Here’s Design School Kolding’s new rector
With seats on a number of boards and councils and having written more than 200 research papers and a multitude of books and debate contributions, 46-year-old Lene Tanggaard is an acknowledged authority when it comes to learning and creative processes. As of 1 January she will be replacing the current rector of Design School Kolding, Elsebeth Gerner Nielsen, who has held the position for 12 years.
- Design School Kolding will be getting an ambitious and visionary rector, whom I am confident will be able to develop and challenge the school’s vision and ensure our goal of being an international talent workshop for the cultivation of Danish Design, says Merete Due Paarup, Chairman of Design School Kolding’s Board of Directors.
As rector, Lene Tanggaard will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the school and she will play a key role in strengthening and developing the school’s programmes, knowledge base and external collaborations.
Research to learn from
Lene Tanggaard is professor of pedagogical psychology and comes from a position as Deputy Head of the Department of Communication and Psychology at Aalborg University. In 2000, she received an MSc in Psychology from Aarhus University, and ever since she has studied the fields of creativity, learning and innovation. Grants from a number of major foundations have enabled her to study how psychological phenomena occur and to develop new and creative teaching experiments, analyse school system initiatives and alternative approaches to organisations and management within Danish industry.
In 2008, she was appointed professor at the age of 34, making her the youngest Danish woman ever to receive this title.
A powerful communicator
Lene Tanggaard has published a number of books on creativity, including the bestseller ”I bad med Picasso – sådan bliver du mere kreativ” together with Danish entrepreneur Christian Stadil. She is a powerful disseminator of research, which has earned her a number of awards, including author of the year at Aalborg Universitetsforlag in 2009, Nordjysk Universitetsfonds Innovationspris in 2012 and Gyldendal’s Formidlingspris in 2015 with her former colleague Svend Brinkmann.
- With her communication skills, her knowledge about creativity and innovative processes, her ability and dedication to spot and develop talent and not least her profound knowledge about education and research she is the perfect person to steer Design School Kolding in the right direction, says Merete Due Paarup, while also emphasizing Tanggaard’s long-time experience of collaborating with companies.
Design School Kolding works closely together with private and public businesses and collects approximately two thirds of its income from the National Budget and the rest through external funding. Collaborating with wider society is essential in ensuring that the school’s educational programmes are relevant and to building and strengthening the knowledge base.
Lene Tanggaard will join Design School Kolding on 1 November 2019 and will start her position as rector at the turn of the year, when the current rector, Elsebeth Gerner Nielsen, passes on the baton.