Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design

Art & Design Incubation

Our art and design-centered incubation program supports the most outstanding student projects and theses, with a focus on long-term value creation.
Application deadline
30 June 2025, 11:59 PM
Program
8 Sept 2025 – 8 March 2025
Language
Hungarian (optionally English)
Program Lead
Júlia Vesmás
Contact
incubation@mome.hu
Our aim is to create a solid foundation for talented students to launch their careers in research, art or design by incubating the most innovative art, research projects, product and service ideas - whether academic, social or marketable.

MOME has set itself the ambitious goal of becoming the leading creative industries and innovation center in Central and Eastern Europe by 2030. To support this goal, in 2022 we launched an art and design-centric incubation program to support young creators, researchers, designers and emerging entrepreneurs in Hungary.

Applications are invited from recent graduates of MOME. Selected applicants will receive personalized mentoring and financial support to further develop their master’s project.

Categories

Our program offers the most talented students the chance to develop their ideas and build their careers in three categories.

1.Art and Innovation

Outstanding art projects that push the boundaries of traditional art forms to create unique experiences or engage audiences in new and innovative ways.

2.Research and Innovation

Promising applied research projects whose further development provides a solid basis for academic or market exploitation.

3.Product Innovation

Innovative products or services with strong market potential that address the most pressing problems of today and tomorrow, significantly improve the user experience or integrate sustainable practices.

Program benefits

The selected project leaders will receive personalized mentoring and financial support to develop their ideas further.

Personal mentoring

Connect with MOME's network of national, international and interdisciplinary mentors to get personalized advice from outstanding design, innovation and creative entrepreneurs. 

Access to research and design expertise

MOME's design researchers, lecturers, teachers and students can provide value-added creative support for your projects. 

Access to the university infrastructure

Participants can use the MOME infrastructure, such as the TechPark and a dedicated coworking space. 

Networking opportunities

Participants can build their network of contacts within MOME and meet professionals, curators and entrepreneurs experienced in the local and regional creative industries and arts ecosystem. 

Interdisciplinary sessions

Workshops, open discussions and interdisciplinary (peer-to-peer) learning sessions that collectively contribute to the further development of your project. 

Funding opportunities

Students participating in the program will receive financial support to develop their project and achieve the objectives set out in the project plan. Details on the level of funding are available in the current call for proposals.  

Participants

Bútormentő

Borbála Véghelyi

Category: Product/service Innovation

FurniSave aims to keep used furniture in circulation through a system that collects surplus but good-condition items, repairs them, and delivers them to people who truly need them — either through donation or affordable resale.

Mentor: Dalma Berkovics

REFLECTA

Nóra Szilágyi

Category: Product/service Innovation

The lamp collection draws inspiration from the legacy of the original Szarvasi lamps, while being built from mutually compatible, easily manufacturable components. During the design process, Nóra consciously relies on the technologies currently used by the Szarvasi Lamp Manufactory, thereby supporting a sustainable and long-term viable production. 

Mentor: András Húnfalvi

KOOKTA

Anna Sáringer

Category: Product/service Innovation

KOOKTA is an innovative board game and creative tool that transforms cooking into a communal experience. With the game, players can “assemble” dishes without a recipe by selecting game elements sorted into categories. Its unique value lies in the fact that it does not promote competition; instead, cooperation and creativity are at its core.

Mentor: András Péter

The Painter of Sadness

Dávid Straff

Category: Product/service innovation

The Painter of Sadness is a narrative-driven interactive medium designed to lead the player into a dreamlike, liminal space. The work takes the form of a psychological thriller wrapped in black comedy—a story in which humor lasts only until laughter turns into unease.

Mentor: Máté Milovits

The Portrait of an Artist from the Last Century – Vince Hende

Lili Nadin Pokker

Category: Research and Innovation

The aim of the research is to examine the tension between the art-historical canon and those excluded from it. The thesis forming the backbone of the research explores this issue through the oeuvre of a specific creator, using the legacy of Vince Hende as a case study.

Mentor: András Zwickl

Bias!Busters

Éva Szabó

Category: Research and Innovation 

The goal of the Bias!Busters web app game is to support high school teachers and students in developing AI literacy. Éva contributes to the work of MOME’s Bias!Busters research team by creating downloadable lesson plans and a prompt dictionary.

Mentor: Brigitta Iványi-Bitter

Immersive VR Study Companion

Viktória Pere

Category: Research and Innovation

Viktória’s research project is about validating context-dependent learning and spatial memory in Virtual Reality.  She designs a concept-driven VR learning tool that explores how spatial memorization and context-dependent learning can improve recall and reduce anxiety in high-stakes exam situations.

Mentor: Tamás Fogarasy

FOG

Svetlana Maximova

Category: Art and Innovation

FOG emerges from a culture in which the state teaches children how to march and how to assemble a Kalashnikov. The 5-screen installation brings together the icons and post-icons of the contemporary political landscape, pointing to a broader dilemma of digital autocracies.

Mentor: Krisztián Török

Allowing Myself to Be

Laura Szekeres

Category: Art and Innovation

Allowing Myself to Be is the title of Laura Szekeres’s photobook.
Driven by curiosity, Laura photographs births based on her own desires and fear, something she herself has not yet experienced. For her, the camera serves as a tool to get closer to the question of whether her own body would be capable of such experiences.

Mentor: Luca Petrányi

Mentors

MOME Knowledge Transfer Center

Director of Technology Transfer and Business Development

MOME, Flying Objects

Assistant Lecturer, designer, co-founder 

MOME Knowledge Transfer Center

Innovation and Design Strategist

Máté Milovits

ThinkThings, Csendtörő Foundation

Business Strategy, Business Development, Digital Strategy · Solution Design, Digital Transformation

MOME Design Theory MA

Program Lead

MOME Heritage in Motion Lab

Research Fellow

MOME Interaction Design MA / Exalt Interactive

Program Lead / Managing Partner

Krisztián Török

MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Art

Curator

Luca Petrányi

Useless Galeri

Curator

Team

Creative Launchpad Lead , master instructor

vesmas.julia@mome.hu

Creative Launchpad programme coordinator

kovacs.borbala@mome.hu

The application form must be completed and submitted by 11:59 PM on 30 June 2025.

The evaluation of applications will take place between 1 and 6 July, after which the most promising candidates will be invited to a personal interview, which will be sent to the e-mail address provided on the application form. The personal interviews will take place between 9 and 11 July at an individually agreed time.



The personal interviews will focus on the nature and feasibility of the candidate's objectives and motivation.

Project leaders selected for the program will be notified by 15 July via the email address provided on the application form.

During the program, you can meet external mentors, experts and representatives of different companies who can help you develop your project and career in a next step after the program. Funding for incubated projects is an opportunity for participants
- to cover the cost of a Design Award and receive professional support in putting together a proposal,
- to build a team for creating a major installation,
- to join a research team,
- to build manufacturer/partner relationships with national and international companies,
- to establish a legal basis for the future of your product/service,
- to give more visibility to your creation, your project, your work to date.

Currently only recent MA graduates of MOME are eligible to apply.

We welcome applications from motivated, recent MA graduates who are sufficiently committed to developing their master's thesis and maximizing the opportunities offered by incubation, who have a long-term vision and who have clear and achievable goals for how our incubation program can support their project, research and product development.

We are looking for applicants who can attend all individual and collective consultations and can commit to a minimum of 20 hours per week of development as required by the program.

Teamwork and English language skills are an advantage but not a prerequisite for application.

No, and your application will not be adversely affected if you apply individually. However, we always encourage individual idea generators to proactively seek out similarly motivated individuals with additional skills who can contribute to the successful development and implementation of the project in the long term.

The program invites artists, curators, researchers, designers and entrepreneurs from the creative industries and the field who are committed to nurturing the talent of the participants and who will provide expertise, networking and opportunities to support the project and the career path of the graduating student. Most of our mentors are part of the successful alumni team of MOME and have reconnected with the university in the last few years as mentors, tutors, experts or other collaborations.

Our aim is to ensure that each participant receives the most appropriate mentoring and peer support. If this process can be best supported by the previous supervisor or thesis advisor, we will do our best to ensure that the collaboration can continue.

The currently active application is open only to recent MA graduates from MOME. The primary objective of the program, which will start in the fall, is to provide graduate students with the opportunity to further develop and implement their master thesis or project and to establish their career.

The knowledge and experience gained in a Business to Design course or in HSUP can be a great advantage for students applying in the 'Product Innovation' category, but the program does not only aim at market exploitation and creative business creation, but also aims to support autonomous career builders and researchers who prefer artistic or scientific careers.

Currently, only recent MA graduates from MOME are invited to apply for an active call to further develop their master thesis. An information session will be held at the end of August for the successful graduate students to learn more about the program.

The prograe will run from 2 September to 13 December. The milestones set out in the development plan developed in early September will be presented in a collective consultation at regular intervals. The program will end with a presentation of the development process and the product/project in mid-December.

A MOME Művészeti és Design Inkubációs Programja kizárólag a frissen végzett MA hallgatók mestermunkáinak továbbfejlesztését támogatja, fókuszálva a művészeti, kutatási és innovációs projektekre. Ez a program személyre szabott mentorálást, szakértői konzultációs lehetőséget és pénzügyi támogatást kínál, hogy az alkotók egyéni célkitűzések mentén továbbfejlesszék mestermunkájukat, mélyítsék szakmai tudásukat és megalapozzák szakmai pályafutásukat.

Ezzel szemben a Kreatív Vállalkozói Program azoknak az aktív és 2022–2025 között végzett hallgatóknak szól, akik már rendelkeznek egy kidolgozott üzleti ötlettel és elkötelezettek annak piaci megvalósítása iránt. A program intenzív mentorálást, üzletfejlesztési kereteket, valamint jogi és pénzügyi tanácsadást, továbbá kapcsolatépítési lehetőségeket biztosít a kreatívipari vállalkozásuk elindításához.

Ha a célod a mestermunkád szakmai elmélyítése, fejlesztése, megvalósítása és szélesebb körben való terjesztése, bemutatása, az Inkubációs Program a megfelelő választás. Ha pedig egy konkrét üzleti ötlet megvalósításán dolgozol – jó esetben kész csapattal – és vállalkozást szeretnél indítani, akkor a Kreatív Vállalkozói Programot érdemes választanod.

A Society & Action Lab különféle társadalmi kihívások vizsgálatával foglalkozik a design eszközrendszerén keresztül. A Lab hátránykompenzáció, oktatás, társadalmi reprodukció, nemek közötti egyenlőség, városi együttélés és más témák vizsgálatát részvételen alapuló, terepmunka-központú, gyakorlat-alapú kutatás révén valósítja meg. A társadalmi innováció és a tervezés közötti kapcsolatra összpontosítva interdiszciplináris módszereket dolgozunk ki a valós hatások előmozdítására.  

Kulcsszavak: társadalmi innováció, hátránykompenzáció, bevonó tervezés, részvételi designkutatás, inkluzív tervezői gyakorlatok 

Az Ecology and Action Lab fókuszterülete a társadalmi-ökológiai kihívások kutatása részvételi és rendszerszintű tervezési gyakorlatok alkalmazásával, azzal a céllal, hogy fenntartható megoldásokat dolgozzanak ki és hajtsanak végre a közösségekkel, más érdekelt felekkel (tudósok, önkormányzatok stb.), technológiákkal és magával a természeti környezettel együttműködve. 

Kulcsszavak: környezeti műveltség, az ökoszisztéma rugalmassága, tudatos anyagtervezés, rendszergondolkodás, több mint emberi perspektíva 

A Heritage in Motion Lab az idő jelentőségét vizsgálja a polikrízis korszakában, és annak komplex rendszerekre gyakorolt hatását. A laboratórium kutatásai az időtudatosság fejlesztésére és annak kulturális és rendszerszintű következményeinek vizsgálatára összpontosítanak mind az emberi, mind az emberen túli perspektívából. Miközben a laboratórium elfogadja az időtudatba ágyazott kulturális műveltséget, az időt mint környezetünk konstruált és tervezett elemét is megközelíti. 

Kulcsszavak: idő és design, kulturális örökség, jövőbeli tanulmányok, ellenállás a sebességkultúrával szemben 

A Future Care Lab az öregedést mint orvosi sebezhetőséget közelíti meg, és célja olyan segédeszközök és szolgáltatások tervezése, amelyek javítják a rehabilitációt, növelik az életminőséget, valamint csökkentik az életkorral kapcsolatos stigmákat. A labor kiemelten támogatja a fogyatékosság-tudatos és inkluzív tervezést, hogy felszabadítsa az egyéni potenciált és elősegítse az együttműködésen alapuló képességek kibontakozását.  Emellett a labor azt is vizsgálja, hogyan erősíthetik a művészet és a design a megküzdési mechanizmusokat, hogyan építhetnek rezilienciát a mentális egészségi kihívásokkal szemben, és miként segíthetnek ezek a területek a mentális betegségek megbélyegzésének csökkentésében. 

Kulcsszavak: új technológiák, fogyatékosság és design, öregedés, rehabilitáció, fájdalomkutatás a design segítségével, klinikai kutatás a design eszközeivel 

Amennyiben diplomamunkád egy, vagy akár több kutatói műhely munkájához is kapcsolódik, kiemelt eséllyel tudunk belső szakértőt és mentort, akár nemzetközi szakmai támogatást, kapcsolati hálót, láthatóságot és egyéb lehetőségeket is biztosítani. A jelentkezési lap releváns kérdése kapcsán van lehetőség jelölni a kölünféle tématerületekben való érrintettséget. 

All collective consultations and joint programmes take place face-to-face on the university campus (1121 Budapest, Zugligeti út 9-25, 1121 Budapest). The nature of the individual consultations with the mentor (face-to-face/online) in the incubation program is decided jointly by the mentor and the participant.

The program is primarily in Hungarian, but there is the possibility of English language consultations during individual mentoring. Knowledge of English is important but not essential to complete the program.

One of the unique advantages of our incubation program is that participants have access to the facilities of the Technology Park. These include workshop space, studio, digital labs, media technology and photo studios. For more details, visit the website here: https://mome.hu/en/facilities.

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