Design Innovation Centre of Vilnius Academy of Arts (VAA) is a centre of excellence established in 2007. The division promotes design, provides commercialization and incubation.
The centre has been the main organiser of the Young Designer Prize competition since 2011. Since 2016, Design Innovation Centre has been responsible for the intellectual property created in the academy. In 2018, divisions were opened in VAA faculties in Kaunas, Klaipėda and Telšiai. In addition, the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania granted VAA Design Innovation Centre the status of a PATLIB centre.
Starting in December 2021, the centre has appointed Audronė Drungilaitė as a new director to run the ongoing activities of the centre and contribute to expanding the projects’ range.
Career history
Audronė Drungilaitė knows the academy well – she is a graduate of Vilnius Academy of Arts with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design and a Master’s in Cultural Management and Cultural Policy. Audronė is also an enthusiastic promoter of Lithuanian design around the world, chairs a few boards, and curates Lithuanian design exhibitions.
Most recently, Audronė worked as Creative Director at EMKO – a design company that helps develop and commercialise young designers' works from all over the world. In 2014–2019, she also ran the Lithuanian Design Forum, a non-governmental design promotion organisation bridging designers with the industry, and served the Bureau of European Design Associations (BEDA) Board in 2017–2020. In addition, Audronė was responsible for managing Design Week Lithuania – the biggest design festival in the Baltics held from 2006 in six cities at the same time.
New goals at the academy
Audronė believes that design should be an integral part of various processes in both private and public sectors and feels excited to join the team.
“Vilnius Academy of Arts has an amazing history, excellent infrastructure and creative people that lead the institution to success. I have the ambition to continue activities of the centre and enhance cross-disciplinary cooperation through high added value national and international projects.” – says Audronė.
To start the new position, Audronė aims to reinforce the team of professionals to accelerate the centre’s activities, keep the community up to date with the recent design news, and look into the new possibilities for cooperation.
Contacts
Audronė Drungilaitė | Director of the Design Innovation Centre at Vilnius Academy of Arts
audrone.drungilaite@vda.lt
+370 600 30707
