Four-time Red Dot Award-winning designer and immersive media researcher won the Aurum Futuri Award

Date: 2024.09.04
Launched jointly by the Foundation for Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design and the University, the Aurum Futuri Excellence Awards have been presented for the second time in MOME’s history. This year’s recipients are lead instructor of the Mobility Design specialisation András Húnfalvi, and head and lead researcher of the Immersion & Interaction Hub Ágnes Karolina Bakk PhD.

The award is available for MOME’s most outstanding teachers and researchers. The name of the award is a reference to the activities and values of teachers and researchers shaping the future – the ‘gold of future’. Everything that teachers do by teaching, mentoring, and encouraging mental exercise, and that researchers create through research benefitting society over the long term, is intended to improve the life of generations to come. 

Any MOME citizen can nominate candidates for the award that comes with a trophy and cash prize. Funded by the Foundation for Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, it is awarded based on the candidate’s impact on both the faculty and student communities.   The Aurum Futuri Excellence Award comes in two varieties. While the teaching award is designed to encourage innovations in education and highlight the need for constant methodological improvements and the value of learning support, the research award is focused on impressing the importance of the research activity in a deserving fashion. In both cases, it is vital to ensure a wide dissemination of the achievements and practices of the award recipients. 

András Húnfalvi is a distinguished member of the MOME teaching community, renowned for his professional and educational excellence. A MOME alumnus, he is a four-time Red Dot and two-time iF Design award-winning designer, as well as co-founder and lead designer of the Flying Objects studio, and has been teaching at MOME since 2018, currently leading the Mobility Design specialisation. He has not only carried out internationally acclaimed design projects but has also successfully guided several students to excel in world-class competitions. He picks and applies his teaching methods thoughtfully, keeping the University's traditions in mind while adapting flexibly to current challenges, creating an inspiring professional environment for his students. His work is highly visible both within and outside the University, with corporate collaborations, international events, and accolades continuously strengthening the MOME brand in Hungary and abroad. 

Ágnes Bakk, as the head of the Immersion & Interaction Hub at MOME’s Innovation Center, leads and oversees numerous research projects, including the ongoing Zenctuary project, which began in 2021 and was submitted for the Aurum Futuri Excellence Award in Research. In addition to her extensive research and scientific publication activities, she has been deeply involved in research organisation over the past decade, establishing the Zip-Scene Conference series, which has brought together a significant international professional community in recent years. She also engages in organising other conferences and has built an extensive international network that greatly supports MOME’s internationalisation efforts. Within the Innovation Center, she has played a key role for years in fostering internal research excellence. Her research career is characterised by experimentation, collaboration, crossing disciplinary boundaries, and an interdisciplinary approach to examining the intersections of science, technology, and art. 

“The daily productivity of a university depends on the accomplishments of its teachers and researchers.   Our objectives and ambitions can only be achieved by honouring and recognising their work. As part of MOME’s model change, we first decided to grant the greatest pay rise in the history of the university, and now to present the Aurum Futuri awards to provide special recognition to our top talents and elevate them as role models”, said President of the Foundation Gergely Böszörményi-Nagy, explaining the significance of the award. 

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