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The award How you will study Study duration Course start Domestic course fees International course fees
MDesFull-time, Part-time1 - 3 yearSeptemberHKD 240120 totalHKD 240120 total

About Smart Service Design, MDes - at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design (PolyU Design)

The Master of Design (Smart Service Design) (SSD) is an interdisciplinary specialism focusing on designing at the intersection of business, technology, and human ingenuity to create meaningful service interventions for broader societal and business challenges. This specialism expands the scope of design beyond the current commercialised and compartmentalised professional practices by orienting it towards the ‘socio-technical dimension of design’, taking a critical, systemic and human-centred perspective within the context of service design.

The specialism is designed to nurture and develop students’ theoretical and practical knowledge of service design. SSD fosters the extension of students’ abilities through a deep understanding of the technological, commercial, societal and organisational contexts of service design, and demonstrates the transformation of design opportunities into new and sustainable service experiences.

The aims of this specialism are:

  • to deepen the understanding of end-to-end service journeys and design service ecosystems across multiple services;
  • to identify how the centrality of users’ needs and the interests of different groups of stakeholders in the human-centred design process are complemented in businesses and organisations in the broader service industry, and apply the same in practice;
  • to develop and apply service design to a range of business, societal and environmental challenges through studios, collaboration with stakeholders, partners and experts across multiple disciplines, and to use service design at a strategic, operational and systems level; and
  • to accelerate new service design practices and systems thinking methods to advance students’ development of the skill sets and practices required for service innovation.

Learn more about Smart Service Design, MDes - at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design (PolyU Design)

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Notes about fees for this course

The programme tuition fees (1 year, 3 trimesters) for local and non-local students for the academic year 2024-2025 are HK$223,200.

Entry requirements

A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in design, business, humanities or a technological field is required. Candidates with other tertiary qualifications complemented with substantial relevant professional experience will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

If you are not a native speaker of English, and your Bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification is awarded by institutions where the medium of instruction is not English, you are expected to provide one of the following proficiency test results (taken within 2 years) for fulfil the minimum English language requirement for admission purpose:

  • A score of 80 or above in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Internet-based test; or
  • An Overall Band score of 6.0 or above in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module.

Student reviews of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design (PolyU Design)

Find out what students say about The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design (PolyU Design)

Linyi Liu - Intelligent Systems Design (2023)

As an ISD student, my journey has been filled with passion and exploration. I have always been curious about how to organically combine design and STEM. After experiencing ISD, I firmly believe it holds the key to this question, leading to a transformative shift in my perspective.

ISD opens up boundless possibilities in systemic design innovations. I not only acquired cutting-edge theory of intelligent technologies but also had opportunities to get hands-on with robotic arms, turning my ideas into tangible creations. The most significant transformation came when facing "wicked" real-world challenges. Through ISD's teachings, I honed my ability to approach these challenges from a systemic innovation perspective. This newfound confidence enables me to analyse problems holistically and identify fundamental solutions.

Additionally, ISD provided invaluable opportunities for collaboration with industry partners, from automotive companies to financial institutions. Working with them gave me practical skills and deepened my understanding of the transformative potential of intelligent systems in various sectors.

In conclusion, my ISD experience has been enriching. I wholeheartedly recommend ISD to aspiring students seeking to explore the unknown and change the future world. Its interdisciplinary approach, perspective transformation, and industry collaborations make it a cherished, authentic journey of professional growth.

Xinyu Wang - Innovative Business Design (2023)

The IBD programme incubates students' interdisciplinary understanding of principles in design, business and technology. Students will develop their ability to explore opportunities in businesses and industries with an emphasis on using design as a tool to facilitate whatever challenges that may arise. The focus of the curriculum leans to promote holistic comprehension of the project development process instead of having students merely work on a design, denoting that we care very much about the why behind a design, what opportunities it will bring, and how it addresses issues/ problems.

Our fellow students are excellent professionals from different design and educational backgrounds prior to the entrance to IBD. Working closely with one another certainly strengthens our field of expertise and expands our knowledge and vision through cross-disciplinary team collaboration.

Industry-sponsored project opportunities as a privilege are guaranteed and allow students to foster their professionalism from a practical perspective rather than as a student.

Lastly, I strongly recommend you join this programme if you want to progress into different or more advanced roles in your career or intend to create your own business.

Other courses at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design (PolyU Design)

There are 4 other courses listed from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design (PolyU Design). A selection of these are displayed below:

Innovative Business Design MDes

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design (PolyU Design)

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Intelligent Systems Design MDes

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design (PolyU Design)

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Smart Service Design MDes

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design (PolyU Design)

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Transitional Environments Design MDes

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design (PolyU Design)

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View all 4 courses at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design (PolyU Design)

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