In a period that has tested both formal education and the entrepreneurial ecosystem, Andrian Brinoveanu and Dacian Neagu emerged as the winning team of Young Lions Design 2026 in Romania, as part of TheAlternativeSchool’s cMBA (#TheAlternativeSchool), supported by Ursus Breweries. They topped 35 other competing teams - the highest number of entries to date - and will now advance to the international competition, alongside a one-week programme of studio-based learning and networking at Cannes Lions, in June 2026.
Robert Uzună, Vice-President for Corporate Affairs, Ursus Breweries, said:
“Ursus is a brand that has lived through almost every challenge Romania has faced over the past 140+ years. We enjoy translating that heritage into the present - and that’s exactly why we support TheAlternativeSchool programmes: for their determination to train and give international exposure to the most talented - with special attention to those who are disadvantaged.”
Gabriela Crețu, Vice-President Sales, Ursus Breweries, added:
“In a challenging year across every sector, it is reassuring that such consistent alternatives exist - offering real opportunities and unique experiences for passionate people, helping them push past their limits and turn their potential into expressive, tangible work.”
And the winners are….
Andrian Brinovanu - a wonder kid born copywriter
His first ever piece of copy arrived early - and without a brief: “Take a friend home to play with” - written in childhood to help sell his father’s rabbits. It was a sharp positioning exercise, shifting the emphasis from product to an EQ-led benefit.
Then came: two bus transfers via Iași; a “heavy metal” foundation of three years as an automation engineer at Galați Steel Works; and a mathematically plotted escape into the territory of ideas - creative bartering for access to books, building a PPC agency, rolling up his sleeves for a start-up, and then a deliberate choice for concept architecture.
Today, he is a Copywriter & Product Manager at Bookzone, bringing structure and storytelling to the same table at scale. Andrian was born in Milești, Nisporeni District, Republic of Moldova. He speaks Romanian, Russian and English, is 27, and has a string of competition wins behind him - subtly foreshadowing the result unfolding now.
Andrian said: “Big ideas obey a golden rule: the Law of Parsimony, known as Occam’s Razor. The #TheAlternativeSchool experience trained us to cut the excess and keep only what truly matters. It was genuinely funny to see how ‘complex’ solutions become obvious only after you find the courage to drop the tricks. I deeply appreciated the rigour the programme demanded - and the clarity you earn along the way.”
He continued: “At the competition, expectations of winning were secondary; the priority was to deliver something we wouldn’t be ashamed of. The outcome validated that classical rigour and big ideas don’t exclude each other - they amplify each other.”
Dacian Neagu - a designer shaped by gaming
He didn’t come from a pedigree art school - he came from gaming forums, where you learn fast, fail often, and upgrade on the move while you’re still building the plane. He started with CreativeMonkeyz tutorials to make “cool banners”. He then went through the intensive specialisations of #FutureProofCreativity / #TheAlternativeSchool with a focus worthy of Counter-Strike - and that focus materialised into first place in the high-pressure Young Lions Design competition.
Now, as a graphic designer at Bookzone, he has swapped forum dynamics for national campaigns. He’s a gamer, a passionate solver of visual problems - and the partner who lifts morale exactly when it’s needed, with high-quality bad jokes (yes, we know you’re raising your eyebrows - but it’s the naked truth).
Dacian said: “My experience at TheAlternativeSchool completely reset the way I approach creativity. I had the privilege of learning from global leaders like Bob Liuzzo, who reshaped how I think about visual language in design, and Andrey Tyukavkin, who showed me what creativity looks like beyond the predictable. That infusion of know-how - from speakers actively shaping the industry worldwide - gave me the tools to turn an idea into a tightly built project. Winning the competition and the chance to go to Cannes is the validation of what I learned here.”
#FutureProofCreativity: an effervescent programme
The Andrian–Dacian duo’ story runs through #FutureProofCreativity, an intensive journey combining a live event (Kindful Brands) with nine online sessions, featuring focused interventions and a line-up of 30+ local and international speakers from 13 countries.
Topics ranged across Design Thinking / Design Feeling, visual languages, applied creativity, AI (conceptual and practical), film/video/animation, strategy and research, the art of insight, and gamevertising.
The three live briefs supported by Ursus & #TheAlternativeSchool attracted 36 teams (two hors concours) - the largest number in the competition’s 21-year history. Work was evaluated by 28 jurors from Romania and abroad, all recognised through international accolades.
Access to this edition of #TheAlternativeSchool, with 100+ applicants, was enabled through a selection competition, followed by the awarding of 80+ scholarships (supported by Ursus and Invizibilii.ro), directed primarily towards young people outside Bucharest, from vulnerable backgrounds, or from underrepresented communities - because talent doesn’t need a “good address”, it needs the right context.
Teodora Migdalovici, founder of #TheAlternativeSchool, said:
“Year 21 at TheAlternativeSchool was unlike any other: we put disciplines at the same table that formal education tends to keep apart - from HR with heart and character (not just brains), to animation, city branding and the European Capital of Culture; from deep-dives into diverse cultures - Japan, Pakistan, Croatia, Malta - to activism beyond the walls, on mined terrain; from anthropology and a trained retina, to emerging disciplines where AI makes its presence felt - sometimes brilliantly, sometimes… awkwardly, but always under scrutiny; from the craft of building Parisian luxury brands, to social analysis x creativity in a New York key; to food design and happenings born in Austria and celebrated from London to Mexico City. It was a shock-dose of relevant content - unexpected for some - curated with real attention to the conscious and unconscious needs of today’s talent, delivered in concentrated capsules, often running 4+ hours per evening. The programme ended in glory: with a spontaneous desire from participants to continue in a monthly rhythm of intensive post-module training. From 2026, this initiative becomes a programme - with Orkla Foods as its first supporting brand. What a joy! ”
What’s new in 2026?
Three more Cannes-bound places are still up for grabs via the Roger Hatchuel Academy and ERA tracks - with applications extended until 20 January.
And from the very first month of 2026, TheAlternativeSchool is also launching “A Brief a Month”, with Orkla Foods as first supporter.
In parallel, registrations will open for YoungLady: a programme for exceptionally talented, internationally awarded women under 35, spanning fields from the arts to STEM, culminating in a revelatory makeover and a professional personal-branding shoot - translating inner dynamics into visible, unmistakable presence.
Everything else lives in the “To Be Continued” drawer.
Photo credit & Thank you notes:
The winners’ photoshoot is credited to MEALCHEMY / Iulian Rătescu and took place within The Great Hill expressive spaces. A big thank you to all #TheAlternativeSchool partners, speakers, jurors, media maveriks and allies who made this journey possible.
