UNd-9 United in Design – A Cross-Cultural Journey of Nine Cities

Lead and Host Institution: Goce Delcev University · Stip, North Macedonia — Teacher: Ekaterina Namiceva Todorovska (lead)

Partner Institutions: Medical University of Gdańsk — Teacher: Magda Warzocha

External stakeholders: Municipality of Stip — Host city · Provides public / semi-public space context for the exhibition panel and spatial marker prototype

UNd-9 United in Design is a short, intensive, cross-cultural workshop that brings together students from different creative and design-related disciplines to explore how design can communicate shared cultural narratives in public and semi-public spaces. The course is based on the idea of UNd-9 as a flexible framework that connects multiple cities through stories, symbols and creative interpretations.

The workshop is intentionally open to students from different departments — architecture, urban design, graphic design, fashion design, product design, fine arts, media and related fields. Working in international and interdisciplinary teams, participants use primarily paper-based methods, complemented by simple physical modelling, to research, interpret and translate cultural identities into spatial and visual concepts.

The central task of the course is the conceptualisation and design of an exhibition panel or spatial marker intended for a university garden or open public space. In addition to drawings and narratives, participants collaboratively construct one cardboard prototype that functions as a reference model. This prototype demonstrates how the UNd-9 concept can be extended, adapted and replicated across different cities, institutions and cultural contexts.

On-site component (21–25 September 2026 · 35h · Stip): The on-site sessions unfold as an intensive, hands-on design laboratory over five consecutive days. Learning happens through doing: drawing, mapping, cutting, assembling, discussing and testing ideas together in a shared studio environment.

Students work in international and interdisciplinary teams, moving fluidly between research, storytelling and making. Using paper, cardboard and simple tools, participants explore cultural narratives and translate them into spatial and visual concepts. Ideas are continuously sketched, pinned up, reworked and debated, allowing the design process to remain open, experimental and collaborative.

The week culminates in the collective construction of one cardboard prototype, conceived as an exhibition panel or spatial marker for a university garden or open space. Daily critiques, informal reviews and a final presentation frame the experience as a shared journey — focused on process, exchange and cross-cultural learning rather than on polished final results.

• Explore how cultural narratives and identities can be translated into visual, material and spatial concepts.
• Develop confidence in experimental, paper-based and low-tech making processes, including drawing, mapping and cardboard prototyping.
• Learn to collaborate effectively in international and interdisciplinary teams, valuing different creative approaches and perspectives.
• Strengthen storytelling and conceptual thinking as tools for design and artistic practice.
• Understand how temporary installations or spatial markers can activate and communicate meaning in shared university or public spaces.
• Reflect on the role of design and creative practice in fostering dialogue, inclusion and cross-cultural exchange.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Translate cultural themes and narratives into visual, material or spatial design concepts.
• Use paper-based and low-tech prototyping methods to develop and communicate design ideas.
• Collaborate effectively within international and interdisciplinary teams, integrating diverse creative perspectives.
• Develop and present a coherent concept for an exhibition panel or spatial marker in a shared open space.
• Reflect critically on their own creative process and the value of cross-cultural collaboration in design and artistic practice.

Level: Undergraduate and postgraduate students from ACE²-EU partner universities.

Fields: Architecture and Urban Design · Graphic Design and Visual Communication · Fashion and Textile Design · Product and Industrial Design · Fine Arts and Contemporary Art Practices · Media, Communication and Creative Technologies · Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning · Cultural Studies.

Suitable for those interested in: Cross-cultural and international collaboration in creative practice · Concept-driven design and artistic experimentation · Storytelling through visual, material or spatial forms · Hands-on, low-tech making using paper and cardboard · Temporary installations, exhibition design and spatial communication · The role of design and art in fostering dialogue, inclusion and shared cultural understanding.

Language: English B1–B2.