Supported by EUTOPIA funding, between 8th - 12th July 2024 three students from the School for Cross-Faculty Studies (SCFS) attended the fourth Design + Science Summer School.

Hosted by the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) in their Academy of Fine Arts and Design (ALUO), the Summer School was structured around various phases of learning.

On Wednesday, the summer school took place off-site. There was also an opening-event of Monday evening in Cankarjev Dom. Each morning students received ‘input’ from academics and industry leaders. Then in the afternoon, ‘output’ in the form of workshops and mentoring. Each day also involved ‘communication,’ in various forms of presentation, including visual, written and spoken.

Split into 3 groups, which facilitated cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary learning, students were given a week design challenge with loose scaffolding that allowed them to respond to their collective interests and decide the issue they wanted to design a response to, in the context of the theme of the summer school, ‘subversive realities.’

The term "subversive" suggests an intent to subvert an established system. The theme invited students to explore of not only the broken systems of today and our psychological biases but also the external realities that make us believe that there is no alternative.

What was very clear, was the strength of the link between the Summer School and SCFS (connecting Design Studies, GSD and Liberal Arts). It meant that the students (1 GSD, 2 Liberal Arts), who have all taken design modules, led and articulated complex discussion. It evidenced, as much to themselves as others, their academic and professional capacity.

This opportunity, to recognise their own potential as future leaders, may prove to be the most valuable result of the experience.