AIA International Mentorship Program 2026 - Designing a Career Through Discovery
The AIA International Global Mentorship Program invites everyone to join our June online group session. This event is open to all.
When: Friday 24 July 2026 @ 09:00 (Eastern US time)
Where: Online
Speaker:
Li Ren, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C; AIA Middle East | 2025 President; Perkins Eastman | Associate
Description
Designer careers are rarely linear. In an increasingly global and uncertain profession, waiting
for the “right path” is no longer a strategy. Instead, designers must design their careers the way they design buildings, through iteration, experimentation, and discovery. Rather than pursuing predefined milestones, participants will explore how strategic experimentation—joining professional committees, relocating internationally, contributing to policy, teaching, and initiating new platforms—can expand influence, accelerate growth, and uncover unexpected opportunities.
This lecture invites emerging professionals to treat uncertainty as a laboratory and to
prototype their professional identities with intention.
The theme of the 2026 AIA International Mentorship Program is Design by Discovery.
To design is to experiment. By questioning norms and continuously testing ideas, we unlock new forms, materials, and spatial experiences. This series highlights the power of experimentation—from re-use to radical rethinking—to expand the limits of what architecture and design can be. Participants are invited to share and discover processes that challenge, refine, and ultimately elevate our practice.
The mentorship program includes regular online group events which are open to all, as well as one-to-one mentoring.
If you have any questions, please contact Amanda Bryant at emergingprofessionals@aiainternational.org.
