University of Cyprus

MA in Design for Social Innovation

The MA in Design for Social Innovation program is designed for students with a Bachelor's level of education, who have a strong interest in developing high-level competencies rooted in social science and design theory and practice to build, improve, and evolve skills and capacities necessary for social innovation action. The departments involved share an ethos of interdisciplinarity in design and innovation and strive to build links between academia and practice bringing to the forefront impactful and evidence-based theoretical and methodological knowledge.

The course suits well both recent graduates and professionals.

Term 1: Fall Term (September-December) Courses

DSI511 – Introduction to Social Innovation (7.5 ECTS)

This course aims to introduce students to Social Innovation and the dynamic processes underlying transformative social change. The course is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted concept of Social Innovation, exploring its roots, principles, methodologies, and diverse applications across various sectors. Students will gain knowledge of strategies for change that include the innovative activities of social and political entrepreneurs, activists, organizations, and social movements.

DSI512 – Collaborative Design (8 ECTS)

This course aims to expose students to methods of collaborative design in the fields of design, architecture, urban design, and urban planning fields, through the combination of both active and reflective learning about collaborative practices and methods. The course is designed to provide students with the theoretical framework, experience, tools, and methods needed to improve design processes in a collaborative, transdisciplinary manner.

DSI513 – Social Inclusion and Design (7.5 ECTS)

The purpose of this course is to introduce basic concepts related to social inclusion and provide practical application of this knowledge so that students develop the ability to create products and solutions that take social inclusion into account. Topics covered include basic concepts of social inclusion and inclusive design, the value of inclusive design, user capabilities and product interaction, main phases of inclusive concept design, inclusive design practices, and tools, auditing inclusive/exclusive design examples, and documentation of social inclusion in design. Reference will be made to Sustainable Development Goals that relate to social inclusion -SDG 4, 8, 9, 11, and 16- and the implications of social exclusion, as well as how issues of social inclusion, and specifically issues of gender, affect communities and society. The main task is the project work, which is carried out in small groups and will be connected to ongoing needs and challenges linked with SDGs.

DSI514 – Research by Design (8 ECTS)

The course offers an overview of design research methods. Through specific examples, it allows students to think of creative ways to conduct and (re)present their own research, encouraging them to invent their own personal approach. The course attempts to combine theory with practice and to show how architectural design thinking — as a combination of written and design language — can become a research method leading to the production of new or the expansion of existing knowledge. The widely understood architectural creative practice is perceived as a way of questioning and critique, rather than as a response to given problems.

Term 2: Spring Term (January-June) modules

DSI521 – Ethnography for Designing Social Innovation (7.5 ECTS)

If you have ever thought ‘This is too theoretical for me’ or ‘This theory doesn’t have a practical application’ while taking a course, during these 16 weeks you will be offered a learning opportunity to think creatively and critically about how various theories and methods have been applied by others and how you can adopt and adapt these to suit your practical needs through ethnographic reflection and observation. Moreover, you will get into the habit of being reflective of your own practices to improve your confidence and ability to shift between a reflective mode and rational problem-solving. This course will help you apply ethnographic methodologies and theories of design to a broader set of problems in business and society by looking into concepts such as creativity, critical thinking, lateral thinking, divergent thinking, user-centered design, design thinking, framing, and others. You will engage individually and in groups in a variety of activities that include writing, creating, peer-reviewing, and applying methods in the field.

DSI522 – Sustainable Design Futures (8 ECTS)

Students will learn how to approach the formulation of strategic plans for interventions at the neighborhood scale following themes introduced during lectures and seminars.
Subjects in this course will vary according to emerging students’ needs or requests and the faculty’s educational and research interests.

DSI523 – Social Entrepreneurship (8 ECTS)

The course provides the theoretical and practical framework for the study and analysis of social entrepreneurship and innovation. Topics covered include business plans, business modeling, funding sources, intellectual property protection, innovation process, and management. Entrepreneurship refers to the process of identification, assessment, and development of opportunities, regardless of the resources that we have available to us.

DSI524 – Experimental Design (7.5 ECTS)

This module concerns critical and experimental design practices that are largely research-driven, speculative, and non-solutionist. It zeroes in on a broad array of topics ranging from design as material exploration, post-optimal electronic instruments, design fiction, post-digital objecthood, ludic design, science fiction, “data-things”, design as political critique, and others. These are scrutinised with respect to physical objects, software, electronic appliances, speculative fabulation, crafts, contemporary techno-scientific culture, and social activities. Students will review the history and theory behind a broad array of experimental design practices, will analyze and discuss a number of case studies, and, much more importantly, will actively design and selectively produce themselves (individually and in small workgroups) a number of physical, digital, fictional, or hybrid artifacts.

Summer Term: Offered Every Summer

• DSI531 – Summer School Cyprus [Elective] (4 ECTS)

Optional Summer School in Cyprus paired with MGA Diploma Project.

Term 3: Offered Every Term

DSI532 – Diploma Project [summer school prerequisite] (24 ECTS)

This course is a final milestone for the MA in Design for Social Innovation. It’s an elective course as students can choose the alternative final milestone route is the Master’s Thesis. This course has as a prerequisite attendance and completion of a Summer School in Cyprus during the summer prior to taking this course. The difference is that the Master’s Thesis is a more theoretical approach to research in relation to Design for Social Innovation while the Summer School and Diploma Project takes a more practical approach. Both routes meet and align with the overall program requirements albeit having a different emphasis on the balance between research and practice.

DSI533 – Master’s Thesis (28 ECTS)

This course is a final milestone for the MA in Design for Social Innovation. It’s an elective course and students can choose the alternative final milestone route that consists of the Summer School and Diploma Project. The difference is that the Master’s Thesis is a more theoretical approach to research in relation to Design for Social Innovation while the Summer School and Diploma Project takes a more practical approach. Both routes meet and align with the overall program requirements albeit having a different emphasis on the balance between research and practice.

MA Design for Social Innovation graduates will be able to

• Frame design and social innovation in the broad picture of the networked societies and the European Digital Agenda, making the social, cultural, and ethical implications of social innovation tangible, and therefore debatable
• Build conscious reflective and reflexive practices that frame individual worldviews and approaches to research and design
• Apply high-quality criteria for academic social innovation design research and consider their practical applications within society
• Develop research questions, approaches, and methods for understanding, analyzing, and communicating design and design outcomes as socially innovative activities
• Critically evaluate the difference between models, theories, and practices of design while engaging with practice-based social innovation projects
• Develop digital artifacts and know how to explore the aesthetic and functional potential of design as social innovation through research and experimentation

Available Full & Part-time

Flexible full-time or part-time study modes provide students with the ability to tailor their education to their individual needs and schedules. This allows them to balance their studies with other commitments, such as work or family responsibilities, and to pursue their education at a pace that is comfortable for them.

Designed to Run Online

Distance learning allows students to access educational opportunities from anywhere in the world, providing them with the flexibility to balance their studies with other commitments, such as work or family responsibilities.