Umeå Institute of Design tops world's most prestigious schools – ranked #1

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Umeå Institute of Design tops world's most prestigious schools – ranked #1

The Umeå Institute of Design at Umeå University was an overwhelming winner in the 2013 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA). They were more successful than prestigious design schools in China, the US and UK, and demonstrated once again that they are among the world's best in industrial design education.

The Umeå Institute of Design at Umeå University was an overwhelming winner in the 2013 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA). They were more successful than prestigious design schools in China, the US and UK, and demonstrated once again that they are among the world's best in industrial design education.

In addition to the strong IDEA performance, the Umeå Institute of Design has been ranked first among European and American schools by Red Dot, and second on the European iF list.
“Although all awards and competitions are subjective in their own way, we can still certainly now declare that the Umeå Institute of Design has first-class education,” says Rector Anna Valtonen. “The awards are a measure that what we do here in Umeå is important and that we are advancing forward with our design education.”

Umeå Institute of Design’s success is a combination of several factors. They work closely with industries, have small class sizes and have students of 30 nationalities. The institute has created a platform for innovation with its friendly and innovative environment.

“It is rare that small Nordic universities survive in such a fierce international competition regardless of the educational area they operate in , so we are obviously very happy - both for the institute school and for Sweden,” continues Anna Valtonen.

The students - both current and recent graduates - at the master's programme in advanced product design that submitted their concept for the IDEA awards can be proud of their achievements with two gold medals, one silver and three bronzes.

The concepts of the gold awards for this year are ERO by Ömer Haciomergolus from Turkey and SafeWave by Philip Nordman Andersen from Denmark. The ERO Concrete Recycling Robot was designed to efficiently disassemble concrete structures without any waste, dust or separation and enable reclaimed building materials to be reused for new prefabricated concrete buildings. It does so by using a water jet to crack the concrete surface, separate the waste and package the cleaned, dust-free material.

SafeWave is a robotic rescue buoy for beach authorities who are unable to employ professional lifeguards. It is designed to locate and rescue people from strong, dangerous and ultimately life-threatening rip currents. It is intended to be located in dedicated rescue stands positioned at strategic locations along the beach.



This year's first place total award ranking by the Umeå Institute of Design School is followed by Dalian University (China) who won four IDEA awards, and the Art Center College of Design (United States) and Zhejiang University (China), who each won three awards. Over the last five years, the Art Center College of Design leads with 27 total awards.

“The Umeå Institute of Design has won a total of 16 IDEA awards in the past five years which places us third among award winning schools worldwide,” says Thomas Degn, director of the master’s degree programme in advanced product design. “We are far ahead of competing design schools in Europe.”

IDSA, the Industrial Designers Society of America, is the world’s largest professional organization for industrial designers. They have been organizing the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) since 1980.

Umeå Institute of Design winners IDEA 2013

Gold
Ömer Haciomergolu (Turkey) – ERO
Philip Nordman Andersen ( Denmark) - SafeWave

Silver
Cenk Aytekin (Turkey) - Asthma Wellness Kit

Bronze
Gosha Galitsky (Israel) - Red Carpet
William van Beek (Canada) – Hydrologic
Kim Risager (Denmark) – Hyperion
Maxime Dubreucq (France) - Ergonium

Press images

Read more and see images of the students' winning concepts

School statistics on the number of awards achieved in IDEA 2009-2013

More information, please contact

Anna Valtonen, Rector, Umeå Institute of Design
Phone: +46 (0)90 786 53 53
E-mail: anna.valtonen@dh.umu.se

Thomas Degn, Programme Director of the Master Programme in Advanced Product Design
Phone: +46 (0)90 - 786 77 41
E-mail: thomas.degn@dh.umu.se

Petra Käck, Communications Officer, Umeå Institute of Design
Phone: +46 (0)90-786 71 56
E-mail: petra.kack@umu.se


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Umeå University is one of Sweden's largest institutions of higher learning with over 34,000 students and 4,200 employees. We have a well-established international research profile and a broad range of study options. Our campus constitutes an inspiring environment that encourages interdisciplinary meetings - between students, researchers, teachers and external stakeholders. Through collaboration with other members of society, we contribute to the development and strengthen the quality of our research and education.

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Umeå University

Umeå University is one of Sweden's largest universities with over 37,000 students and 4,300 employees. The university is home to a wide range of education programmes and world-class research in a number of fields. Umeå University was also where the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 was discovered – a revolution in gene-technology that was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Founded in 1965, Umeå University is characterised by tradition and stability as well as innovation and change. Education and research on a high international level contributes to new knowledge of global importance, inspired, among other things, by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The university houses creative and innovative people that take on societal challenges. Through long-term collaboration with organisations, trade and industry, and other universities, Umeå University continues to develop northern Sweden as a knowledge region.

The international atmosphere at the university and its unified campus encourages academic meetings, an exchange of ideas and interdisciplinary co-operation. The cohesive environment enables a strong sense of community and a dynamic and open culture in which students and staff rejoice in the success of others.

Campus Umeå and Umeå Arts Campus are only a stone's throw away from Umeå town centre and are situated next to one of Sweden's largest and most well-renowned university hospitals. The university also has campuses in the neighbouring towns Skellefteå and Örnsköldsvik.

At Umeå University, you will also find the highly-ranked Umeå Institute of Design, the environmentally certified Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics and the only architectural school with an artistic orientation – Umeå School of Architecture. The university also hosts a contemporary art museum Bildmuseet and Umeå's science centre – Curiosum. Umeå University is one of Sweden's five national sports universities and hosts an internationally recognised Arctic Research Centre.

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