Introducing the nominees for the 2026 DAE Awards
Each year, exceptional graduation projects are nominated for the Gijs Bakker, René Smeets and Melkweg Awards. During the exams in June, the exam committees nominate Master and Bachelor graduation projects to be considered by an external jury from different sides of the field. The winners of the three awards will be announced at the Opening Ceremony of the Graduation Show, but below you can already learn more about the nominated projects. Each winner will receive a sum of € 2,000 and a trophy designed by Clara Schweers, produced in collaboration with MAKE Eindhoven.
GIJS BAKKER AWARD
The Gijs Bakker Award recognises a Master graduate whose research and design project embodies the core aspirations of initiator of the MA Programme, Gijs Bakker: combining quality with relevance to open up new roles for the discipline of design. Each Master department nominates two final exam projects from their department, and an external jury from a range of backgrounds decides on a winner.
GIJS BAKKER AWARD NOMINEES 2026
The jury for the Gijs Bakker Award 2026 was composed of Francisca Khamis Giacoman, artist, organiser and coordinator of the MA Lumbung Practice at Sandberg; Maya Ober, designer, social anthropologist and co-director of Futuress; Mijke van der Drift, philosopher, tutor at the PhD programme at the Royal College of Art in London; Oli Stratford, writer and editor-in-chief of Disegno; Stephan Wensveen, professor and research director of Industrial Design, TU/e. The jury was chaired by DAE tutor Gijs de Boer.
This cohort showed a strong sensitivity for addressing the big through the small: a crisis via an event, the political in the personal, the historical in a material choice. The jury was pleased to see a wide range of practices, evident in the diversity of both the topics addressed and the media used to address them, from objects and installations to games and films. Throughout these diverse projects, the jury valued the ability of the designers to bridge different forms of knowledge, combining personal experience and materiality with scientific expertise and critical socio-historical insight, which enabled the projects to connect to communities outside of the design world.
– Jury of the Gijs Bakker Award 2026
MELKWEG & RENÉ SMEETS AWARDS
The Bachelor Programme of Design Academy Eindhoven has two awards. The Melkweg Award recognises a graduation project that demonstrates an original and radical view in a provocative presentation. The René Smeets Award recognises a project that shows a high level of empathy and demonstrates the potential to have a significant impact on society through collaboration. Each BA exam cluster department nominates one project for either a Melkweg or a René Smeets award. An external jury from a range of backgrounds decides on a winner.
MELKWEG AWARD NOMINEES 2026
RENÉ SMEETS AWARD
The René Smeets Award recognises a graduation project that demonstrates a high level of empathy and the potential to have a significant impact on society through collaboration.
RENÉ SMEETS AWARD NOMINEES 2026
JURY MELKWEG & RENÉ SMEETS AWARDS
The jury for the Bachelor Awards 2026 was composed of Emma Sandberg, design director at Philips; Geertje Jacobs, director of EKWC; José Maase, head of design at Royal Mosa; Marleen Stikker, founder and director of Waag Futurelab; and Max Fraser, editorial director of Dezeen. The jury was chaired by DAE tutor Gijs de Boer.
The jury noted how projects often started from personal and subjective stories, while manifesting the urgencies of the world. By diving into the conditions of phenomena, a personal story becomes a story of many. This showed in a broad range of topics and media, reflecting a diversity of identities and cultures of the graduates. The personal starting point grounds the projects and carries the potential to resonate with and even activate others.
– Jury of the Melkweg and René Smeets Awards 2026
The winners of the three awards will be announced at the Opening Ceremony of the Graduation Show during Dutch Design Week. Come by on 17 of October between 10:00 - 12:00 at Microstad, Eindhoven, or keep an eye on the website for a press announcement of the result.