Master in Service Design

The Specializing Master in Service Design is an international training program – taught entirely in English – focused on a user-centered approach and the development of service ideas from contextual research to prototyping.

The overall idea behind the Master stems from the awareness of the significant changes that have occurred in the development and delivery of services and products by companies and public-sector organizations, and the radical impact that these changes are producing on professional skills and corporate capabilities.

It is thus essential to train professionals who can build and manage new physical and virtual patterns of service experience and interaction.

The complexity of conceiving, developing, and delivering a service requires innovation culture, creative thinking, and cultural exchange.

In order to strengthen the student's abilities, the Master program relies on an educational model that merges the acquisition of broad and multifaceted methodological knowledge and a learning-by-doing approach through:

• Multidisciplinary modules
• Experimental projects with real companies coordinated by international academics and professionals
• Service prototyping

The Specializing Master in Service Design trains specialists in the design of services for firms and public sector organizations.

The program’s overall objectives are to produce experts and consultants with a solid design culture, vision, and the ability to design, manage, and organize the conception and implementation of a service. It also aims to develop innovation and entrepreneurship.

At the conclusion of the program, the participants will be able to:

• Devise systemic innovation models for services.
• Deploy theoretical skills to operate with a complex system.
• Use specific service design tools and manage the redesign.
• Observe & Analyse user experience to construct a user-centered vision of complex interactions.
• Manage service conception, design, and development.
• Foster entrepreneurship.

Numerous employment opportunities are available to graduates from the Specializing Master in Service Design. Potential roles include:

• Service designer as a specialized consultant at a design agency.
• Service designer as a consultant or employee of public-sector organizations, research centers, enterprises, and authorities.
• Service designer as a consultant or employee of private-sector organizations, research centers, companies, and organizations.
• Service designer as a freelance or self-employed professional (start-up).

The Specializing Master program grants 60 CFU (Formative University Credits) equivalent to 60 ECTS.

The capability to manage complexity and act upon different design levels and the capacity for creativity and vision are the main features of a service design professional.

These skills will be acquired through a highly experimental approach based on learning modules divided into lectures and design activities - called Service Design Pills, Service Masterclasses, Service Design Workshops - each one led by a different faculty member and focusing on a different topic.

• Lectures: Theoretical lessons aimed at introducing the discipline, and methodological lessons devoted to the acquisition of processes, tools, and approaches.
• Service Design Pills: Targeted seminars that delve deeper into approaches and tools through the experimentation on a topic.
• Service Design Masterclasses: One-day lectures provided by an expert or a Service Design guru to investigate cutting-edge topics emerging in the world of Service Design.
• Service Design Workshops: Design labs, in collaboration with companies, dealing with a real briefing that is focused on user research, and the development of service ideas and prototyping.
• Internships: 475 hours of training experience in a partner company of the Specializing Master or other companies suggested by participants.

The Master's program includes a series of Foundation courses, during which additional content related to the general topics covered during the Specializing Master will be provided. The release of CFU/ETCS is not foreseen.

During this period, it will be possible to meet professors to carry out the selection interviews and to send your application to finalize the registration for the Specializing Master.

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Politecnico di Milano - QS Ranking 2023 in Art&Design category