The latest winners of the Stefan Lengyel Scholarship of Excellence have been announced

Date: 2024.09.08
Once again, the Stefan Lengyel Scholarship of Excellence has been awarded to talented MOME students to recognise their outstanding achievements. The winning projects of the 2023/2024 spring semester feature a range of experimental works that addresses current social issues, spanning from video games to research, architectural revitalisation projects, and developmental tools for children.

Out of eighty-one students who reached the second round, forty-three presented their work to the jury, and sixteen winners were selected. The awarded projects cover a variety of topics, including social design, urban revitalisation, and issues affecting the ageing population, showcasing the diverse, interdisciplinary approach taken by the students. 

This was the seventh time the scholarship has been awarded, with winners from five different institutes: five from the Media Institute, five from the Design Institute, three from the Institute for Theoretical Studies, two from the Architecture Institute, and one from the Film Industry Knowledge Centre. An exhibition of the projects is set to open in the autumn, offering a glimpse into the concepts the jury found most deserving of further development. 

One of the standout projects from the Design Institute is the Spinny sharpener, a developmental tool designed by Anna Kőszeghy to enhance the neurological and motor skills of preschool children aged five to seven, while also fostering collaboration through play. Bernadett Garai’s ZIP pull-out chair-bed addresses the challenges of continuously shrinking living spaces with a focus on durability, repairability, easy transport, and reducing ecological impact. Máté Guthy developed a modular 2-in-1 toothbrush holder and steriliser to promote everyday oral hygiene, while Sára Muszka’s Mercedes Memory Lane is an attempt to link memories and driving experiences, integrating memories into cars. Patrik Sándor Gál’s fashion collection reflects on themes of conflict, contradictions, and the loss of innocence. 

At the Institute for Theoretical Studies, Laura Fedics was recognised for her study on the international context of contemporary Hungarian artist Áron Lődi’s work. Fanni Zsófi Baranyi’s research laid the groundwork for revitalising the Church of Our Lady in Sárhatvan, while Gergely Zoltán Áprili explored the unique subcultures of rural football teams through a zine. 

Benedek Forgács of the Architecture Institute designed an extension to a residential building in Budapest to convert it into a care home for the elderly. Borbála Véghelyi envisioned multi-generational cultural and educational spaces in a former cemetery and memorial site for American soldiers from World War II, repurposing it for the local community. 

The scholarship recipients of the Media Institute also presented a range of exciting projects. Maja Sárdi explored the biophilia hypothesis, while Sára Hecker created portraits and life-history interviews with members of two senior clubs in Budapest, which she compiled into a zine. Csongor Boldizsár Nagy’s video game examined the rise of “cybervoyeurism” – the trend of online snooping. Maja Galántai’s philsophy-inspired retrofuturistic board game concept features players working together to build a road, and Aurél Valentin Bajkov’s project explored the relationship between early photography and AI, reflecting on issues of fake news and falsification of history. 

Eszter Enikő Rőczei from the Film Industry Knowledge Centre is making a short film on the connection between mathematics and creativity to mark the 50th anniversary of the Rubik’s Cube and Ernő Rubik’s 80th birthday. 

Stefan Lengyel is an internationally renowned designer awarded with thirty professional accolades, and credited with designing the iconic Ganz articulated tram and the Calypso tape recorder. As head of the Department of Design at the University of Essen and MOME, he has become one of the most influential figures in German and Hungarian design. In 2020, the Foundation for Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design launched a scholarship named after him. In addition to delivering a material reward to outstanding talents, the scholarship awarded now for the third time also places major focus on advancing the competences and practical experience of students and on their professional integration.

 

 

The list of winners: 

Design Institute 

Anna Kőszeghy I Spinny 

Product Design I BA1 I Supervisors: Pál Koós, Péter Vető, Péter Wunderlich 

  

Patrik Sándor Gál | Loss of Innocence 

Textile Design I BA2 I Supervisors: Lilla Cséfalvay, Viola Balázs 

  

Sára Muszka | Mercedes Memory Lane 

Interaction Design I MA1 I Supervisors: Péter Molnár, Viktor Horváth 

  

Máté Guthy I UV-SHIELD Toothbrush Sterilizer 

Product Design I MA1 I Supervisors: Panni Pais, András Húnfalvi 

  

Bernadett Garai | ZIP Chair-Bed 

Product Design I BA2 I Supervisors: András Kerékgyártó 

  

Institute for Theoretical Studies 

Laura Fedics | Áron Lődi in a Contemporary Art Context, with Reference to Hal Foster’s The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture (1983) 

Design Theory I MA1 I Supervisors: Attila Horányi 

  

Fanni Zsófi Baranyi | Revitalisation of the Church of Our Lady in Sárhatvan 

Art and Design Management I MA1 I Supervisors: Kinga German, Gábor Ébli 

  

Gergely Zoltán Áprili | Third Half: Rural Subcultures - Football Teams 

Design Culture I BA1 I Supervisors: Gábor Kapitány 

  

Architecture Institute 

Borbála Véghelyi | Community Street in Újbuda  

Architecture I MA1 I Supervisors: Zsófia Csomay, Balázs Marián 

  

Benedek Forgács | Senior House 

Architecture I BA3 I Supervisors:Csaba Kovács, Gergely Barcza 

  

Media Institute 

Maja Galántai | Retrofuturistic Board Games 

Product Design I BA3 I Supervisors: Béla Hegyi, István Nagy 

  

Csongor Boldizsár Nagy | Game of Voyeurism 

Media Design I MA1 I Supervisors: Miklós Erhardt 

  

Sára Hecker | Pearl of the Nile, Human Horde  

Photography I MA1 I Supervisors: Anna Fabricius 

 

Maja Sárdi | Biophilia Project 

Graphic Design I BA2 I Supervisors: Péter Bence Simon, Attila Ács 

  

Aurél Valentin Bajkov | Fairies at the Bottom of the Garden 

Photography I BA2 I Supervisors: Imre Drégely, Krisztina Szalay 

  

Film Industry Knowledge Centre 

Eszter Enikő Rőczei | Rubik 50       

Animation I BA1 I Supervisors: László Brovinszki 

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