Title: "Tradition, Inspiration, Innovation: Design and Local Cultural Heritage"

Dr. Kart Summatavet
Professor
University of Tartu, Estonia


22 December 2009, Tuesday 15.30.
ITU Taskisla, Salon 109

Today Kart Summatavet from university of Tartu, will make a speech at Istanbul Technical University, Department of Industrial Design.


Dr Kart Summatavet is a jewellery and graphic artist, designer and entrepreneur, as well as art educator and supervisor of PhD students with creative background (designers, artists).   She worked in the Estonian Academy of Arts almost for 20 years, lately as a professor and a head of the Media and Design Doctoral Programme.  Now working for the oldest university of Estonia - the University of Tartu (est. in 1632) - as the head of research group related to the issues of creative industries, Dr. Summatavet is helping to establish new BA and MA level art, design and craft studies. In addition to running several EU funded projects, she is also an expert of higher education for the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, for the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Economy and Business Affairs in the field of creative industries. She received her PhD in design from the University of Art and Design Helsinki (TAIK). Her thesis was related to ethnology and semiotics as well as to the CAD/CAM prototyping and industrial jewelry production. During her study, she worked together with TAIK Protolab, which led to an invention registered as a usability model of patent, and has won several prizes (EUWIIN, KIPO/WIPO). Her research interests lie in the synergy and collaboration of artists/designers with researchers of technical sciences that enable to create innovative new ideas and prototypes.