What novelty or innovation was specifically invented by MOME? Why is it important and exemplary for a higher education institution to reinvent its operation, and in this manner?  

L. É.: Fundamentally, the entire University of the Future is a novelty specific to MOME. From the beginning, this project is about MOME’s own internal development. The University of the Future is specifically tailored to MOME’s values and the needs of the people working and studying here. Seeing how the learning habits of new generations are changing, what new learning paths our incoming students are following, our intention was to adapt our existing structures to these new expectations and challenges.  

One of MOME’s greatest values has always been innovation, experimentation, and a proactive approach, and this attitude will always be part of the university. It is important to note that while such developments may seem groundbreaking from the outside, from the inside they are developmental paths from which we ourselves continuously learn, as knowledge is not a constant state but is sustained by continuous building. As mentioned earlier, we naturally involved external experts in these development processes, but we have never outsourced any task, be it organisational restructuring or educational development, to an external partner. We took care of everything in-house from the beginning.  

D. B.: As a leading Hungarian and regional institution, we must preserve our traditions, respond to constant market changes, and solve future problems. We cannot neglect any of these. The three schools model provides a clever response to all three challenges, which is rare in today’s world. Currently, universities are moving towards growth, industrialisation, technologisation, and bureaucratisation, which we believe is a mistake. MOME is about people – relationships, dialogues, and exchanges of thoughts and ideas between people. This is the original idea behind the ancient academy and the medieval universitas. We are getting back to this. It is important to remain small, independent, and resilient. Continuous experimentation and renewal are in MOME’s DNA. We cannot and do not want to change this. Experience shows that in a changing world, such institutions can truly succeed.  

The University Future is targeted at young people, the next generation. In this changing world, generational behavioural patterns are rapidly transforming. What factors and trends did you consider when developing your educational structure? How do you view Gen Z and Alpha?  

L. É.: One of the most important factors we had to consider when developing the new educational structure is that different learning and attention disorders, loss of motivation, anxiety, depression, and lack of a stable future vision are increasingly observed in these generations.  We are aware that in the near future, the proportion of students experiencing such difficulties may increase, and so we consider it particularly important to expand the range of services supporting student well-being.   

According to recent research, these characteristics not only make traditional learning forms more difficult but also make it increasingly hard for students to stay in university education long-term and integrate. Consequently, students' work is characterised by an eye to detail and analytical thinking, while it is precisely a global focus that could help see and interpret the world comprehensively. Future potential researchers suggest that there will be more adults with analytically thinking, less creativity and poorer social skills.  Other analyses indicate that the attention of the next generation is better captured by messages delivered through visual content and stories, and these resonate more strongly with them. These abilities and learning forms can be well developed during university years.  Reflecting on these trends, problem-based and collaborative learning will become increasingly emphasised in educational settings, with the roles of educators shifting more towards mentorship and facilitation. The educational and training development approach of the University of the Future is permeated by lifelong learning and lifewide learning – learning that extends to all areas of our lives.  

D. B.: Every generation relates to the world differently, which is a fundamentally positive thing. However, bridging generational gaps and fostering dialogue is a challenge.  Gen Z and Alpha are very different from the generations before: they learn differently, communicate differently, and value different things. We believe that they should not be the ones to adapt to the old educational system but the other way around. The University of the Future’s educational model is built on this, offering a different educational approach and methods. This issue does not only affect students. Currently, there are at least three generations present in the faculty: Boomers, Gen X, and Gen Y. They do not necessarily understand each other, and almost no university in the world addresses this. We do, and alongside the Student Hub, we are creating an Academic Hub to promote dialogue.  

What methods did you use to study and engage the target audience?    

D. B.: Almost everyone who worked or is working on this project is a designer or creative artist. We approach such a task differently than an economist or a large market consulting firm.  When developing a model, our primary focus is not laws, policy guidelines, financial performance indicators, but students, the community, and the content. We relished the work, utilising almost every possibility in the design toolkit from speculative design to community planning and service design to visual storytelling. We even made a sci-fi comic about future occupations and personas. Hundreds of people are actively participating in this process, including students, teachers, staff, external professionals, and foreign experts. This sort of large-scale inclusive design is unprecedented in higher education in Hungary.  

One of MOME’s main goals is talent development. How does the University of the Future define talent, and what skills does it emphasise in education based on this?  

L. É.: The most important thing is to consider everyone as a potential talent in talent management, so we focus primarily on talent development. To do this, we create a stimulating and supportive institutional environment that ensures the various talents can reveal and unlock their true potential. This involves skills such as the ability to creatively organise and utilise acquired knowledge and experiences, learning agility, the capacity for continuous relearning and adaptation to various situations, a propensity for flexibility and experimentation, seeking challenges, information, and feedback, a willingness to make mistakes and ask for help, and self-reflection.  

D. B.: Everyone is born creative, but without support, we lose our motivation to unlock our creativity at an early age.  Unfortunately, after public education, creativity must be relearned, which the Classic School will address.  What MOME wants is not for everyone to know the same things by the end of their studies but for everyone to maximise their creative potential.  This approach is significantly different from the current general higher education perspective.    

Based on this, what is an ideal graduate of the University of the Future like?  

L. É.: Proactive and resilient, capable of tackling the challenges of the present and future.  Our graduates are self-motivated yet cooperative, given to experimenting, and responsible, with a complex, critical, and creative view of the world, working on solving social and ecological problems using the tools of art, design, and innovation.