How is a racing formula car built? What kinds of experiments do young chemists conduct? And where do inspiring projects come to life that push the boundaries of both technology and creativity? You’ll find out at this year’s Signal Festival.
A platform for young talent
As part of the festival’s long-term vision, we are giving space to the next generation of creators and launching an official collaboration with the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU).
The new Student Visions section will present four projects by student teams from CTU and the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague (UCT Prague), all featured along the festival route in Dejvice. At the student campus on Technická Street, you’ll get a glimpse into the spaces where young creators, scientists, and designers work on their projects and push the boundaries of technology and creativity.
But Student Visions is about more than installations. The Dejvice campus will also feature a food and drink zone, creating a space to meet, relax, and grab a bite.
A separate project by Karolína Schulzová, a student at Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, will also be part of the festival programme. Her work is inspired by the legacy of Václav Havel.
How Do Chemists Dream? → Science as a Light Show
Students from UCT Prague will take you into the world of chemical experiments. The performance How Do Chemists Dream? transforms science into a spectacular light and sound show featuring colourful flames, chemiluminescence, liquid nitrogen, and other striking phenomena.
The experience will also feature interactive exhibits that respond to sound, as well as chemical structures that gradually grow and evolve. What would normally happen inside a laboratory becomes a live performance in the hands of UCT Prague students.
Impulse → Light as the First Signal
The light installation Impulse, created by Ateliér Karel at the Institute of Design, Faculty of Architecture, CTU, is a collaborative work by the studio’s graduates and current collaborators. It explores the moment when something begins – a first movement, discharge, signal, or idea.
The light becomes the impulse, travelling down a vertical axis towards the ground, where it accumulates before spreading into its surroundings. Its movement may evoke a neural impulse, an electrical discharge, or the flow of information. The installation explores the idea of invisible connections between people, disciplines, and institutions, viewing knowledge as an ongoing process of transmission, accumulation, and sharing.
FaceIt → Your Facial Expression as a Digital Character
What if your facial expression could instantly be transformed into a digital character? The experimental FaceIt system from the Department of Computer Graphics and Interaction at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, CTU, translates visitors’ facial expressions and movements into a stylised portrait that captures their unique character.
The project is being developed as part of Professor Daniel Sýkora’s research team, which focuses on real-time generation of stylised video.
EFORCE → From Combustion Engines to Autonomous Driving
The audiovisual projection EFORCE: DNA of Winners, created in collaboration between EFORCE Prague Formula and the Institute of Intermedia at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, CTU, traces more than fifteen years of student formula racing. From the first combustion engines and electric powertrains to autonomous driving, it shows how technology continues to evolve – and the people behind it.
The project connects technological innovation with the stories of CTU students who now work for leading global technology and automotive companies. Students from CTU’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, and other faculties collaborate on the development of the car and its key technologies.
Student Visions is presented in partnership with the Co-Vision programme.
Karolína Schulzová → The Legacy of Václav Havel
The festival programme will also feature Karolína Schulzová, a student in the Interactive Media studio at the Faculty of Art and Design, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University (UJEP). Her installation What Are You Responsible For? is inspired by Václav Havel’s essay The Power of the Powerless.
The installation consists of illuminated panels featuring statements that reference passivity and the desire to “stay invisible.” Visitors move among the panels, becoming part of an imaginary system themselves. One by one, the panels go dark until only a single one remains illuminated – carrying an important message.
The work was created in collaboration with the Díky, že můžem association and commemorates what would have been the 90th birthday of playwright and first Czech president Václav Havel. It will once again be exhibited on Korzo Národní on 17 November.