Skip to content

Press release -

Umeå Institute of Design number one in prestigious ranking

Red dot institute has chosen Umeå Institute of Design as the best design education in Europe and the Americas. The prestigious ranking promotes design institutions in the frontline and is based on design awards won during the last five years.

– 2011 was the first time we appeared on the Red dot list and then we were ranked second. We were very happy then, but that is nothing compared to how happy we are now when we are ranked as the best design education, says professor Anna Valtonen, Rector of Umeå Institute of Design, UID, at Umeå University.

– We are also very humbled by the fact that we have managed to surpass some of the worlds most prestigious design schools, like Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Los Angeles that came on third place or The Royal College of Art in London, that came on fifth, continues Anna Valtonen.

Red dot is one of the oldest and most prestigious design prize organisations in the world. Every year it awards innovative design in various fields. Students from Umeå Institute of Design have won Red dot awards in the Design concept category ten times.

2012:

  • Dawid Dawod (Sweden) Project: Boltec .04, (New Boliden/ Atlas Copco)
  • Kim Risager (Denmark), Project: Hyperion, (New Boliden/ Atlas Copco)
  • Carlos Arturo Torres (Columbia), Project: BOOMER RC-M, (New Boliden/ Atlas Copco)
  • Natalie Vanns (Great Britain), Maxime Dubreucq (France), Shivanjali Tomar (India), Doris Feurstein (Austria), Project: 100 BPM concept , (internal UID project)

2011:

  • Cenk Aytekin (Turkey), Project HOC, (Umeå municipality/ Umeå fire department)

 2010:

  • John Lee (New Zealand), Project: Halcyon, (Umeå municipality/ Umeå fire department)
  • Anna-Karin Bergkvist (Sweden), Project: An eco-friendly tree-planting robot, (Husqvarna)

 2009:

  • Francisco Lindoro (Mexico), Project: Childbirth assistance outside hospitals, Project: Bone Repair Therapy, (internal UID project)
  • Patrik Pettersson (Sweden), Project: Barista, (Electrolux)

– Tre ranking is based on award during the last five years, with emphasis on the most recent achievements. In that way Red dot is a good prize, it is topical and rewards real effort.

Umeå Institute of Design has recieved a lot of prizes and marks of distinction. For example Business Week has ranked UID as one of the best design educations globally several times. The design institution IDEA has placed UID third in the world and its german counterpart placed UID forth in the world.

 

More about Umeå Institute of Design 

More about Red dot institute 

High resolution photo of Anna Valtonen

For more information, please contact:

Anna Valtonen, Professor och Rector, Umeå Institute of Design
Phone: +46 90 7865353, +46 70 845 53 53
Email: anna.valtonen@dh.umu.se

Tapio Alakörkkö, Head of department, Umeå Institute of Design
Phone: +46 90 7869835, +46 73 6205151
Email: tapio.alakorkko@dh.umu.se

Thomas Degn, Programme Director, Advanced product design, Umeå Institute of Design
Phone: +46 90 7867741
Email: thomas.degn@dh.umu.se

Topics

Categories


The faculty of science and technology at Umeå university has 5 000 students, 300 PhD students and strong research. The faculties institutions has education and research in chemistry, physics, biology, computer science, mathematics, engineering, architecture, design and teacher education.

Contacts

General Press Inquiries

General Press Inquiries

Press contact Press Officer +46 90 786 50 89

Marie Oskarsson

Press contact Kommunikatör Lärarhögskolan, Umeå universitet 0909-786 69 47

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.