Working individually or in teams, the participants had already shown during their university years that the projects they created – whether objects, systems, platforms, autonomous artworks or research – could extend beyond the scope of a diploma project. That step up is supported by the MOME Creative Launchpad // MOME Incubation, closely embedded in the university’s art and design ecosystem, helping students and recent graduates turn artistic, research, product, and service ideas into sustainable, forward-looking initiatives, including potential business ventures. 

The programme is structured around two complementary strands. Art and Design Incubation builds on the realisation that the most promising diploma projects don’t stay on display, but go on to be used – applied, produced, published, or brought to market. This approach is reflected in projects such as Borbála Véghelyi’s Furniture Rescue, which focuses on keeping good-quality, usable furniture in circulation, and Nóra Szilágyi’s REFLECTA lighting collection, which reworks the legacy of Szarvasi lamps into a contemporary system built from easy-to-manufacture components. Also included is Anna Sáringer’s KOOKTA, a board game and creative tool that turns cooking into a shared, collaborative activity rather than simply following recipes – alongside research projects, photobooks, interactive media, and critical artistic works, each approaching the same question from a different angle: how can a powerful artistic or research idea remain viable over time? 

Running in parallel, the Creative Entrepreneurship Programme focuses on ideas with the potential to grow into ventures built on long-term value, ethical practice, and sustainability. Over six months, participants work through a structured development process with the support of mentors and experts, to turn their projects into market-ready propositions aligned with their values. One example is Terike from Budapest, which is designed to help creative industry professionals source clothing for photo, music video, and film shoots, and to increase the visibility and appreciation of emerging fashion designers’ work. Co-Switch, a self-awareness board game by Adelina Aranka Vass and Eszter Lóki, builds on the associative potential of objects and is designed for different modes of play, with scope for use as a therapeutic tool. The programme also includes an open movement lab, a personal hygiene product system, a contemporary art platform, a design workshop, and a video life-story interview service – initiatives that respond to social, cultural, and everyday needs. 

LEVEL UP! offers a clear view of the directions MOME’s young artists are currently exploring, and how a university project can be developed further, shared, and in many cases sustained in practice. The event closes with an awards announcement and a shared celebration, bringing together people from the art and design scenes alongside the business and cultural sectors.