Course Details
The Master in Design for Emergent Futures (MDEF) is for students who want to expand their focus interests and acquire the skills to turn protests into prototypes, ideas into actions, and who are engaged in the mission of transforming the current status of affairs in society. The programme aims to provide strategic vision and tools for designers, sociologists, economists and computer scientists, to become agents of change in multiple professional environments and focuses in the design of interventions in the form of products, platforms and deployments that aim to produce new emergent futures, by previously analysing the current challenges in society and industry. The Master in Design for Emergent Futures is organised by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and ELISAVA Barcelona School of Design and Engineering, in collaboration with the Fab Academy.
Competition Details
The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia announces every year a Scholarship Competition giving our master’s applicants the chance to win partial scholarships covering 50%, 30%, 20% of the tuition fee of each IAAC’s Educational Programme.
Project Brief
Cultivating Regenerative Futures: Reimagining Design in a Complex World
In this era, where ecological imbalance and social fragmentation define our reality, conventional design approaches no longer suffice. The Master in Design for Emergent Futures (MDEF) seeks to redefine the role of designers: not just as creators but as pivotal agents of change in a world undergoing profound transformation. Our aim is not mere creation; it is a profound act of regeneration, an endeavor to rethink and rebuild the very bedrock of our societal structures.
We are pursuing ideas that echo the essence of Fab Lab Barcelona’s research agenda—Civic Ecology, Distributed Design, Emergent Futures, Future Learning, Materials and Textiles, Productive Cities, and Sense Making. These ideas should embody regenerative principles across various scales and contexts. We urge you to bring forth proposals that fuel discussions in new design, technology and society. This discourse is as crucial for crafting new narratives of the future as it is for critically analysing our current state.
Our call is for contributions that transcend novelty, embracing a radical pragmatism. We seek ideas that seamlessly integrate into the fabric of everyday existence, challenging and altering the status quo.
Join us at MDEF in sculpting futures that not only question existing narratives but also actively work towards a planet that does more than endure—it thrives, underpinned by sustainable and regenerative practices.
Submission Guidelines
1 (one) PDF document in A4 format, 3 pages max (max 8MB) containing a short description in English of the project and the strategy/rationale behind the proposal. An additional page can be used to include pictures/illustrations (optional).
All proposals should contain the full name of the applicant and the programme they are applying for in the header of the document.
Candidates interested in the Scholarship Competition must meet the Eligibility Criteria as described in the IAAC Guide for Applicants.
How to apply for the scholarship?
To apply, each candidate should visit the Application Portal, register, select the programme they wish to apply for, upload the necessary supporting documents including their Scholarship project proposal.
The full list of mandatory supporting documents to prepare for the Scholarship Competition are the following:
1) Letter of intent written in English
2) A Portfolio showcasing samples of your work in English
3) CV (Curriculum Vitae/ Resume).
4) Two letters of recommendation written in English
5) A scanned copy of your bachelor’s diploma.
6) A copy of your valid passport (or I.D. if you are a citizen of a member state of the EU.)
7) The scholarship project proposal which corresponds to the Selected Programme’s proposal topic.
Important: A 50€ Application fee (non-refundable) is to be paid to submit your application.
For more detailed information on the Supporting Documents listed above please consult the IAAC Guide for Applicants.
- Start date: 1st December 2023 – 00:00 (CET)
- End date: 31st January 2024 – 23:59 (CET)
- Winners announced: 20th February 2024
Selection and Evaluation Process
Once an application is received, the Admissions Coordinator will start reviewing the submitted applications to check whether they meet all eligibility requirements. Once the eligibility check is completed, Applicants will be informed of the outcome by email.
For more information refer to the IAAC Guide for Applicants.
The Selection Committee
The Jury will be integrated by master programme Directors, faculty and special guests and professionals coming from the different topics to be addressed by the competitions.
Winners Announcement
The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia will officially announce the names of the winners on February 20th, 2024.
