fbpx open call: takween product design fellowship | takween

open call: takween product design fellowship

Written by takween on 29/03/2023

Call for Applications: takween Product Design Fellowship

  • Application Deadline: May 7th, 2023  
  • Program Time Frame:  June 5th, 2023 – October 5th, 2023   
  • Number of Participants: Up to 25 participants 
  • Number of Hours:  290 hours of training     

context 

The Product Design Fellowship is a skill-enhancing program for young and mid-career designers who are looking to develop their skills in physical and digital product design, to gain hands-on experience from professional expertise in the field, and to develop problem solving skills. The program consists of two parts. The first part will be a 2-month intensive training course in different design topics, where participants will gain in-depth theoretical knowledge in both the physical and digital cohorts of the product design program. The second part of the program will be dedicated to a 6-week internship, where participants will get the opportunity to gain experience, knowledge, and networking skills with takween’s partners. Participants will receive a stipend during the internship period. 

who can apply?

  • Designers, design freelancers, and creative entrepreneurs with 2-3 years of professional experience. 
  • Designers who wish to enhance their skills, or re-skill in order to attain a new source of income. 
  • Designers who have a product design background or are interested in it. Self-employed, or unemployed (full-time employees not eligible). 
  • Designers who are based in Jordan. 
  • Designers who have the ability to commit for max. 20 h/week within the program to guarantee a stable learning setup.  
  • Designers who are not benefiting from other takween programs. 
  • Designers who have the ability to fully commit for a period of 5  months between June 5th, 2023 – October 5th, 2023, for an intensive curriculum-based fellowship program. 
  • The unpaid training program will be held after working hours every Monday and Wednesday from 4 PM until 9 PM, and every Saturday from 9 AM until 1 PM. 
  • The paid internship program will be for 6 weeks (starting from the 13th of August until the 21st of September) with a minimum of 20-working hours per week.  

about the fellowship 

The fellowship program will start on the 5th of June as follows: 

  1. The first phase is a modular learning program with 12 subjects (2 months) and 25 sessions that will take place from the 5th of June until the 12th of August 2023. The workshops, modules, and talks will be held every Monday and Wednesday from 4 PM until 9 PM and every Saturday from 9 AM until 1 PM. The modules complement one another, meaning that it is crucial to attend every session as they build on one another. All sessions will be held after working hours and weekends, in order not to conflict with any other commitments.  
  1. The second phase which is an internship component with one of takween’s partner organizations for a duration of 6-weeks starting from the 13th of August until the 21st of September. The facilitator will match each participant with the best fitting partner to have the most optimal learning experience during the internship, this will better utilize the participant’s skills and know-how to match the partner’s requirements. For the 6-week internship, participants will be receiving a stipend of a maximum 777.2 EUR in order to establish equal economic means to learn.  

program timeframe:

Phase One:
The training program will be held after working hours every Monday and Wednesday from 4 until 9 PM, and Saturdays from 9 AM until 2 PM.   

Total of 110 hrs.   
Jun 5 Intro to Human- Centered Design 4 hours/1 session 
Jun 7 – Jun 10 Design Research 8 hours/2 session 
Jun 12 – Jun 14 Presentation of Findings  6 hours/2 session 
Jun 17 – Jun 24  Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship  20 hours/4 session 
Jun 26 Sustainable & Social Design  4 hours/1 session 
Jul 3 – Jul 5  UX-UI 8 hours/2 session 
Jul 8 – Jul 10  Low Fidelity Prototyping 6 hours/2 session 
Jul 12   Introduction to Digital Fabrication 4 hours/1 session 
Jul 15 – Jul 24 Computer Aided Design 12 hours/3 session 
Jul 26 – Jul 29  Branding & Packaging 8 hours/2 session 
Jul 31 – Aug 2 Storytelling 8 hours/2session 
Jul 5 – Aug 9  Fabrication & Prototyping 12 hours /3 session 

Phase Two:
The Internship Program 

August 13, 2023 – September 21, 2023    
Total of 180 hrs. 

The 6-week internship program with renowned design companies offering the trainees with an opportunity to learn and network with sector experts.

application requirements

Applications are to be completed and submitted with all required documents by May 7th, 2023, through this link.

Please upload the following documents to your online application. The documents should be in PDF format and must not exceed 10MB/document. Documents are accepted in either English or Arabic languages. 

1.    Portfolio (max. 10 pages): Previous activities/projects performed in the last 2-3 years, with a focus on design (all fields of design with product design being a plus), as proof of experience in the CCI in Jordan. 
2.    CV: Mentioning the qualification and capacity-building programs you previously took part in.  
3.Motivation letter of 500-1000 words including:  

  • Why do you think this program will be an added value to your career?  
  • What would you wish to learn from this program? 
  • If you have a personal project that you are working on; what is it? And how do you see yourself implementing it?  

The Goethe-Institut Jordan reserves the right to suspend the internship stipends and require reimbursement upon realizing fraud or infringement in any of the submitted documents.  

selection process: 

  • Applications that are incomplete, sent after the deadline, or not submitted through the portal will not be assessed. Only complete applications submitted online before the deadline will be taken into consideration. (Candidates might be asked for additional documentation after the receipt of the application.) 
  • An expert jury will evaluate all the complete applications and select the final participants. 
  • A letter of commitment from the entire program must be signed from by each participant.  

For inquiries, please make sure to contact the takween team at takween@goethe.de 

Apply here

about takween & goethe-intitute jordan

takween is a program of the Goethe-Institut Jordan which aims to support designers and creative entrepreneurs in Jordan through a series of learning opportunities and community-building initiatives. It was initially designed as a collaboration between the Goethe-Institut and platform. Focusing on creative growth, takween offers learning modules, creative mentorship, residencies, a training of trainer’s program, grants, and networking opportunities. 

The Goethe-Institut is the Federal Republic of Germany’s cultural institute, active worldwide. We promote the study of German abroad and encourage international cultural exchange.  

takween is carried out within the project “Cultural and Creative Industries” which is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut. It improves employment and income opportunities for creative professionals in six partner countries; Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa and operates mainly in the music, fashion, design and animation sectors. In addition to promoting the development of entrepreneurial, digital, creative and technical skills through training programs, the project aims to strengthen the framework conditions and the ecosystem of the cultural and creative industries.