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Natalia Ikebara from Umeå University has been awarded the Michael Treschow Scholarship 2021

Natalia Ikebara is awarded the Michael Treschow Scholarship for her high motivation and making a difference for all stakeholders, as well as highlighting the impact of Design in the "bigger picture". She is an MFA Advanced Product Design student at Umeå Institute of design.

The jury's motivation is as follows: Natalia shows an expansive understanding to explore and tackle both functional and emotional design-challenges within her work. She approached each complex design-question with both logic and curiosity to make sure to address technical and human needs both. Her designs are based on deep research and a systemic approach to solve the needs of users and multiple project stakeholders. Natalia shows high motivation on making a difference by consistently applying design thinking methodologies and translating problems into solutions. She also demonstrates a deep understanding and curiosity for topics beyond design, showing a high versatility and empathy withing disciplines while highlighting the impact of Industrial Design in the bigger picture.

In a recent conversation with Natalia, she has expressed her thought about the scholarship - "This scholarship will provide me financial support to execute my thesis proposal as well as support me to remain in Umeå during my studies. I will be able to travel for field research where I will be looking into pediatric rehabilitation in children with motor impairment, conduct workshops, test, and validate my ideas with users and stakeholders, which, learning from my previous experiences, are essential for a successful project.

I would like to thank Michael Treschow and the great design jury for this incredible honor and for supporting my work as an industrial designer, I feel so grateful. I would also like to thank Umeå Institute of Design. Having the opportunity to be a student there coming from so far away has opened a lot of doors that made me grow both personally and professionally."


Natalia Ikebara's portfolio.

Michael Treschow Scholarship.

Conference where the Scholarship Award ceremony took place.