Logo Waffles and Future Prototype - Design Made in Ingolstadt

One of the visitors asked in surprise: ‘What, there's a university in Ingolstadt?’ - Not just any university, but one with strong, forward-looking design degree programmes. You could see this for yourself at the exhibition: Toasters that burnt the degree programme logo onto waffles as a tongue-in-cheek gimmick, workshops on AI-supported design, lectures on responsibility in the design process, a Pecha Kucha Night, and student showcases turned the exhibition into an open space for exchange, experimentation and new perspectives.

Of particular interest was the work of Nicolas Heider, who took a look at the construction industry of tomorrow with his project ‘Smart Hybrid Prototyping in the Design Process for a Future Concept of a Teleoperated Construction Machine’. His combination of design expertise, technological know-how and social foresight showed that even in traditional industries, bold design can be used to develop concrete future scenarios.

‘This work exemplifies what our degree programme is all about,’ says Erik Schneider, Heider's supervising professor. ‘It combines creative precision with technical depth and a clear vision of the future - and it shows how designers can take on responsibility without sacrificing creative freedom.’

Hybrid prototyping methods make a system tangible in which construction machinery is digitally controlled and operated in a resource-saving manner. The result: a comprehensible, complex concept that is not lost in theory, but invites you to touch it. Heider's approach is exemplary of the programme's claim to make innovation tangible.

MCBW is the largest design festival in the German-speaking world. It brings together companies, universities and creative minds to discuss current issues in design, business and society. The fact that the Technical Design programme was represented there is a clear sign: If you want to design today, you don't just need good ideas - you need attitude, context and a desire for change.