Course: Advanced Design for Sustainability

The Advanced Design for Sustainability (ades4s) course offers a one-year highly immersive, co-creative transdisciplinary program to postgraduate students from all backgrounds. In this course, we guide our students towards becoming Thought Leaders in Sustainability whose job will be to influence the actions taken in traditional practices of design, architecture, technology, engineering, or in other fields where material outputs are produced.

Modules

The course is built on theme-based modules (e.g. Ecology and Resilience, Tribalism and Future Social Structures, BioDesign and The Art of Growing Things) where each module is designed for students to work together framing challenges within the given theme, focusing on sustainability. The students form unique insights as they draw knowledge from the diversity of the group, enabling them to apply the generated knowledge across disciplines and industry practices. Students will also have the opportunity to practice various other skills, like mindfullness, biodynamic farming, community building and role of crafts, by visiting sustainable communities - one in the foothills of Himalayas, and one in the desert of Israel. As well as, collaborative workshops will be carried out together with our affiliates - MAD international summer school of design, Latvia, The Laboratory of Artificial Biology, Italy, and Art Quarter in Budapest.

Due to the current global circumstances, the ades4s course 2020/2021 is also available partly or fully in virtual studies. We will open our doors in Budapest to students from January 2021 (subject to government regulations). For this reason:

- Modules M1 and M2, (2020) are in virtual studio;

- Modules M3, M4 and M5 (2021) are available for virtual as well as in-studio studies.

The ADES in-studio studies are based on:

• 9 months study programme
• in our Budapest studio
• recommended engagement: weekly 24hrs
• lectures/ workshops/ collaborations with lead experts and experienced ADES facilitators
• full course tuition fee: 6000 EUR incl VAT
• tuition fee per module*: 1800 EUR incl VAT
• included participation in extracurricular short courses/optional study trips
• maximum number of students: 25 per module
• graduation project to be published and exhibited at the end of the course

* The 5 modules together form the full one year course. It is, however, possible to participate in the Modules separately, based on individual preferences. For example, one may select to join only one module or three modules, or the full course. The Modules that take place in 2020; Module M1 and M2 are offered only in virtual study mode. The Modules that take place in 2021: Module M3, M4 and M5 are available both in virtual and in-studio study mode. Naturally, the virtual study mode is based on 100% live lectures, and all class materials are recorded and are made available for students to facilitate flexibility.

Application process

Candidates can apply for the course or for the individual Modules by completing the online application form on our website. Once the online submission form is reviewed, qualified applicants will be asked to send their documents in an email (CV, academic transcripts), and will be invited for a video interview before the final selection. The application deadline for the full ades4s course and Module 1 is June 1st. Application deadlines for each individual Modules will be announced on our website and social media channels, but no later than 1 month before the beginning of the module.

Requirements

• Master or equal higher degree
• Outstanding BSc or equal degree and vocational degrees
• English language proficiency (will be assessed in the interview, no need to submit official certificates)
• Materials required to be submitted in the application package; CV, official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, portfolio or record of previous work, either written, photographed, filmed, or otherwise communicated
• All applicants will be required to attend an online interview as part of the application process

*This course will only run if there is a sufficient level of interest to ensure a satisfactory student experience and outcome.

About the School

The Institute of Advanced Design Studies (ADES) is an independent school of design offering study programmes in sustainability for postgraduate students and professionals. Our programme is based on a transdisciplinary approach to sustainability and we accept students from all backgrounds. We recognise the complexity and multi-disciplinarity of the challenges we face today with climate change, environmental degradation, work-life and the changes in global society and that a new type of expertise is needed to tackle these challenges. ADES is built to train a new type of designer, equipped with Design Thinking tools and design process tools, versed to work in transdisciplinary teams, while empowered to employ their own discipline, be it in design, chemistry or bioengineering, to solve the multi-disciplinary problems of today. Instead of having a traditional faculty, ADES works with guest moderators who are global thought leaders from a diversity of disciplines, from designers to biologists, engineers, and philosophers, to achieve holistic approaches appropriate to solving the problems of today.

Course website

https://ades.design/ades4s

ADES virtual study programme 2020/21

https://ades.design/virtual-studio