MOME’s object design students design the new award trophies of the Centre for Energy Research

Date: 2022.12.16
As part of the collaboration between MOME and the Centre for Energy Research (CER), Object Design BA students at a course were tasked with designing award trophy sets that will be used to recognise the outstanding achievements of junior associates and commemorate the work anniversaries of members of staff with decades of history with the Centre.

This interdisciplinary collaboration offers a unique opportunity for object design students to experience various fields of science through live projects. 

The research centre conducts world-class basic, applied and developmental scientific research in nuclear energy, functional materials and nano systems, environmental protection, energy saving and energy security. It is engaged in the investigation of resources that are invisible to the naked eye but exceedingly important in daily life, and can boast findings and studies that are unparalleled not just in Hungary, but also globally. 

The assignment given to object design students was to condense intangible reality into tangible items during their coursework. The structure of the course syllabus was defined by the visit to the research centre designed to help participants assess fields of energy research using design considerations. To design the award trophies, students were required to consider the strategic focuses of the research centre, such as nuclear fusion, nuclear energy, energy science, as well as space research, environmental science and functional material research, and try and capture the essence of these fields.  

Designing a set of five award trophies is a complex task that would be inconceivable without an interdisciplinary approach.   The closing phase of the course mostly involved developing the designs and creating the items at the workshops. The concepts of the 10 participating students will be featured in our Showcase. 

It is a great challenge to capture the character of the Centre for Energy Research in a physical object in a representative way. The most fascinating aspect of the collaboration was the search for common ground by the research centre using the toolset of design and the object design students relying on the toolkit of applied contemporary art for the purpose of creating an award item. It is exciting to see science and art work together”, commented Renáta Dezső, head of the Object Design BA and project lead Renáta Dezső, adding that she believed designing a set of award trophies was a particularly intriguing assignment for MOME students because it was a real-life assignment for a real customer – a strategically significant research institute.  

From the 10 concepts developed during the semester course, a jury of six comprising executives from both institutions selected the top three works that would be used for creating the award trophies presented annually in five categories. 

The top three designs were made by Anna Alpár, Benjamin Kulin and Diána Rakonczai, while the special prize went to Erzsébet Buliska.  

In addition to Renáta Dezső, participants in the collaboration included head of the metalwork specialisation Zoltán Tóth on behalf of our university, and Director General and senior development engineer and communication associate Tamás Szabolics (Fusion Plasma Physics Department, Atomic Energy Research Institute Centre for Energy Research) on behalf of the Centre for Energy Research. 

Works by students of the course (Anna Alpár, Bianka Bene, Lilla Bogyó, Erzsébet Buliska, Benjamin Kulin, Tamás Köte, Sára Maya Magyar, Mónika Ildikó Mercs, Diána Alexandra Rakonczai, Anna Szöllősi) are available here. 

Members of the jury included senior research associate Dr. Tünde Tóth, scientific consultant of the Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science of the CER Dr. Csaba Balázsi, Director of the Institute for Energy Security and Environmental Safety of the CER Dr. Tamás Belgya, development engineer / communication associate Tamás Szabolics, MOME teacher Dr. Renáta Dezső, and Noémi Ferenczy award winning teacher Zoltán Tóth. 

More news

The first guest of the Q&Alumniof series is Anna Tőkés, MOME Animation alumna, who has recently participated in the Annecy International Animation Film Festival with her diploma film titled “The Last Drop.” In this episode, you can learn more about Anna’s experience at our university, her favourite memories of her time spent on campus, and even about her secret talents.

How can we make better use of public transport infrastructure? What would a truly fast and effective life-saving device look like? And how can we save agriculture in a world without bees? These are just a few of the questions addressed by our design students, and their imaginative, forward-thinking answers have earned international recognition in the Design Concept category of one of the world’s most prestigious design competitions, the Red Dot Award. Seven projects mentored through the MOME Red Dot submission programme stood out from the global competition this year, including diploma projects and semester-long university projects.

Az egyetem jelenéről, jövőjéről, az igazi MOME-identitásról és az álmokról is szó esett az idei diplomaosztón, amelyen nemcsak háromszázhúsz hallgató vehette át diplomáját, de új hagyományokkal is gazdagodott az egyetem legszebb ünnepe. Az eseménynek ezúttal a RaM-ArT Színház adott otthont, ahol az alapszakos és mesterszakos végzősök mellett rektori különdíjasokat, jubilálókat, valamint a Wartha-díj és az Etikus Építészeti Viselkedés Díj kitüntetettjeit is köszöntték. Ilyen volt a MOME Diplomaosztója 2025–ben!
Member of the European
Network of
Innovative
Higher Education Institutions
9 Zugligeti St,
Budapest, 1121