Robyn Robins, principal of communicationXchange, has been appointed to the Advisory Council of the Design Management Institute in Boston, USA.

The DMI Advisory Council comprises 30 -- 40 individuals representing small businesses, large corporations, universities and consultancies from countries and cultures around the world. The membership represents various design disciplines, and the desire for a regional balance in the selection of individuals noteworthy for their enthusiasm and potential to contribute to the growth and development of DMI.

Advisory Council members contribute within a three-year term. Renewals or extensions are frequently requested. Four members from this dedicated group of Advisors are asked to serve and accept fiduciary responsibilities as members of the Board of Directors.

Robyn is the first Asia/Pacific representative appointed to the Advisory Council. She is the author of two books on Design Management and lectures in Design Management at the National School of Design at Swinburne in Melbourne. The Design Management Institute (DMI) was founded in 1975 at the Massachusetts College of Arts in Boston. It initiated, with the Harvard Business School, the TRIAD Design Project, the first international research project on design management.

Robyn attended the DMI's international conference on branding and corporate identity in 1998 and 1999 to broaden her knowledge, deepen her expertise and extend her network amongst international design managers. "To spend time with similarly motivated colleagues, and be able to submerge myself into four days of non-stop design management scrutiny is exhilarating and exhausting", says Robyn about her attendance at the Montreal conferences. Robyn is well known to the AGDA community throughout Australia where she has regularly given seminars and run workshops on design management issues.

"I joined the DMI to expand my understanding of the role of design management as a vehicle in raising business acknowledgment of design as a tool for economic growth. In this the DMI vision and my own are closely aligned" reflects Robins.

The DMI mission is to be "the international authority, resource and advocate on design management". Now Australia has its own advocate to join this august group and we are sure Robyn will represent our issues in an informed and intelligent manner.

Information on the DMI is at http://www.dmi.org, and Robyn Robins at http://www.communicationxchange.com.