The annual event of HIT’s Faculty of Design opened with fanfare

"Our responsibility as designers continues even after the design process ends", is the slogan that accompanies the annual International Design Workshop week at HIT. The week features guest lectures from senior academicians from all over Europe, impressive installations and intensive multi-national student collaborations.

Prof. Eduard Yakubov, President of HIT, opened the event for the local and international audience: "I'm excited to see distinguished guests who came from all over the world to the HIT campus to participate in these workshops, which open new creative horizons and interesting collaborations". 

The International Design Workshop Week is taking place for the third time at HIT Holon Institute of Technology and as part of it, the students of the Faculty of Design participate in a wide array of workshops which include guest lectures from prominent experts from the world’s leading faculties of interior design, visual communication design and industrial design. At the week’s conclusion, students will present their final products.

Among the various topics this year, the use of recycled materials stands out in some of the workshops, with an emphasis on the importance of designing with materials that are biodegradable or recycled. The goal: to reduce the levels of damage that non-biodegradable materials cause to the ecological environment in which we live.

"In order to maximize our activity, we must create collaborations and respond to the changes that occur in the spaces we live in," says Dr. Yael Eylat Van Essen, Head of the International Office at the Faculty of Design. "We need to find ways to solve global challenges and adapt them to local habitats where the designers work".

On the right, Prof. Gunter Grall, industrial designer, dean of the department of design and product management at the University of Applied Sciences Salzburg, Austria
On the left, Dr. Michael Abner, a lecturer in the department

As in the previous workshop weeks, HIT hosts the best design lecturers, some attending for the second and third time. Two of the most prominent are Prof. Gunter Grall, industrial designer and Dean of the Department of Design and Product Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Salzburg, Austria, and Dr. Michael Abner, a lecturer in this Department.

"Israel is different from Austria, and you can clearly see this in the designers and their works", says Prof. Grall, who together with Dr. Abner, conducts a workshop on "circular design". "For the students, this is just as important, because it gives them a different point of view that can enrich their creativity." The designers are responsible for their product well after they have finished the design process, which is why working with recycled materials is so important," says Dr. Abner, who added that he finds the workshop week at HIT particularly rewarding, and would be happy to participate in the 2023/24 event.

The workshop week will be held throughout the day between the dates 23/10-27/10 at HIT Holon Institute of Technology

Photo: PR

Posted: 24/10/2022