Day One
"You need a box in order to think outside of it" Per Brickstad, former student at UID
Around 300 people have gathered to participate in the 20th anniversary of Umeå Institute of Design. There is a blend of current and previous students and current and former teachers, staff and professors. The atmosphere is filled with high expectations and wherever you look you see beaming and enthusiastic faces.
The Thursday speeches take place in the Project Studio. Pete Avondoglio is the host of the anniversary and after he and Tapio Alakörkkö have greeted the audience it is time for the first speaker.
Michael Treschow talks about the increasing competition regarding design today and he believes that Umeå’s area of competition is the creative thinking and the creative process.
Next speaker is Bengt Palmgren, former rector of Umeå Institute of Design’s and he has tried to figure out the cause of UID’s success and believes the possible reasons may be for instance our external collaborators, the fact that the education is arts based and the students are handpicked and that we have a great international atmosphere filled with creativity.
Some of the former students of Umeå Institute of Design have also prepared speeches for the event. These students are Johan Lundgren at Zenit Design Group, Stina Juhlin at Myra Industriell Design AB, Johan Gustavsson at Struktur Design and Per Brickstad at Nokia.
Next speaker is the vice-chancellor of Umeå University, Göran Sandberg and he first of all tells the audience that Umeå University is one of the best universities in Scandinavia. He also talks about the Arts Campus and about some of the donors who make it possible: The Baltic Group, The Umeå municipality and the Kempe Foundation.
Thor Persson, chairman of Vesterbotten Chamber of Commerce concludes his speech by giving a miniature Volvo truck to Bengt Palmgren and Anna Valtonen.
Vibeke Weiner, Managing Director of Infobooks talks about Designed in Umeå a book about UID, which she thinks is a perfect Christmas gift. Her experience of Umeå and UID is that the warmth of Umeå Institute of Design balances the cold climate of Umeå.
At seven o’clock it is time for the great buffet and after that there is music, mingling and dancing. As heard from several guests: The parties at UID always have a great atmosphere but this 20th anniversary celebration is the best party ever!
Day Two
"Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future" Niels Bohr
As Thursday’s speeches were all about the past, consequently the theme of the Friday presentations is the future.
Bengt Palmgren talks about the future of the Arts Campus and he expresses how delighted he is to see his vision about the campus come true. Furthermore he speaks of the close connection between student and teacher at UID and about the mutual respect. After Bengt’s introduction it is time for the Dream Team, as Bengt puts it (the Programme Directors) to talk about the future of the various programmes of UID.
The director for the MA Interaction Design Programme Niklas Andersson describes the advisory group that has been assembled to give advice on how to develop the programme. Thomas Degn who is director for the MA Advanced Product Design Programme has the next presentation and after that Demian Horst, director of the Transportation Design Programme gives his speech. Horst believes there is great importance in collaboration with the industry. The internal cooperation with the other programmes is important as well. Monica Lindh Karlsson, the director for the Industrial Design Programme talks about one of the core values of the programme – the strong focus on the user.
Peter Lundholm who is in charge of the one-year course Advanced Design Visualisation explains how this course will add to your skills and teach you how to present your design in the best way.
The new rector of UID, Anna Valtonen describes how she, from the moment she set her foot here at Umeå Institute of Design, got a wonderful impression because of the amazing atmosphere and friendly environment. She believes that our small size and dynamic environment will be excellent assets in the future. Furthermore Valtonen discusses the importance of bringing research back into education as quickly as possible to adapt and evolve.
The last item on the Friday programme is a discussion about the future challenges of Umeå Institute of Design. Moderator is professor Petter Gustafsson from Umeå University. Pete Avondoglio brings the anniversary to a close with the words "Size does count and small is beautiful!”
