Life can only be understood backwards

Holis was founded by Maxim Dedushkov in 2014 but the idea of interdisciplinary learning was born around 2010. Maxim was heading the design agency of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest. He was running client-facing projects with teams of university students and realised quickly that designers are not capable of doing everything (despite some of them claiming the opposite). Thus the idea of a project-based interdisciplinary learning experience was born.

Maxim had to wait 4 years to put his idea in practice when he became the Head of Research and Education at Design Terminal, a governmental organisation to support the Hungarian creative industry. With the generous support of this organisation and an exciting opportunity in a small Hungarian town, Kőszeg, Holis started.

The first Holis focused on the future scenarios for an old felt factory, which at the time was suffering from a 90% loss of income due to the rise in popularity of synthetic felts. As a result of the solutions that Holis participants helped to identify and implement, the felt factory now has new owners, new products, and other thriving business activities. Since then we’ve been working on many social challenges in many places around Europe.

Early Childhood Development System in Visegrad Region

Early childhood experiences affect the development of brain architecture, which provides the foundation for all future learning, behavior, and health. How might we improve the system of early childhood development in the Visegrad Region?

Live Online Sessions
October-November 2021
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HOLIS SCHOOL: Building resilience of NGOs

What lies ahead for NGOs and non-profit organizations on a local (global) scale? How does the cultivation of a flexible yet resilient organizational culture impact daily operations? How can we support them?

Centrum Veronica Hostětín / Czech Republic
27th of August - 4th of September 2023
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Revitalizing Economic and Social Fabrics

We partnered with CLARA - Center for Rural Future to revitalise the economic and social fabric of the Odemira Region in Portugal

Sabóia, Portugal
2019
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Rural social innovation

In 2018 we explored what are the challenges of rural Poland and what can we do about them.

Sobole, Poland
2018
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Community and business

We partnered up with Spomlek, a local cheese factory and asked ourselves: how a local business can serve the community around it?

Sobole, Poland
2017
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Future of a castle

Interdisciplinary teams developed future scenarios for the reconstruction of the ​Rákóczi-Bánffy castle which was built in the 15th century.

Gyalu, Romania
2016
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Ageing opportunities

We focused on the issues and opportunities inherent in ageing, with the support of international experts and team facilitators. The aim was to give long term solutions to keeping senior citizens economically and socially active with the help of design.

Ajka, Hungary
2015
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Future of a felt factory

The first HOLIS was organized in July 2014 in Kőszeg, Hungary. The participating university students and fresh graduates explored the possible future scenarios of an old felt factory which by the time lost the 90% of its market.

Kőszeg, Hungary
2014
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Few alumni

Hover me!
Service Designer at Cocomore
Miriam Schmalen
Cologne, Germany
PhD student
Zuzana Waszczuková
Bratislava, Slovakia
Singer
Andrea Vâță-Diénes
Romania
Digital Communications Manager at Legrand
Tamás Ádám Vedres
Budapest, Hungary
Industrial Designer
Simon Izidor Rozman
Ljubljana, Slovenia
International studies
Zsófia Méhes
Berlin, Germany
Architectural designer
Csaba Szalai
Budapest, Hungary
User experience researcher, design strategist & speaker
Archie MS
Atlanta, USA
Biology
Enikő Molnár
Romania
Communication in Social and Economic Context
Vitalia Safronova
Berlin, Germany
Graphic Designer
Panna Júlia Petró
Budapest, Hungary
Architect
Márk Kendernay
Bath, UK
Design Engineer at Delft Hyperloop
Maciej Zawierucha
Delft, The Netherlands
Textile design
Petra Debnárová
Berlin, Germany
UX Design
Gábor Suhajda
Budapest, Hungary
UX team lead at Emarsys
Zsuzsanna Polgár
Vienna, Austria
Cultural anthropology
Lili Varga
Budapest, Hungary
Preservation of Cultural and Architectural Heritage
Anna Regina Enyedi
Romania
Designer
Sadaf Uddin
London, UK
Market research analyst
Szvetlana Juhász
Budapest, Hungary
Luca Elek
Budapest, Hungary
Product designer at Studio Rygalik
Gabriela Szałańska
Warsaw, Poland
Graphic designer
Karolina Styczeń
Cracow, Poland
Project engineer
Melánia Gál-Joó
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Pattern designer and illustrator
Lili Veszprémi
Budapest, Hungary
Service Designer
Zsófia Szatmári-Margitai
Innsbruck, Austria
Communication & PR
Sarolta Lapohos
Romania
Customer Success Manager
Iwona Kastunowicz
Warsaw, Poland
Architect
Zoltán Takács
Bratislava, Slovakia
Service Systems Design
Simona Mancusi
Copenhagen, Denmark
Customer Experience Designer at O.P. Holdings
Hitomi Tachikawa
Tokyo, Japan
Strategic Designer
Sara Galan
Mexico City, Mexico
Geoinformatics
Karolina Sielicka
Warsaw, Poland
Bence Bán
Budapest, Hungary
Architect at Paradigma Ariadné
Attila Róbert Csóka
Budapest, Hungary
Art history
Beáta Bordás
Romania
Strategic Service Designer
Mani I
London, UK
Landscape architect
Enikő Tóth
Gyöngyös, Hungary
Co-founder at LAVOR
Sarolta Szonja Molnár
Budapest, Hungary
Architect
Beáta Bartha
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
PhD student
Monika Favara-Kurkowski
Warsaw, Poland
Visual communication
Adrienn Gréta Schönberg
Romania
Brand manager
Júlia Eszter Ürmösi
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Product designer at Frontíra
Zsófia Elek
Budapest, Hungary
Service designer
Mishell Orta
Milan, Italy
Vype Activation Manager at British American Tobacco
Dóra Németh
Budapest, Hungary
Google Ads Specialist at Majorel
Lóránt Korodi-Vass
Romania
Creative Direction
Sandra Dernbach
Cologne, Germany
Integrated Design / Landscape Design
Shumin Luo
Cologne, Germany
Consultant, project manager
Alvaro Valls Boix
Spain
Fine Arts
Sarah El-Haddad
Cairo, Egypt
Project manager
Magdolna Györgyei Szabó
Hungary
Service Management
Kitija Matisone
Copenhagen, Denmark
E-commerce entrepreneur
Aniko Brachmann
Budapest, Hungary
Innovation & Service design
Fei Feng
Beijing, China
Urbanism
Emese Burista
Louvain, Belgium
Artist, Freelance Graphic Designer
Daniel Kozma
Budapest, Hungary
Business Analyst
Katalin Zsuzsanna Nagy-Szabó
Budapest, Hungary
Engineering Project Manager at Hello Wood Group
Nóra Láng
Budapest, Hungary
Service Design
Marta Salas
Madrid, Spain
Product Designer
Fanni Csöbi
Düsseldorf, Germany
Curatorial Practice
Kasia Zawada
Glasgow, UK
Service Designer
Collyn Cooper
Düsseldorf, Germany
Communication specialist
Mónika Simon
Budapest, Hungary
Service designer at Globant
Silvia Romano Redondo
Madrid, Spain
Experience Designer at Mirum Agency
Larasati Larasati
London, UK
Innovation Consultant & Agile Coach
Jennifer Pauli
Leipzig, Germany
Head of Global Marketing at OnRobot
Nóra Bereczki
Budapest, Hungary
Mathematical Modeller at Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Beáta Tünde Szabó
Budapest, Hungary
UX Designer
Karina Rachwał
Wrocław, Poland
Event manager
Bettina Alscher
Budapest, Hungary
Architect
Erdenejargal Rinzaan
Budapest, Hungary
Account manager at Mito
Anna Mészár
Budapest, Hungary
Service Designer
Pieter Overgoor
Copenhagen, Denmark
Project manager
Zsófia Anna Rutkai
Budapest, Hungary
Social Design
Lesley-Ann Donnell
Copenhagen, Denmark
Business analyst
Andrea Szilágyi
Augsburg, Germany
Innovation & service design
Meijin Li
London, UK
Ecology
Anikó Bakos
Romania
Designer
Eszter Horváth
Budapest, Hungary
Product designer
Robert Raimann
Gdansk, Poland
Graphic design
Hermina Csala
Romania
Philosophy
Bence Makkai
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Project manager
Eszter Kalóz
Berlin, Germany
Digital Design
Miriam Loos
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Production Coordinator
Katarzyna Witkowska
Katowice, Poland
Researcher
Áron Miszlivetz
Budapest, Hungary
Design and Innovation consultant
Eliana Vargas
Quito, Ecuador
Product design
Bálint Eckhardt
London, UK
Product and Industrial Design
Tamara Olbrys
Warsaw, Poland
Design student
Jarmila Martinková
Ede, Netherlands
Fashion and textile designer
Zsófia Papp
Budapest, Hungary
Integrated Design / Communication Design
Sophia Nan Wu
Cologne, Germany
Strategic Product Design
Gunjan Singh
The Hague, Netherlands
Business Administration
Merle Niester
Vienna, Austria
Designer
Jeremiasz Rzenno
Glasgow, UK
Social designer
Eliza Chojnacka
Vienna, Austria
Media design
Evelin Horváth
Budapest, Hungary
Architect at Paradigma Ariadné
Szabolcs Molnár
Budapest, Hungary
Furniture designer
Amira El Shawarby
Cairo, Egypt