This fall 2008, Lidewij Edelkoort will resign as chairwoman of Design Academy Eindhoven. After ten years of fulfilling this role, she has built an institute with a strong profile and positioned it as a quality brand of dutch design that has above all gained international fame.
At the same time Edelkoort has strengthened the single-minded curriculum of the academy by adding a complementary second system to called the ‘kompas’, thus clustering the theoretical and the constructional subjects, and deepening the design education overall.
Driven by her profession as a trend forecaster she always knew how to spin the Design Academy Eindhoven in the direction needed; this resulted, for example, in setting up the Man and Well being department and initiating the master courses Man and Humanity and the IM Masters, lead by Droog Design.
During her leadership period many graduates have found there way to the international design podium, among others stimulated by the thematic international exhibits in Milan, New York and Tokyo. The exhibition “Improvisare”, set up in all three cities, gave an insight in the creative process and addressed issues of recycling and immaterial values as an answer to the violent start of the 21st century. She was also curator of the remarkable exhibition “Post Mortem” in Milan; here she presented how young generations wish to deal with burial and the mourning.
At the start of her mandate, she brought the annual Graduation from Amsterdam back to Eindhoven. With 18.000 visitors the exhibit became one of the most popular short running design events in the Netherlands.
Many initiatives have been developed at Design Academy Eindhoven over time that promote co-operation with other educational institutes, provinces, cities, business and industry. The learning restaurant “deWitteTafel” has been set up together with the ROC Eindhoven, the development of the TU/e faculty of Industrial Design, initiating the material library, starting the Designhuis with the city of Eindhoven; these are all illustrations of the kind of co-operation she promotes. National and international projects where realised with business and industry, such as Renault, Swarovski, NS, ING, KLM and Nike.
In the spring of 2008 the accreditation processes for the bachelor and the master courses have been finalised successfully.
Her passion for entrepreneurship and education will be visible in her future study on developing international design institutes in close co-operation with Design Academy Eindhoven.
With full support and confidence of Lidewij Edelkoort, the Advisory Board mandates Anne Mieke Eggenkamp as chairwoman, who is member of the Executive Board since September 2007 and who can be characterised as a structural thinking specialist in education and organisation processes. The extension of the board with an entrepreneurial and artistic member will be determined this fall; at the same time the exact date will be announced that Edelkoort will actually leave.
The Advisory Board has recently heard of Lidewij Edelkoort’s decision. The board is very appreciative of how she has fulfilled her role as chairwoman of the Executive Board, all these years. Her tremendous dedication and passion, and her expansive international network have given Design Academy Eindhoven the international stature of the institute today.