Young Matters invites students from disciplines related to designing our futures to join the Design Signals program of FABER by participating in a summer school program bringing forward contemporary design practices and centred on the curiosities and ideas of young practitioners. With a focus on the city of Timisoara, Young Matters is a program dedicated to students from different disciplines whose ambition is to contribute from a young age into designing investigations and prototypes for a better future.
For 2025 Young Matters takes the shape of a summer school in which students from diverse disciplines, but interested in designing and applying their knowledge, ideas, skills and tools, are invited to join an alternative educational format. A week long summer school in which their interests into better futures can be applied into a design oriented workshop with international tutors and international and local guests.
Young Matters proposes a site specific approach to education understanding as fundamental the connection between ideas and contexts of engagement. It offers a week-long program composed of a multidisciplinary lecture series, applied methods of designing, field explorations and a framework in which the ideas of the students can be activated into a collective space for learning and making. The workshop will teach methods, skills and strategies related to contemporary design practices.
With every edition of the DESIGN SIGNALS program, FABER issues a theme under which the entire program revolve around. The theme of this year is related to chemistry which is a discipline fundamental for all the design processes. The tutors and the invited guests will present different perspectives to the topic – which will support students to engage and contribute with their works to Timisoara’s urban, social, environmental and material environments through design.
Who can apply?
We invite students from design, architecture, data analysis, art, sociology, biology, material engineering and other design oriented faculties which want to expand their experience with alternative methods of learning, researching and designing through a format that binds together disciplines, international experiences and local impact.
What is design?
Design is approached as a discipline able to connect places, people, environment and ideas together, with the purpose of identifying key questions and then mindfully orchestrating various resources into visionary, adequate, sustainable, beautiful answers.
How is the summer school structured?
The structure of the summer school is a week-long workshop (7-13 July 2025) in which tutors and students work together, prototyping projects related to the city of Timisoara. The tutors, together with the FABER team, will select sites and context specific perspectives to provide a solid starting point for the projects.
How is the week structured?
The workshop is an intense week starting with a field exploration of sites and knowledge which cross industrial, environmental and infrastructural places in the city. During the week lectures and meetings with experts give students insights and knowledge from other disciplines and experimental classes with tutors teach skills, techniques and methods of designing.
What’s the goal of the workshop?
The goal of the workshop is to prototype with design strategies, tools and methods, for the city of Timisoara and through the lens of chemistry – which is fundamental to our products, bodies, places and environments (water, air, soil, body, etc..)
What happens after the workshop?
At the end of the workshop, 3 prototypes will be selected and a budget will be given to the students in order to take their project further and present it within the yearly DESIGN SIGNALS exhibition – opening on September 11, 2025. The students winning the grant will be guided in this process by the curator and the exhibition production team of FABER.
What is expected from students who apply?
We expect students that are curious and open in learning through their city what design can do and how design can change contexts in better ways. We expect students to have free time to participate in the full week and commit with their time, ideas and character to this pedagogical adventure. Moreover, we expect that the participating students will have time during the summer to develop their project further in case they win the grant (July – September). This commitment implies working further on their projects and meeting the curatorial and production team online or physically at least four times during the summer time.
How to apply?
Applications must be submitted via the online form no later than May 30 at 23:59. Your application should include one single PDF file (max 10 MB) structured as follows:
🔹 Section 1 – Portfolio
Present 3 projects you developed in your study or work path. Use one page per project, combining text and visuals to explain your approach and outcomes.
🔹 Section 2 – Reflections on Chemistry & Place
Respond in one page to the following prompts:
- What connections do you see between the field of chemistry and the city of Timișoara? Consider elements such as air, water, soil, products, services, everyday actions, behaviors and bodies.
- Please think of a specific place in Timișoara where chemistry has a clear and visible impact and then describe both the place and the impact of chemistry. (you can refer to both positive and negative impact)
🔹 Section 3 – Personal Vision
In one page, answer the following questions:
- How do you see yourself applying what you are learning in school at the moment?
- How do you see your role, ideally and in the future, in your field of work?
- What does design mean to you?
APPLY HERE
About Design Signals
Started in 2023 as Bright Cityscapes, in partnership with Politehnica University Timișoara, we have been zooming into the specific context of Timisoara and exploring design’s intricate relationship with contemporary challenges and technological advancements through the perspectives of international thinkers, designers, sociologists, academia, institutions and companies, in a series of exhibitions, conferences, workshops and other events.
In 2023 we understood the importance of pedagogy and accordingly developed the program Young Matters. In 2023 we organised Atlas of Distances an educational collaboration bringing together students from three design departments at three schools — the Faculty of Architecture at Technical University of Timișoara (RO), Studio Technogeographies from Design Academy Eindhoven (NL), and Borders and Territories from TU Delft (NL) which results were presented in an exhibition accompanied with conferences at ARChA.
In 2024, continuing this approach of connecting different places and people, serving to bridge gaps and generate a deeper reflection of the interconnectedness within Timișoara and design, we investigated the textile industry. On this edition Young Matters invited students from any discipline from all universities in Timisoara to apply, and the program was a workshop From – To: Letters to the City The results were presented in the exhibition Woven Secrets at FABER.
About FABER
FABER is an independent creative hub in Timișoara, founded in 2018 by local cultural operators and entrepreneurs, dedicated to the enhancement of learning and action ecosystems through care, creativity, and knowledge. FABER brings together local and international thinkers, designers, musicians, sociologists, but also creative networks, academia and institutions, in hosted or self-organised exhibitions, conferences, concerts, workshops and many other event formats – that instigate long-term collaborations, products, services, policies or simply friendships.
