New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Initiative category

Identify the award category for which this initiative is being submitted
Prioritising the places and people that need it the most

Email user
contact@chedesignschool.com

Basic information
Initiative title
CheDesignSchool

Full initiative Title
CHE Design School - Creative Humanistic Education. Design School for children and adults.

Please provide a short, catchy description of your initiative to be used in communication towards the public.
We believe that design and design-thinking can bring together people of different nationalities, different ages, political views and religions in the name of solving common tasks and sustainable development of our society.
We believe that design, design-education as well as purposeful and meaningful actions of the local design- community can lead to quality changes in environment and improvement of the quality of life in Western Balkans.

What was the geographical scope of your intiative?
Local

Where was your intiative implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Montenegro

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
Budva Municipality, Cetinje Municipality, Herceg Novi Municipality, Kotor Municipality, Podgorica Municipality, Tivat Municipality,

Does your initiative address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly urban

Does your initiative refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)

Has your initiative benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your initiative won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Does your initiative has a minimum level of maturity? The minimum level of maturity is exemplified by stakeholder/ initiative promoter commitment to implement the initiative in practice and a clear methodology /approach.
Yes

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As a representative of an organisation
Please provide the contact details for the project promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the project)
- Name of the organisation(s): CHE Design School
  Type of organisation: For-profit company
  First name of representative: Kirill
  Last name of representative: Cheburashkin
  Gender: Male
  Nationality: Russia
  Function: CEO
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: KO Ljesevici 40/1/4
  Town: Kotor
  Postal code: 85318
  Country: Montenegro
  Direct Tel: +382 68 455 798
  E-mail: contact@chedesignschool.com
  Website: http://www.chedesignschool.com
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://www.instagram.com/che_design_school/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): @che_design_school #chedesign
In case my initiative is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my initiative in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
New European Bauhaus or European Commission websites

Description of the initiative
Please provide a summary of your initiative
CHE Design School is the first design center in Montenegro that implements the idea of Creative Humanistic Education in order to create conditions for changes for the better in the social, environmental and cultural environment.
Sustainability is based on respect for and consideration for diversity and the individual needs of everyone. We consider as full participants of the initiative not only teachers and students, but also their parents, grandparents, colleagues and friends. Our goal is to seek and find the individual characteristics and needs of each in a constant dialogue with the student, parents, friends and colleagues and form a special trajectory for each project participant. This is the only way to achieve sustainability by taking into account the diversity and strengths of each participant in the initiative.
Design is not a service function for purely commercial purposes. The mission of Design is to be a tool for adapting a person to the world around him. In addition to being an adaptation tool, design should become a natural pre-adaptation tool. In modern conditions, every responsible person who is concerned about the future should become a designer. Our goal is to make design a tool in the hands of any person. We strive to make design education accessible to everyone, including by preparing young people for admission to European universities.
Our goal is to create conditions, change the attitude of people and society to challenges and make sure that challenges are perceived as a source of new ideas and solutions.
Our goal is to become a center that involves the design community of the Western Balkans in a single European Green Deal. We believe that our initiative will become a model for our colleagues in the Western Balkans and demonstrate the openness of the New European Bauhaus program to new participants.

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with 5 key words.
Education

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Design

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Empathy

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Sustainable

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Involvement

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of sustainability and how these have been/will be met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
KEY OBJECTIVES
We believe that in modern realities, design is a natural and optimal tool for designing an organic whole and creating sustainable systems.
Our goal is to research and educate children and adults to consciously predict the consequences of changes and effectively realize the responsibility of each of our steps into the future.
Our goal is to teach in advance to pre-adapt the future environment, oneself and human needs, taking into account the prospects and consequences of environmental, social and cultural changes.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INITIATIVE
Already, the initiative is being implemented and we are moving towards achieving the stated goals. With the support of the school pedagogical community of general education schools of the territory, several educational projects have been launched and are being successfully implemented.
PLANS
Educational projects in the format of summer intensive workshops are at the design stage. International experts and specialists from various fields of design are involved in the implementation of these workshops as speakers and teachers. Intensive workshops are designed to promote the ideas of creativity and design in the international educational space as tools for designing an organic whole in the long term.
THE VALUE OF INITIATIVE.
Our initiative can be exemplary as an example of the differentiation of economic activity. To ensure sustainable development and economic growth of Montenegro, it is necessary to reduce the dependence of the economy on the seasonality of tourist traffic. To this end, the government of Montenegro has adopted a program for the development of alternative tourism destinations, including educational. We expect that the example of the implementation of our initiative will become a clear example in the field of educational non-seasonal tourism.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
KEY OBJECTIVES
We consider design to be a universal tool that improves the quality of life in all areas. We consider Empathy and sensual, aesthetic perception as the basic skill of a designer. Strategically, our initiative is developing in this direction. The key goal of establishing CHE Design School is to enhance the quality of the experience through creative and creative activities.
Our goal, through practical design education, is to bring the ideas of the aesthetics of a beautiful, positive emotional response, a new positive experience of everyday life into the multicultural society of the Western Balkans, to involve representatives of different cultures in a joint solution to the pressing problems of the region (both local and transboundary).
The very fact of the creation of CHE Design School is the first step in this direction. Our goal is, in cooperation with professional communities, involving leading experts in various fields of design and art, to form in the participants of CHE Design School projects an understanding of the importance of aesthetics when designing new experiences and emotional perception.
PLANS
To prepare for changes in the digital environment, to form a new, emotional interaction with the digital environment, to adapt a modern person to the changes dictated by the emergence of Neural Networks and Artificial Intelligence, the program "Neural Networks as a Tool of the Future" has been prepared. The plans for 2023-24 are to create a project program "Kansai - affective design" also.
THE VALUE OF INITIATIVE.
Our initiative can be exemplary as an example of organic and holistic problem solving. The building and space of the school are integrated with the educational, research and design programs that CHE Design School develops and promotes.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Our school is focused on different age groups of students, and all curricula are created and promptly adjusted taking into account incoming requests from students or customers of the educational process (parents, employers), market changes, as well as analysis of feedback at the end of each program. This practice allows students to be involved in the process of designing training modules, increasing their personal responsibility for the learning outcome, and also gives students an important experience of participating in the integrated design of the educational process.
We believe that an important feature of our approach is the focus on taking into account the individual characteristics of each individual student. We believe that the maximum correspondence of the creative temperament of the designer with the specifics of a particular design specialty can provide the best results both for the design industry as a whole and for the self-realization of each individual creative person.
In order to implement the principles of an individual approach in the educational process in practice, we have systematized the whole variety of design specialties according to their belonging to a certain profile, the width of coverage, and the level of responsibility of decisions that a designer must make. Graphically, this information is displayed in the form of a tree, the trunk of which branches into 3 thick boughs: "plane", "volume" and "space", each of which, in turn, is sequentially divided into narrower areas and specialties. The roots of the "design tree" also represent separate industries that require specialists of a certain profile and temperament.
During the educational process, we constantly focus students' attention on this graphic systematization, helping them find their place in the complex hierarchy of design specializations.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the initiative and civil society have been/will be involved in the initiative and what has been/will be the impact of this involvement on the initiative
The CHE Design School was designed, first of all, as an open platform for communication of various strata of society interested not only in personal development, but also in the sustainable development of the entire region. The task of consolidating the local civil society around the ideas of sustainable development was reflected in the choice of a specific location for the school. It is located in close proximity to the International School "Arcadia", and equidistant from the International School "Knightsbridge" in the city of Tivat, the international school "Adriatic college" in the city of Budva and the Municipal School of the city of Tivat. The community of students, parents and teachers at these schools expressed their interest in opening CHE Design School from the very beginning and subsequently became the core of a new community focused on design education and sustainable development.
In order to expand the initiative, CHE Design School holds weekly open lectures on various design topics, attracting representatives of different social groups. Various experts are invited as lecturers who are able to highlight certain aspects of the designer's profession. After each lecture, there is a discussion and exchange of views, the topics of future lectures are announced and discussed.
As a result of the work done, we can state the emergence and growth of a community of interested people of different nationalities, gender, age, social and professional affiliation, united by the ideas of design, education and sustainable development of society.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the initiative.
Education in industrial and graphic design programs involves interaction with local and global industrial partners. To meet this need, contacts were established with local furniture manufacturers, shipbuilding, printing houses, ateliers, construction companies, architectural offices, designer furniture stores, as well as with the Swiss sanitary ware manufacturer LAUFEN and others.
During the discussion of the prospects for cooperation between CHE Design School and local and global industrial partners, representatives of interested companies made constructive proposals on the nature of interaction and organization of the educational process in the interests of the industry.
Representatives of the school community helped to choose the optimal location and create the most convenient schedule and timetable for CHE Design School, based on the logistical features of the educational process in high school.
During the preparation and launch of the project, we consulted with such experts from the European design industry as Antony Grade (VP Design Renault-Nissan Alliance Synergies), Lee Walton (industrial designer from Finland, former chief designer of Nokia), Boris Berlin (industrial designer from Denmark) and many others. Their proposal and wishes largely determined the basis of the concept of education at CHE Design School. Plans to enter the New European Bauhaus program is also an important stage in the development of our initiative.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your initiative. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
The main disciplines reflected in the development of our initiative are related to the motto of our school - creative, humanistic, empathy. The first block of disciplines (creative) is associated with the development of creativity and specific performance skills. The second block of disciplines (humanistic) is associated with the study of the true needs of man and society, which can be satisfied with the help of design. The third block of disciplines (empathy) is aimed at studying psychology, the laws of the psychology of human perception, and the principles of inclusiveness.
All these disciplines were involved in the process of creating the concept, philosophy and identity of the new brand. Since the involvement of all stakeholders in the school design process is the fundamental principle of the new initiative, at the start of the project a wide discussion was initiated, where representatives of different professional and social strata could exchange professional ideas and opinions. This approach, in particular, is reflected in the logo of the school, where the pattern of 7 orange circles can expand indefinitely, embodying the principle of networking.

Please highlight the innovative character of the initiative, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the initiative
The innovative nature of our educational initiative lies in the combination of full-time, part-time and guest learning formats that can unite many different people from different countries around the ideas of creation and sustainable development of society.
The prospects of the guest learning format, in our opinion, are due to the geographical location of the Che Design School in the resort area, on the shores of the Bay of Kotor, which allows you to effectively combine leisure with study. Montenegro is a hospitable country with a mild climate and a loyal visa regime, which allows you to attract not only students from different countries, but also various speakers from all over the world for short intensive courses.
This initiative, from our point of view, is especially relevant for the Western Balkan region, which is experiencing a certain lack of quality educational services in the field of design, and quality design solutions.

Please describe which elements of your initiative could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. This may involve, for example, aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings, etc.
CHE Design School was originally conceived as an international network brand with the potential to scale and replicate in various regions of the world. In our opinion, this initiative may be of particular relevance for the countries of Eastern Europe, since the principles of project thinking and sustainable development can become a reliable basis for the comprehensive reconstruction and development of the social and technical infrastructure of these regions.
When opening branches, it is planned to form the backbone of the teaching staff from representatives of the local design community who share the ideology of the New European Bauhaus, with the active involvement of leading industry experts from different countries in the educational process. At the same time, the implementation of all educational programs should be carried out in cooperation with local and global industrial partners and public organizations.
An important feature of the CHE Design School methodology can be considered the plasticity of educational programs in accordance with the basic principles of the school.
The basic educational programs of the CHE School of Design, implemented to prepare students for further professional education, involve students in the process of building their own individual educational trajectory, with a set of specific competencies depending on the chosen profile. The school includes in the process of designing a specific educational trajectory representatives of the industry - current designers of the profile of interest to the student.
Educational programs implemented for the development of design thinking are based on the involvement of students and representatives of local communities in solving the pressing problems of the territories. Students living in the region solve urgent problems of the urban environment on a local scale. Local communities and representatives of regional authorities are also involved in the process

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your initiative.
The CHE Design School methodology is based on the classic universal design method. Design education is a project of a potential possible future for each student.
The Universal Design Method uses the following steps: Involvement - Empathy - Dream - Prototyping - Testing.
Involvement.
“Inclusion” at CHE Design School is all about inclusiveness for participants, and inclusion of outside experts, parents, community members. The methodology of the educational process of CHE Design School is based on the maximum involvement of participants in the process of designing the educational process in order to achieve the stated goals.
Empathy.
Design does not solve separate parts of a complex problem, but projects an organic whole in the complete interconnection of its individual parts. CHE Design School implements the use of the designer's key tool - empathy.
CHE Design School teaches methods of research and formation of a user's request (dreams) through the tools of sensory perception - empathy.
Dream.
Designer empathy helps to identify and articulate the user's dream. “Dream” is understood by CHE Design School as a vision of the goals that the user is striving for. The term "Dream" characterizes the vision of the future in the field of logical understanding, and at the same time in the field of emotional aesthetic experience.
Prototyping.
Modeling and prototyping is the only objective design tool. CHE Design School training in prototyping tools for processes and objects is part of systemic education and is inextricably linked with the study of design methodology.
Testing.
Prototyping allows an objective assessment (Testing) of the implementation of the user's request (Dreams) for solving complex problems of a potentially possible future. Testing the design results at each stage: research, hypothesis, project allows you to evaluate the stages not only with logic, but also with the tools of sensory aesthetic perception.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the initiative addresses by providing local solutions
Our initiative addresses the following issues at the local level:
A. Consolidation of representatives of different nationalities, genders, ages, social and professional strata of the population around the ideas of creation and sustainable development of society.
C. Creation of an international cross-border platform to popularize the principles of design thinking as a universal means of adapting to changing environmental conditions.
C. The development of educational tourism, reducing the dependence of the Montenegrin economy on pronounced seasonality.
D. Development of related infrastructure and creation of new jobs.
E. Raising the level of design education in order to create prerequisites for a qualitative rethinking and gradual reconstruction of Montenegro's infrastructure.

Please detail the scope of progress in the implementation of the initiative. This can include already demonstrated results/outputs related to the chosen Prizes category, and the already achieved benefits from the initiative for direct and indirect beneficiaries. This can also include a development plan of the initiative, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application, and including envisaged results and benefits from the initiative
Results:
November 15 - creating an identity, corporate identity, space design, website launch
November 15 - December 15 - rent of premises, repair, arrangement, equipment and preparation of classrooms, lecture halls and a workshop. Conclusion of partnerships with local and international schools.
December 15 - first open day
December 15 - January 15 - a series of lectures and master classes for children and adults about design, design thinking, sustainability, positive thinking, new professions, etc. Lectures were held in Russian for the Russian-speaking community (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus) The main goal This educational activity was the social adaptation and communication of the newly arrived Russian-speaking population, who fled from the armed conflict.
January 16 - February 1 - Launch of courses for children and adults in Russian
Plans:
February - March 2023 - Increase in the number of programs for adults, opening of new venues in other cities, taking into account the low transport accessibility of Montenegro to involve more participants.
April-May 2023 - Opening of programs in English and Montenegrin languages in order to involve the international and local community
June-August 2023 - conducting intensives, open lectures, master classes with speakers from all over the world in order to expand the number of competencies, specializations and skills for CHE Design School students
September-December 2023 - Launch of educational programs for preschool children and increase the number of students to 200 people.

Please provide documents that demonstrate the maturity level of the initiative and commitment to implement the initiative in practice (e.g.: evaluation report, final or mid-term initiative report, certification, publications, building permit, grant agreement, letter of support, partnership agreement, etc.)
Both
PDF
Web link
- https://www.chedesignschool.com/
If relevant, please describe how your initiative contributes to developing new competences, especially in the context of the European competence framework on sustainability.
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Please attach at least 6 high resolution images or visual representations of your initiative to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below.
- design tree.pdf
By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed initiative has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the initiative and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their initiatives, initiative, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted initiative, initiative is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes