This study investigates the core competencies essential for product designers to excel in cross-cultural global markets, with particular emphasis on implications for human resource development and organizational leadership. As design practices increasingly transcend cultural and geographical boundaries, designers are required to integrate advanced technical proficiency, creative problem-solving, technological adaptability, and cultural intelligence to create inclusive, socially responsible, and market-relevant products. Employing a mixed-methods approach—including focus groups and surveys with design professionals, industry executives, and academic leaders—the research identifies key competencies such as flexibility, intercultural communication, ethical integrity, and systems thinking. The findings underscore the necessity of balancing technical expertise with emotional intelligence and transformational leadership capabilities to effectively lead diverse, cross-functional teams. These competencies contribute significantly to fostering innovation, enhancing employee well-being and job satisfaction, and strengthening organizational resilience, thereby supporting sustainable human resource strategies. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of continuous professional development and lifelong learning in cultivating culturally competent and ethically driven design talent. The insights offer strategic guidance for human resource professionals, organizational leaders, and educational institutions aiming to develop adaptive, inclusive, and future-ready design capabilities aligned with evolving global demands.

With the deep integration of artificial intelligence technology in education, the development of AI integration capabilities among pre-service teachers—as the core of future educational human resources—has become crucial for enhancing educational quality and driving digital transformation in education. Based on the AI-TPACK (Artificial Intelligence-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) theoretical framework, this study employs questionnaire surveys and structural equation modeling to explore the structural characteristics, influencing factors, and formation mechanisms of AI-TPACK competencies among pre-service teachers in Chinese universities. Findings indicate that while pre-service teachers demonstrate moderately high overall AI-TPACK levels, their technical knowledge (AI-TK) and technological integration competencies (e.g., AI-TPK, AI-TCK) remain relatively weak. School technical support, technological attitudes, and technological competence significantly influence their AI-TPACK capabilities, with institutional level and teaching experience serving as important external moderating factors. Building on these findings, this paper proposes a systematic framework for developing pre-service teachers' AI integration capabilities from a human resource development perspective. This framework encompasses four dimensions: curriculum optimization, practice enhancement, resource support, and policy guidance. It aims to provide theoretical foundations and practical pathways for pre-service teacher training and teacher human resource development in higher education institutions.