Umeå Institute of Design practices a joint leadership between
the Rector and the Head of Department. The Rector is in charge of
the study subject Industrial Design, the relation to the
profession, research and issues of strategic importance. The Head
of Department manages issues concerning staff, economy, premises,
facilities etc.
Anna Valtonen is the Rector of Umeå Institute
of Design since 2009. Before this position she worked 12 years for
Nokia, lately as Head of Design Research & Foresight.
Anna Valtonen's research interests are in design, its history, and
how companies and nations can best use design for their
competitiveness. Her PhD, from the University of Art and Design in
Helsinki, Finland (currently Aalto University) was on the
professional development of industrial design practice. She has
also been active as a researcher at the Department of Strategic and
Industrial Design at the same university and as visiting professor
in the Department of Management at ESSEC Business School Paris,
France. Valtonen also holds many positions of trust within
universities, organisations and corporations.
Maria Göransdotter is Head of Department. She
has a studied the History of Science and Ideas at Umeå University,
and semiotics and aesthetics at the University of Bologna. Maria
Göransdotter is finishing her doctoral thesis in the history of
science and ideas, focusing on the history of Swedish interior
design and ideas of good taste. Since 1995, she has taught the
history and theory of design at Umeå Institute of Design on the BA
programme and in single subject courses. In 2009, she became Deputy
Head of Department, and in 2013 Head of Department.
