Associate Professor
(Universitetslektor i industridesign)
Director MFA Advanced Product Design Programme
Qualified Teacher
E-mail: thomas.degn@umu.se
Phone: +46 90 786 77 41
Background
I started my studies in Denmark at the Aarhus School of
Architecture in 1993. In 1996, during my first year of industrial
design studies, I visited the Umeå Institute of Design as a part of
a joint project collaboration between the two schools. Later that
autumn I returned to Umeå as an exchange student and continued my
design studies here and graduated from the Master programme of
Advanced Product Design in 2000.
During the first eight years of my employment at the institute I
worked in an applied research programme entitled Safe and
Efficient Transports (SET), first as a researcher and later as
the programme organiser. The programme was sponsored and carried
out in close collaboration with the Volvo Group and the objective
was to identify and conceptualise solutions based on vehicle
operators' needs, problems and wishes in relation to commercial
transports.
I started tutoring design students at the Advanced Product
Design programme in 2004, first during their term projects and
later on during the degree project. In 2008 I took over the
responsibility as the Director for the Programme and has since 2009
had this responsibility full-time.
In 2012 I was promoted to Senior Lecturer in Industrial Design
based on pedagogical merits and skills. Quote from the Faculty's
employment committee's motivation (in Swedish):
"Anställningskommittén finner specifikt, vid en bedömning av
Degns pedagogiska skicklighet, att han under en lång period
innehaft ett flertal pedagogiska ansvarsposter, att han med ständig
återkoppling till designvärlden utanför universitetet på ett mycket
förtjänstfullt sätt genomfört en omfattande och välreflekterad
utveckling av mastersprogrammet Advanced Product Design och att han
i sin ansökan redovisar en pedagogisk grundsyn och ett engagemang
som styrker att hans arbete med studenter är ytterst genomtänkt och
framgångsrikt."
That same year I was also given, as the first recipient, the
bi-annual awarded prize for cooperation with the surrounding
community (Samverkanspris) from the Faculty of Science and
Technology. Quote from the Faculty jury's motivation:
"Besides building a network of cooperation partners, such as
working industrial designers and consultants participating in the
education as supervisors, teachers and examiners, Thomas Degn has
initiated and conducted a large number of cooperating projects with
external partners within the programme. He has established contacts
worldwide, and also with businesses and organisations in Umeå and
the northern region who have little previous experience of working
with industrial design, giving them valuable skills and knowledge
they can use to develop their products and services."
In 2015 I was acknowledged and included in the at that time
newly introduced pedagogical qualification system at the Umeå
University as a Qualified Teacher. One of the two external
reviewers had the following motivation:
"Thomas Degn presents his educational documentation in a
comprehensive, well-structured teaching portfolio and CV. His
experience and well-designed educational activities are illustrated
with concrete examples, reflective sections and evidence from
student evaluations and colleagues' observations."
What I do at UID
My main area of work is to plan, administrate, develop and
contribute to the teaching at the Advanced Product Design programme
on daily, yearly and strategic level. More information about the
programme can be found here:
www.uid.umu.se/en/education/programmes/mfa-in-advanced-product-design/
