För femte året i rad placerar sig Designhögskolan vid Umeå universitet högst upp på ”Red Dot Design Ranking”, som rankar designutbildningar i Europa, Nordamerika och Sydamerika.

eXpression har pratat med Thomas Degn, programansvarig för Avancerad Produktdesign (APD) på Designhögskolan, och Marian Dembkiewicz, student på APD-programmet på Designhögskolan och tidigare deltagare i Summer eXpression.

Thomas, what does this award means for you?
– It basically is a confirmation that we despite our small size and location are still relevant in the eyes of the professional and international design community! Also that what we and our students do together makes sense to others and that we are continuing to educate and explore the potential of industrial design on the highest level and are succeeding in communicating this to the outside world.

Marian, vad betyder det här priset för dig som student?
– Att skolan och dess arbete uppmärksammas med den här sortens pris väger starkt. Det är ett kvitto att det vi lär oss i utbildningen håller hög internationell kvalitet.
Att UID vunnit dessa priser tidigare var faktiskt en avgörande faktor att jag sökte mig till studier i Umeå i första skedet.

How can designers in Umeå benefit from this?
– Good question, I guess it basically puts and keeps Umeå on the world map of professional design. It might also be an inspiration and a reminder that anything is possible if one does what one believes in? säger Thomas.

– Jag tror att Umeådesigners gynnas av den här typen av priser. Det sätter Umeå på kartan över design på samma sätt som Random Bastards har satt Umeå på musikkartan, säger Marian

How will you celebrate?
– As far as I know no celebration is planned right now. We are in the middle of the study year and a number of big student projects are in their final phases and we in the staff are now also planning for the educational activities in the spring, which isn’t the easiest since the on-going COVID pandemic doesn’t make anything any easier. Hopefully all of we will find the time to look ourselves in the mirror and as say “well done”, before we continue with our daily tasks.
– But at some point we should find the time to enjoy and reflect on this, since what Umeå Institute of Design / Designhögskolan has been able to achieve over the past 10 years, where we have been ranked highest 8 times on Red Dot’s ranking of design schools in America and Europe, and the two time we were not number one, we were second – no other school in the world have ever done this – beside us, and that’s special, avslutar Thomas.

Fotograf omslagsbild: Ulrika Bergfors