Grondelle, E.D. van

Elmer van Grondelle is a lecturer at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering.

Academic Background

Elmer completed his Bachelor in Art (Industrial Design) at the Royal College of Art in The Hague (1983). Vast developments in the IT industry and its potential for design processes urged him to study IT in addition. This rare combination of studies allowed him to build up an extensive experience in the automotive industry, both as a designer as in the design of design processes. In those capacities he worked for a vast range of companies such as BMW, Ford, Lamborghini, Hyundai and Kwan Yang.

In the late 90’s it became clear to Elmer that Automotive Styling requires a far more strategic approach than what is being practiced. For that reason he fulfilled an MBA Design Management at the University of Westminster (2003). Around the same time he became involved with Delft University of Technology, originally as a project manager but gradually becoming more involved in education and research. Currently Elmer consults the automotive industry to strategize styling programs. In Delft he is programme manager for the minor People in Transit and the advanced master courses Automotive Design and Strategic Automotive.

Elmer is a publicist, columnist and a regular speaker at international automotive events.