The shortlisted teams of 7th to 10th graders came up with dark visions and creative and sustainable solutions for MOME’s Jump into the future! competition, including a trash collecting mermaid robot, an eco-friendly six-wheeler, an intelligent gas mask, and an inclusive board game.

Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) has relaunched last year’s highly successful creative competition for students in 7th to 10th grades, encouraging them to form teams of 2 to 5, picture what the future will be like, and design an item or service around it together. The aim of the JUMP INTO THE FUTURE! competition is to show that all it takes is a bright idea for anyone to become a designer or future researcher.
The competition moved into the next phase at the end of May. 10 teams were shortlisted by the pre-jury and will be given the opportunity to improve their designs during July under the guidance of MOME mentors, namely, researchers, designers, theoreticians and design BA and MA students of MOME’s Doctoral School. The competition will come to an end once a jury of five makes its decision on 2 July, when the first three places will be announced.

This year’s jury members for the JUMP INTO THE FUTURE! competition:
 

• Pál Koós, MOME university professor, General Vice Rector
• Judit Bényei, MOME associate professor, head of MOME Design and Visual Art Teacher training programme at the Institute for Theoretical Studies
• Lāsma Ivaska, Director of MOME Innovation Center
• Nóra Winkler, radio and television presenter, art journalist
• Jázmin Hollósi, MOME Media Design student

How do teenagers today picture the future?
These are the entries of the 10 shortlisted teams.

Team Fawaris has envisioned a car-free future with a solar panel park to substantially reduce noise pollution and CO2 emissions, improve the mental health of city dwellers and create new jobs by 2042.
School: SZC Baksa Kálmán Bilingual High School, Győr
MOME mentors: Dóra Szentandrási architect and teacher, and Júlia Gunther architecture student

The BÜG bugs conceptualised by team Future Perfect are robots using artificial intelligence and tasked with collecting harmful or invasive insects, as well as observing and coordinating garden ecosystems.
School: Francis II Rákóczi Primary School, Kazinczy Ferenc High School and Student Boarding House, Győr
MOME mentors: Péter Wunderlich semiotician and Róbert Kristóffi Product Design student

Team Wetess has been developing a collaborative boardgame, where the players work together to protect a city from natural disasters. It uses an inclusive, interactive board and smart accessories to enable the participation of people with disabilities.
School: Eszterházy Károly Catholic University Training Primary and Secondary Art School and Pedagogical Institute, Eger
MOME mentors: Janka Csernák social design researcher and Nóra Szilágyi Product Design student.

Team Wonder Women has designed a small format waste recycling machine. Ubul-X is easy to operate with the integrated touchscreen, and pours the recycled mass into the desired mould using a 3D printer.
School: Bolyai Grammar School for Gifted Students, Zenta
MOME mentors: Social design researcher Janka Csernák and Ceramic Design student Dorina Bencsics.

Team Shrews wishes to address the issue of water purification. The sensors of the Undinébot operated with a remote control measure the pH and contamination level of water. The fin of the mermaid robot stores the collected trash and, using the scalpels between its fingers, frees marine animals from the nets they get entangled in.
School: SZC Deák Ferenc Economic High School, Győr
MOME mentors: Visual Arts teacher and textile designer Valéria Póczos and Ceramic Design student Melinda Doktor.

Team Pekingese’s smart gas mask takes air pollution protection to the next level. Its thick, shield-like material hides a tiny instrument that measures smog levels and gives a soft beep when critical levels are exceeded.
School: Bornemisza Péter High School, Budapest
MOME mentors: Visual Arts teacher and textile designer Valéria Póczos and Textile Design student Erzsébet Szabolcs.

Work of the Year by team Style Mentalists is designed to promote new jobs of the future, such as DARK-Web Cleaner for cleaning the Internet, Space Planter for growing plants in space, Dreamer Therapist for helping you sleep or Animal Explorer for exploring new species.
School: Baar Madas Reformed High School and Primary School, Budapest
MOME mentors: Viktória Traub doctoral Media student and Zsolt Pataki Media Design student.

Team Raven offers solutions to the rampant energy crisis that is starting to reach critical proportions also in transportation with their fully eco-friendly six-wheeler powered by headwind and propellers.
School: Budapest Complex Center of Vocational Training Creative School
MOME mentors: Péter Wunderlich semiotician and Bulcsú Berzsák Product Design student

Team 7 explores widening social gaps resulting from inflation in their project. The fictitious posters designed by the students draw attention to this schism: while the advertisement for the slum features food powder that creates a sense of fullness, the rich are offered ‘shoe umbrellas’.
School: Berzsenyi Dániel High School, Budapest
MOME mentors: Viktória Traub doctoral Media student and Virág Tajti Media Design student
 

Team Zigma developed a multistage design for building Europa City, a sustainable capital city powered exclusively by clean energy.
School: Lauder Javne School, Budapest
MOME mentors: Dóra Szentandrási architect and teacher, and Janka Juhász architecture student.
 

First prize provided by the main sponsor Varinex:  MakerBot SKETCH 3D printer with basic starter kit plus FabLabworkshop

Second prize provided by FreeDee Printing Solution: Mayku FormBox vacuum forming machine, innovative model designing technology plus FreeDee 3D Akadémia course plus FabLab workshop

Third prize provided by FabLAb Budapest: Micro:bit programmable kit plus FabLab CNC, laser cutting and Micro:bit special course

The special prize of the jury is mentoring provided by instructors of the newly opened MOME Mobility Design Lab, which can help further develop the team’s concept.

The sponsors of the JUMP INTO THE FUTURE! competition are Varinex Zrt, FreeDee Printing Solutions, Pagony Publishing House and FabLab Budapest.

JUMP INTO THE FUTURE!

Website: https://ugrasajovobe.mome.hu/
Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/ugrasajovobe
Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/ugrasajovobe/
TikTok page: https://www.tiktok.com/@ugrasajovobe

Cover :BÜG robot / Future Perfect (c) Ugrás a jövőbe! 2022, MOME