My dear old school, where I studied industrial and Interaction design, has as of the autumn of 2009 got a new rector.

Anna Valtonen, Head of Design Research & Foresight at Nokia in Helsinki, Finland, has been appointed as the new rector of Umeå Institute of Design at Umeå University and will succeed Bengt Palmgren, the current rector, during the autumn of 2009.

Anna Valtonen was born in 1974 in Helsinki, Finland and she holds a doctorate in industrial design. She is board member of the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, member of the Finnish-Swedish Industrial Design Academy and has until recently sat on the board of the Swedish National Research School of Design. During 2000-2004, she has been a board member of The Finnish Association of Industrial Designers, TKO. Since 2007, she has been one of seven members of the Board at Aalto University, a unique merger of three Finnish universities – the Helsinki School of Economics, the University of Art and Design, and the Helsinki University of Technology. She has been active as a researcher at the Department of Strategic and Industrial Design at the University of Art and Design, Helsinki and visiting professor in the Department of Management at ESSEC Business School Paris, France. The position as rector at the Umeå Institute of Design at Umeå University also includes a significant focus on research.

Her experience and network of contacts will be very important for Umeå University’s investment in the new Umeå Arts Campus and everybody hopes that she will further strengthen the international status of Umeå institute of Design.