Christian Guellerin

Biography

After an MBA at the IUA of San Francisco, he started working in 1985 in the United States as Assistant to the Senior Vice President of the FGS Group in New York (United States). He joined the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Nantes (France) in 1987 at the Institute of Commercial Practice. During this time, he presided the “Business and Trade Schools” network from 1993 to 1994. In 1994, he starts working at the Development and Organization section in charge of professional training for the Chamber of Commerce of Nantes and Saint-Nazaire. He has been the Executive Director of L'École de design Nantes Atlantique since 1997.

Alongside this function, Guellerin has regularly taught courses and given academic lectures. He taught public accounting from 1987 to 1994 at the University of Paris VIII, and financial analysis from 1995 to 1998 at Paris Dauphine University. He also taught courses in management and motivation from 2003 to 2005 at the Catholic University of Angers.

Guellerin was a consultant for various institutions between 2003 and 2011. He worked as an expert for the European Union to create a design centre in Gaziantep (Turkey) in 2003. In 2005, he worked as an expert for the CREPUQ (Conference of Rectors and Principals of Quebec Universities) to set up a master's programme in design for Laval University (Montreal, Canada). He was also a member of the jury for the Design Eleven contest, which was launched in 2010 by the (EESC) to prepare the "European Year of Active Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity."

He was President of Cumulus, the International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media from 2007 to 2013. This global association gathers 189 members from 46 countries. Created 20 years ago, Cumulus is now the largest international network dedicated solely to issues of design education, with 3,100,000 students and nearly 30,000 teachers. The objective of this association is to exchange best practices concerning design education, creation and innovation. Under the presidency of Guellerin, Cumulus has known significant growth, going from 80 to 178 members, particularly in countries outside Europe. During his mandate, Guellerin signed in 2008 in Japan the "Kyoto Design Declaration" which reflects the new responsibilities of designers towards the challenges of sustainable development. He was re-elected in 2010 for a second term, which ended in 2013, he is now Honorary President.

Since 1997, Guellerin has been the Executive Director of L'École de design Nantes Atlantique, a private institution for higher education in design which was founded in 1988. Supported by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, the school has campuses in Nantes (France), Shanghai (China) and Bangalore (India). The institution has developed significantly under his leadership, striving towards the professionalization of design studies and establishing relationships with businesses.

A few of the most significant steps in this development of l'Ecole de design are: the opening of a Hypermedia section dedicated to digital products and services, in 2000, the granting of an official accreditation from the French Ministry of Higher Education in 2002 for its master's degree in Design, the opening of a spatial design section in 2005, the creation of an Apprentice Training Centre (CFA) specialized in “Industrial Creation and Innovation” in 2006, the setting up of the school's China campus in 2008 initially in Qingdao (China), and now in Shanghai (China), the launching of a graphic design option and the reorganization of the master's programs into social and economical themes in 2009. An exchange program was created in Bangalore (India), in 2010, and the opening in 2011 of an experimental laboratory named "READI", dedicated to interaction design.

Guellerin has written numerous articles about design and education. Guellerin is also the Honorary Consul of Estonia in France.

International lectures and research

Design schools: the new incubators for a new entrepreneuriat, Elisava (Barcelona School of Design and Engineering), Barcelona (Spain) - May 2016

Design schools: the new incubators for a new entrepreneurship, ESDI (Escola Superior de Disseny), Barcelona (Spain) - May 2016

Design and entrepreneurship, CAFA (China Central Academy of Fine Arts), Beijing (China) - March 2016

Design and sustainable cities, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China) - March 2016

Le design et l'innovation comme réponse à un monde bouleversé, French Consulate, Shanghai (China) - November 2015

Design schools: the new incubators for a new entrepreneurship, UNESP, São Paulo (Brazil) - May 2015

Design for innovation, SENAI, São Paulo (Brazil) - May 2015

Ecoles de design : nouveaux incubateurs pour un nouvel entreprenariat, College of Advertising and Design, Brussels (Belgium) - May 2015

Round Table, European Academy of Design, CCI de Paris (France) - April 2015

Round Table, UTSEUS Innovation Week, Shanghai (China), October 2014

Designing Designers, Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, Cracovie (Poland), October 2014

7° culturas da inovaçao, Porto Alegre (Brazil), August 2014

Design schools: the new incubators for a new entrepreneurship, Université Polytechnique de Hubei, Wuhan (China), May 2014

From creation to innovation, from innovation to entrepreneurship, Guadalajara (Mexico), February 2014

Creation in Asia, Maison & Objet, Paris (France), January 2014

Design schools: the new incubators for a new entrepreneurship, Jinan (China), October 2013

Design, new industrial paradigms and 3D printing - 10th Anniversary Office Harmonization Internal Market - European Union - Alicante (Spain), April 2013

Design schools, for a new entrepreneurship, Conference Cumulus, Santiago (Chile), November 2012

Cumulus, a platform for global collaboration, Design of Designers, Cumulus Lab, Shanghai (China), September 14, 2012

From Creation to Innovation, how schools of design work with and for companies : the example of « L’École de design Nantes Atlantique » in Shanghai, Design of Designers, Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai (China), September 12, 2012

Innovative strategies, New Research & Innovation Horizons workshop, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Lappeenranta (Finland), June 13, 2012

Designing the future, Cumulus conference opening speech, Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Helsinki (Finlande), May 24, 2012

How can creativity change your work environment ?, Montreal Networking Forum, Paris (France), April 25, 2012

Design Schools: From Innovation to a New Entrepreneurship, Cumulus conference, Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, Denver, Colorado (United States), September 29, 2011

3 Ideas to Emphasise the Role of Design, China Campus #01 exhibition, University of Shanghai (China), September 12, 2011.

Design: a Strategy for New Industrial Paradigms, Design For All Europe conference (EIDD), Tallinn (Estonia), May 28, 2011.

Design and Globalization, a Friendly Design Context for a Strategic Discipline, 2nd EU-Russia Innovation Forum, Lappeenranta (Finland), May 25, 2011.

The Credibility Condition to Ensuring Recognition in Design, 1st International Symposium for Design Education Researchers, Cumulus and Design Research Society, Paris (France), May 18, 2011.

Design and Identity, Mission Design, Montreal (Canada), May 10, 2011.

Useful and Futile, 5th International Conference, Design principles and practices, University La Sapienza, Rome (Italy), February 3, 2011.

Research in Design, on Design... , Swinburne University of Technology and RMIT University, Melbourne (Australia), November 14, 2009.

What Happens to Designers 10 Years Down the Line ? ; Designer after school, European Creativity Conference, 7th edition of the Roma Design + Week, La Sapienza, Rome (Italy), December 11, 2009.

Design Education, the New Deal, IASDR (International Association of Societies of Design Research), Seoul (South Korea), October 20, 2009.

Design and identity, Cumulus conference opening speech, Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Bratislava (Czech Republic), October 13, 2007.

What Future for Design Education, Research Symposium, University of Valencia (Spain), 2006

Design, Ethics and Humanism, Eastman IDSA National Education Conference, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California (United States), October 24 to 26, 2004

What is the Role of a Design School? , Cumulus conference, Istituto Europeo di Design de Milan, Colle di Val d’Elsa (Italy), 2002

Professional lectures

What Future for Design Education ?, Mission Design, Université de Montréal (Canada), 26 janvier 2012

From "Made in" to "Designed by", University of Vendean entrepreneurs, Vendée MEDEF, La Roche sur Yon (France), January 13, 2012

Design, Carrying Meaning and Spirituality, University of Strasbourg (France), November 9, 2011

Favorable Conditions for Design, Creation and Innovation, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Landes, Mont-de-Marsan (France), October 7, 2011

Design and Innovation, for which Changes ?, for the Banque Populaire Bretagne Atlantique, 29 septembre 2011

International publications

Cumulus Assets of Vitality, Pertinence, Influence and Responsibility, Cumulus Working Papers Saint-Etienne, Publication Series G, Aalto University, School of Art and Design, Helsinki (Finland), 2009

Cumulus Reservations to Promote Ideals of Democracy, Freedom and Exchange, Cumulus Working Papers Bratislava, Publication Series G, Aalto University, School of Art and Design, Helsinki (Finland), 2008

Japan - Modernity with Finess, Strength and Beauty of Traditions, Cumulus Working Papers Kyoto, Publication Series G, Aalto University, School of Art and Design, Helsinki (Finlande), 2008

International magazines

Why Design Offers a Great Opportunity for Companies to Work on their Ethics, publication by Design for All Institute of India, vol 5, n° 1, p. 29-42, New Delhi (India), January 2010

Education and Design: A New Deal, magazine Disegno Industriale, n° 42-43, p. 20-25, Italy, 2010

Design, a Strategic Factor Linked to Major Socio-Economic Issues, publication by Design for All Institute of India, vol 4, n° 9, p. 20-25, New Delhi (India), September 2009

Publications

Christian Guellerin, Nicolas Minvielle, Marie de Jacquelot, Designer: Careers and Professionalism, French and English bilingual edition, De Boeck editions. Design & Innovation, 2010, 325 p.