Umeå Institute of Design again ranked as one of the world’s best
NEWS
BusinessWeek magazine recently published an article with a ranking of the top 60 design schools from around the world. For the second consecutive year the Umeå Institute of Design was listed among the elite – the only one in Sweden.
The list was compiled by an international panel of 22 experts including design and brand consultants, as well as academics from business and design schools. Furthermore, they contacted highly experienced executives from six forward-thinking companies with expertise in design and innovation strategy. The representatives from academia were solicited to look beyond their own institutions as self-nominations were not permitted. They then conducted interviews with students, professors, and alumni in order to find design schools that included business strategy and business programmes that teach design as a means for strategic advantage.
The magazine looked at programmes that use the real world as their classroom, where students solve contemporary business programmes for real clients, instead of tackling hypothetical scenarios in an academic setting; programmes that were tuned in to contemporary business issues, such as the need to be global and environmental and socially sustainable; and those whose graduates have proved themselves capable of bringing creative talent to the corporate world, not only as designers but as strategists and leaders.
Half of the ranked design schools are located in the United States. It is notable that of the 31 selected design schools outside of the U.S., only four are in the Nordic countries – the Umeå Institute of Design is the only institution from Sweden. The remaining nations with schools on the list include Italy (2), England (4), the Netherlands (2), Finland (1), Norway (1), Denmark (1), German (3), China (3), South Korea (2), India (2), Japan (2), Taiwan (2), Canada (2), and Brazil (1).
The Umeå Institute of Design has, in addition to a three-year bachelor’s degree programme, three specialised master’s programmes. Students can select between a concentration in Interaction Design, Transportation Design or Advanced Product Design, which provide excellent employment opportunities. Within months after earning their degrees, 95 percent of the students obtain jobs within industry or consultancies in Sweden or abroad. Master’s programmes at the Umeå Institute of Design are carried out entirely in English and are thus open to international students. During the current autumn 2007 term, over 60 percent of the students are international and come from 25 different countries.
For further information, contact Bengt Palmgren, Principal, +46 (0)70-341 03 12 or Tapio Alakörkkö, Department Head, +46 (0)90-786 98 35
