DCs and supervisors reunite in Budapest for second in-person training week

In early November 2025, the CoDesign4Transitions network came together in Budapest for the second in-person training week of the Sustainable Transitions through Democratic Design doctoral programme. Hosted by the MOME Doctoral School, the week brought all 13 Doctoral Candidates together with supervisors and partners from across Europe.

Over five days, the group shared research progress, exchanged feedback, and continued to build a collective understanding of the emerging field that connects design, sustainable transitions, and democratic innovation. The programme offered a diverse range of sessions, spanning transdisciplinary data analysis, prototyping as research, systems innovation, democratic co-production, and climate transitions.

Invited speakers played a key role in expanding these perspectives: we explored quali-quantitative methods for working with unstructured data with Mathieu Jacomy (Aalborg University); examined democratic innovation in practice with Daniela Amann (Democratic Society); reflected on the role of digital platforms in shaping the public sphere with Trisha Meyer (VUB); and engaged with transformation practice in human social systems with Luca Gatti (CHÔRA Foundation). A dedicated sense-making session with Aleksandra Gołdys (Climate-KIC) further supported the cohort in turning individual experiences into shared insights.

Moreover, a field-based workshop, led by Janka Csernák (MOME) with partner RÉV8, took DCs into Budapest’s District VIII for a case study walk. During the walk, DCs experimented with field-based data collection and ethnographic tools, later bringing their observations together in a collaborative analysis workshop.

Throughout the week, the cohort benefited from the support and facilitation of session leaders Lucy Kimbell (UAL), Marzia Mortati (Politecnico di Milano), and Judit Bényei (MOME), as well as the active engagement of partners from across the consortium.

This training week is part of our four-year programme funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Networks, which connects eight universities and multiple institutional partners to support research at the intersection of design, policy, and sustainability.

Thank you to all of the MOME team involved in the training week, including videographers Kiki Tar and Gergő Matos, and for hosting us in Budapest.