Professor appointments at the School of Art and Design
27.05.2011
Sampsa Hyysalo is the first tenure track professor of the Aalto University School of Art and Design. Alastair Fuad-Luke and Eero Miettinen have been appointed Professors of Practice. All the professorships belong to the Department of Design.
The professorship of Docent Sampsa Hyysalo, Ph.D., focuses on research and teaching in the areas of joint design and design cooperation. Hyysalo will add to the knowledge base of the Department of Design and provide theoretical and methodical expertise needed in postgraduate education in particular.
Hyysalo has worked as a researcher at several institutions including the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies and the Department of Management and International Business of the Aalto University School of Economics. He is in charge of the Innovations and Users (INUSE) research group that connects four of the six schools of Aalto University.
The INUSE group performs research on user-centred innovations and the development of technologies, methods and organisations by making use of co-design. In 2010, Hyysalo received the Academy of Finland Award for social impact.
Tenure track offers researchers a clear and well-supported career path towards professor-level tasks. The principle of the system is to have both the university and the individual commit to an academic career. Clear expectations and incentives combined with support for personal, professional and academic growth are essential elements in the system.
Fuad-Luke and Miettinen appointed Professors of Practice
Alastair Fuad-Luke has been appointed Professor of Emerging Design Practices. He has a long history of working in different positions within sustainable design and co-design. Most recently, Fuad-Luke has worked as the head of the Entrepreneurship for Creative Practice master’s programme at the Plymouth College of Art.
Industrial designer Eero Miettinen has been appointed Professor of Design and International Product Development. Miettinen is one of Finland’s most renowned experts in industrial design. He has worked as design director at Nokia and as a designer in the car industry.
Both professorships have been established with the help of a donation from the City of Lahti. In addition to teaching and performing research, the tasks of the professors include taking part in the development of the City of Lahti. The Professor of Practice appointments of Fuad-Luke and Miettinen are fixed-term.
The Department of Design has also invited professor and architect LOU Yongqi from Tongji University, Shanghai, to lecture as a visiting professor. LOU holds a Ph.D. in urban design theory and practice from Tongji University's Architecture and Urban Planning College CAUP. LOU will be the first Chinese visiting professor working at the School of Art and Design. LOU’s professorship will strengthen the teaching and research related to sustainable development and the cooperation between Aalto University and Tongji University.