Designers in Residence 2025
“Designers in Residence” is directed to designers in the areas of jewellery, fashion, accessory, industrial and communication design as well as other design disciplines. Interdisciplinary project proposals are welcome. In total, there will be three scholarships, the three best applications will be considered. Scholarship holders will stay in Pforzheim from April, 1 until June, 30 2025.
Deadline for applications: November 15, 2024, 23:59 CET
Before applying, please read carefully our terms and conditions.
During the application process, it is necessary to provide personal data. Please read our privacy policy to find out how we collect and save your data.
Important information for your application:veranstaltungen.emma-pf.de/…/Designers-in-Residence_2024_entry-conditions.pdf
Only one application per person is possible
During the application process, your data can not be saved. Please save your information in a separate document.
Please note that the number of characters for the questions below is limited (number includes spaces).
The required documents must be uploaded as PDF files. Please note that the files should not exeed 50 MB. If you have bigger files, please compress them.
In order to clarify open questions about the application process, we offer open zoom-meetings on two dates.
October, 11 10am CET
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87393435447
November 8 4pm CET
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86399394973
If your application was transmitted succesfully, you will receive a confirmation via e-mail. Please check your SPAM inbox.
If you have any questions concerning the application process, please contact designers@emma-pf.de
Good luck!
FAQ
I am older than 35. Can I still apply?
If you graduated from your last degree programme no more than 2 years ago, you are eligible to apply.
I graduated more than 2 years ago. Can I still apply?
If you are not older than 35 years (at the time of the application) you are eligible to apply.
I recently graduated, but did not receive my graduation certificate yet. What should I do?
Please provide an official document signed by your university clearly showing that and when you successfully graduated instead. A transcript of records in not sufficient.
I applied, but did not receive any message or confirmation e-mail. How do I make sure that you received my application?
Usually, our system sends out an automatically generated confirmation E-mail. Please also check your spam-folder. If you cannot find any e-mail, please contact Alexandra.vogt@ws-pforzheim.de
Does the limitation of characters for the questions include spaces?
Yes, the number of characters is including spaces.
Can we apply as a team?
In exceptional cases you can apply as a team (max. 2 people). Please note that in this case you would have to share the scholarship salary. If you apply as a team, please provide Curriculum Vitae including contact information, final degrees and portfolios of all team members.
What kind of facilities do you have in your workshops?
Here you can find a description of the workshop facilities: https://www.emma-pf.de/en/rooms/workshops/
In addition, the workshops of Pforzheim University can be used by arrangement, e.g. electro plating, ceramics, silver smithing, industrial design including wood work. If you have special requirements for which our workshops are not sufficient, we can assist you in finding companies in the region that might provide services (depending on the time, the volume of work and the costs).
How about facilities for Ceramics, enamel or woodworks?
At EMMA, we do not have facilities for ceramics, enamel or woodworks. Those facilities are available at the Pforzheim University and can be used by agreement (depending on the volume of work).
I need to apply for a visa to come to Germany. Will you help with that?
We ask the scholarship holders to take care of their visa themselves, but of course we will assist you as far as we can and provide invitation letters etc.
I want to keep on working on my graduation project. Is this possible during the residency?
Generally you can apply with a project idea that you worked on before. In this case, please describe in your application how and why you want to develop your project further.
When will I know if I was selected for the scholarship?
The decision will be made mid of December 2024. You will receive an acceptance or rejection via mail.
I received a rejection letter. Is it possible to get feedback on my application?
Due to the high number of applications that we receive, it is unfortunately not possible for the jury to give feedback on every single application.
How can I imagine the city of Pforzheim?
Pforzheim is located in the Black Forest in the south of Germany, the region where the Black Forest Cake comes from ;-). It is a very green city with three rivers flowing through the middle of the city. It also has a long tradition of jewelry making, still the majority of German jewelry is produced here. In Pforzheim, you will also find Germanys only school for goldsmithing and watchmaking as well as Pforzheim University with its renowned Faculty of Design. Together with EMMA Creative Center, this makes Pforzheim a great place for creative people, as you will find lots of creatives in a relatively small area. This makes it very easy to get in touch with students, professors and other creative people in Pforzheim, share your work, find people to support you with your project or invite you to the next party 😉 The city also offers a good infrastructure for designers, like EMMA, the Faculty of design or lots of small specialized companies.
In your free time, Pforzheim offers a lot of activities, like hiking in the Black Forest, visiting the famous jewelry museum or art exhibitions, relaxing in nice cafés, trying food from different cultures as Pforzheim is a very multicultural city, or drinking German Beer.
If you want to know what the previous Designers in Residence think about Pforzheim and the Designers in Residence program, you can watch our films:
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016