Genelec collaborates with NEPTUNE multicultural, multidisciplinary student project

null Genelec collaborates with NEPTUNE multicultural, multidisciplinary student project

Genelec collaborates with NEPTUNE multicultural, multidisciplinary student project

Genelec proudly sponsored this year's Maribor SoundScape promenade challenge, which saw a diverse team of students and highly skilled professionals gather in the beautiful city of Maribor, Slovenia, to develop a promising concept that enriches public spaces with spontaneous cultural and social activity.

Page updated 20.5.2022


The event was jointly conducted by Savonia University of Applied Sciences in Kuopio, Finland and Jarkko Surakka, project leader for NEPTUNE (Network for Environmental Projects United in Europe). NEPTUNE is an innovative intensive programme for selected top-level students from four esteemed partner institutions located in Finland, Slovenia, Switzerland and Holland.

For this challenge, six teams of five students aimed to alleviate the problem of private spaces being favoured for arts investment, which reduces the public’s access to many creative works. Under the guidance of a group of experienced mentors, including experts from Genelec, each team created an outdoor roofed-stage design intended for one of three areas in Maribor. The teams were asked to incorporate sustainable materials and ideology into their designs to minimise the level of environmental impact and promote sustainable practice. Ultimately, each plan could be used to encourage building owners and developers to refocus some investment on outside areas, increasing public engagement, nurturing local community spirit and encouraging diversity.

Each team presented a strong case to NEPTUNE's jury of experts, and after some thoughtful deliberation the eventual victors were chosen. Congratulations to Coach Prof. Dr. Peter Schwehr's team of students, who's exceptional design named 'Fountain of Knowledge' impressed the entire jury with its social relevance and 'less is more' philosophy. The team's winning idea highlighted the need to exchange knowledge gained at schools and universities to help the world overcome growing environmental challenges. Their design is an attractive yet understated outdoor hub that effortlessly facilitates knowledge acquisition, idea sharing and networking both locally, and globally via broadcast.

Well done to the winning team's students: Aapo Wihersaari (Finland), Iban Bikowski (NL), Jakob Dugonik (Slovenia), Maja Kukovicic (Slovenia), Mihael Novak (Croatia) and Selina Rea Widmer (Switzerland). You all have a very bright future ahead of you!

Neptune 2022 Winners
The winners.

We'd also like to extend a very warm thank you to all the other students and experts involved in this event. Organiser Jarkko Surakka nicely summed up the spirit in Maribor, adding that "every group in the competition faced the challenge fearlessly and with a direct aim to change the world for the better."

This year's SoundScape promenade took place in Maribor from the 5th of May until the winning design team was announced eight days later, on the 13th. All the students selected to participate were from the following four higher-education institutions:

Learn more about Genelec's strong relationship and collaboration with the arts by clicking here.

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