new executive board.

The theme of this conference is "Ethical Leadership: The New Frontier of Design," exploring new design ethics through six tracks: Care, City, Food, Digital, Media, and Design & Entrepreneurship. Notably, two papers from FIAD were selected for this conference. One paper co-researched by Associate Professor Po-Hsun WANG and PhD student Chenxi LI was presented as a poster, while another paper co-researched by PhD student Haoyi LIN and Assistant Professor Jing LIU was presented orally at the conference.

Cumulus is a leading global association for education and research in art and design, officially recognized by UNESCO as the only international organization for art, design, and media institutions. Cumulus represents a dynamic ecosystem for internationalization and global mobility, knowledge exchange, and collaboration in art and design pedagogy, research, and practice. The 395 Cumulus member institutions are leading the way in art and design education around the world. Originating from 71 countries, they demonstrate the importance of collaboration in a 21st century higher education landscape that is increasingly complex and global.