New leadership team at UID

Demian Horst is the new Head of Institute at UID.

ImageUmeå Institute of Design

Demian Horst assumes the role of Head of Institute on July 1. He is joined in the newly formed leadership team by Linda Bresäter and Oscar Björk, both with a long history of serving in different roles at Umeå Institute of Design. The recruitment process for the leadership position was initiated in December 2020 and consisted of an open call for applications. Interviews were conducted in March and Demian Horst's appointment received unanimous support from the recruitment committee at the Faculty of Science and Technology, Umeå University.

I feel very honored and extremely proud to take on this important role during the coming 4 years, and understand the responsibility involved in leading an institution that has real impact in the field of design, says Demian Horst

Demian Horst now steps down from his role as Programme Director for the MFA Transportation Design. Demian's involvement at UID stretches back twenty years to when he first started his master's degree. After a stint in the automotive industry with ties to General Motors, Opel and Saab, he returned in 2009 to direct the Transportation Design programme. In the new role as Head of Institute he hopes to contribute with his experience and expertise to support a process of continuous development at UID.

UID is well aware of the critical transformations needed to reach the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and how sustainable design is such an important component in that process

"My goal is to create the best possible conditions so that our highly committed colleagues, researchers and students can continuously explore the future foundations of industrial design to be the drivers of such transformations", says Demian Horst.