POLI.design Scrl T.

+39 02 2399 586 4

Education via Don Giovanni Verità, 25
20158 — Milano , IT
F. +39 02 2399 5970
www.polidesign.net

The first specializing master in

SERVICE DESIGN
at Politecnico di Milano

XII EDITION • 2025/2026

Services are
the heart of
contemporary
society
The last few years have challenged the world as
never before, making us touch with our own hands
what we previously had the chance to experience
only through sci-fi movies; and disrupting, all of
a sudden, our values, our habits, our vision of
the future. But such turmoil has also proved that
rapid, and sometimes even radical, innovation is
possible, for both individuals and organizations.
New standards of service are quickly taking over,
paying attention to serious global-level problems,
with more and more emphasis put on impacts they
could generate on the planet in the long term.

In the wake of the acknowledgment received in

the last decade, service design is going to be
confirmed as the crucial discipline of our times,
thanks to an approach that has improved and
evolved following the challenges and the needs
of the economy and the society.
From design thinking to critical design, from a
systemic to an ecosystemic perspective, from
a human-centered point of view to behavioral
transformation, a new service design era is arising,
exploring new complexities and embedding into
theory and practice further cross-disciplinary
contaminations.

Established in 2013 in response to the growing

demand for professionals capable of handling the
complexity of services, the Specializing Master
in Service Design by POLI.design - Politecnico di
Milano is maintaining the pace with the evolution
of the discipline.
Following the changes that invest in business
and the society, the Master programme, since
its birth, is endowed with the mission of training
professionals in the fascinating process of
conceiving, developing, and delivering a service,
fostering at the same time innovation culture,
creative thinking, and cultural exchange.
MANAGING AND
INTERPRETING DATA FROM
BOTH QUANTITATIVE
AND QUALITATIVE
PERSPECTIVES TO INFORM
SERVICE CONCEPTS
THE SPECIALIZING
MASTER IN SERVICE DESIGN
POLI.design, founded by Politecnico di Milano, devotes a specialized upper-
level training programme to Service Design.

The Specializing Master delivers an English teaching programme on service

design employing a practical and learning-by-doing approach, based on
modules that underline the design discipline, and on applied and cutting-
edge contents. Students will acquire the fundamental competencies
to understand people’s needs and behaviors, interpret changes within
contemporary society, and design effective and efficient solutions, processes,
and experiences. The Master is supported by outstanding partners belonging
both to the public and the private sector.

The Specializing Master in Service Design is an international training

programme focused on people-centred and planet-centred approaches,
and the development of service ideas from contextual research to
prototyping. Thanks to a proven and sound methodology that mixes
theoretical knowledge with hands-on experiences that are renovated every
year, and that are enriched by always new lectures on topics at the forefront,
each Master edition awards a new generation of designers that soon go
feeding the ranks of renown design agencies, consultancies, companies, as
well as public organizations and research centers.

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 programme 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;

• User research, concept generation & development, service prototyping.

CANDIDATES / OBJECTIVES
A maximum of 35 places are available for
each edition of the Specializing Master in
Service Design. The Specializing Master invites
applications from candidates with a degree,
master’s degree, or university-level diploma in
design, architecture or engineering, marketing
or human sciences. Candidates may also be
specialized in non-polytechnic disciplines for
whom polytechnic skills can significantly enhance
their prior professional training.

The objectives of the Specializing Master are:

• to provide the specific training required to

refine the design skills of students who have
already acquired experience in the design
field;

• to enhance the basic skills of students with a

background in other disciplines by furnishing
them with theoretical knowledge and practical
experience in service design;

• to furnish the means necessary to enhance

the professional experience of students
already in employment.

COLLABORATE EFFECTIVELY, TACKLE COMPLEX ISSUES,

AND RESOLVE CONFLICTS
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS / OUTCOMES
The Specializing Master in Service Design trains specialists in the design of
services for firms and public sector organizations.
The programme’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.

On conclusion of the programme, the participants will be able to:

• devise systemic innovation models for services;

• deploy theoretical skills to operate with complex system;

• use specific service design tools and manage redesign;

• observe and analyse user experience to construct a user-centred 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 centres, enterprises and authorities;

• service designer as a consultant or employee of private-sector

organizations, research centres, companies and organizations;

• service designer as a freelance or self-employed professional.

COURSE PROGRAMME
AND TEACHING METHOD
The Specializing Master in Service Design The Master is now starting its XII edition with a
programme grants 60 CFU (Formative University consolidated programme that includes more
Credits) equivalent to 60 ECTS. than thirty didactic modules, clustered into the
following thematic areas:
The capability to manage complexity and act
upon different design levels, and the capacity for • Service Design Basics & Tools
creativity and vision are the main features of a
service design professional. • Emerging Service Culture

These skills will be acquired through a highly • Service Business & Management
experimental approach based on learning
modules divided into lectures and design • Future Studies, Systems Thinking &
activities – called Service Design Pills, Service Sustainable Design
Design Masterclasses, Service Design Workshops
– each one led by a different faculty member and • Human-Centered Innovation &
focusing on a different topic. Participatory Futures

• Emerging Technologies & Digital Services

MASTER TIMELINE

JANUARY JUNE
2025 2025

Didactic activities

MASTER Theory classes END OF In

LAUNCH & Design learning CLASSES
The didactic path is composed by different kinds • SERVICE DESIGN MASTERCLASSES
of didactic modules: Advanced lectures provided by renown
experts on cutting-edge topics emerging in
• LECTURES the service design community;
Theoretical lessons aimed at providing the
disciplinary background and introducing
extra-disciplinary knowledge; And the FIELD EXPERIENCE, which can be:

• SERVICE DESIGN PILLS • CURRICULAR INTERNSHIP: 475 hours of

Short design sessions aimed at putting into training experience in a partner company or
practice methods and tools on a simulated other companies suggested by participants; or
design challenge;
• PROFESSIONALIZING PROJECT: a scientific
• SERVICE DESIGN WORKSHOPS research activity that involves the in-depth
Biweekly design labs that cover all the phases study of issues shared between the Student
of the service design process, from research to and the Master Board.
prototyping, experimenting on a real brief
proposed by a partner company;

DECEMBER FEBRUARY
2025 2026

Field experience Road to graduation

nternship/Professionalizing project END OF FINAL

& Graduation project INTERNSHIPS EXAM
VISUALIZE RELATIONSHIPS,
COMPLEX JOURNEYS,
INTERACTIONS, AND THE
PHYSICAL COMPONENTS
OF SERVICES
ATTENDANCE / LANGUAGE
Master attendance is compulsory for at least
75% of the hours scheduled. Lessons start at
10:00 AM and finish at 5:00 PM (Italian time), and
usually take place from Monday to Friday. Classes
are held in POLI.design’s facilities, within the
Politecnico di Milano Design Campus.

ASSESSMENT / DEGREE
During the Specializing Master, members of
the teaching faculty will assess each student’s
progress by means of exercises, project revisions
and presentations. Moreover, each student will
take an individual final examination consisting
of the discussion of the Graduation Project.
The purpose of the examination is to assess the
analytical, theoretical, and practical skills acquired
by the student throughout the programme. Upon
conclusion of the Specializing Master, students
who have passed the final examination will receive
a First-Level Specializing Master’s Degree in
Service Design awarded by Politecnico di Milano.
SELECTION
AND ADMISSION
Selection is based on assessment of the candidate’s skills, aptitude,
and experience, as well as his/her goals and expectations toward the
programme.
The assessment is made by the Master Board on the basis of the candidate’s:

• academic records;
• professional curriculum;
• online interview.

Significant professional experience is also considered as a criterion for

admission.
With regard to aptitude, the programme prioritizes highly-motivated
candidates with creative and relational skills, curiosity, critical awareness,
and a pragmatic mentality.
Conditional admission to the programme may be granted to:

• students enrolled at Italian universities whose final degree examination

is scheduled for a date subsequent to the beginning of the Specializing
Master;
• students with foreign degrees whose validation is not yet complete.

Admission to the Specializing Master may also be granted to students

possessing Italian university diplomas or three-year degrees (awarded
under the previous university regulations) or qualifications acquired in foreign
countries, provided that they are accredited, submitted in the original format,
translated, and certified by the Italian consular authorities in the country in
which they have been awarded, and accompanied by a declaration of legal
validity.

For more information about the selection process, please write to

[email protected]
DOCUMENTATION DEADLINES
The following documents must be submitted online To take part to the selection process, the
by applicants: application form must be completed online within
the following deadlines:
• application form completed in all its parts;
• updated CV; • for EU Citizens with a qualification obtained in
• motivation letter; Italy or abroad: 27/11/2024;
• letter of reference (optional); • for non-EU Citizens with a qualification
• portfolio (optional); obtained in Italy: 27/11/2024;
• copy of the passport, demonstrating • for non-EU Citizens with a qualification
citizenship; obtained abroad: 27/10/2024.
• scan copy of the original University Degree
achieved and related translation in Italian/
English/French or Spanish; FINANCIAL AID
• scan copy of the official University transcripts
and related translation in Italian/English/ Under the terms of regulation, POLI.design scrl
French or Spanish or the Diploma Supplement. grants n. 4 (four) partial exemptions of 25%
to candidates being less than 35 of age and
In case a candidate will pass the selection, applying for the First-Level Specializing Master in
for the enrolment he/she will have to deliver Service Design, 2025-26.
the Declaration of Value from the local Italian
Diplomatic authorities, or an Official document To request one of the partial exemptions,
issued by ENIC/NARIC centres. candidates must submit the application to the
Specializing Master within the deadlines set by the
present regulations and submit a formal written
request for a partial exemption to the following
address: [email protected] no later than
COST 07/07/2024 – 11:59 PM (GMT +1 - Italian time zone).

The Specializing Master costs 15.500 €, including More info at: https://www.polidesign.net/en/
the fee for enrolment at the Politecnico di Milano. formazione/business-design/master--service-
It is exempt from VAT under article 10 DPR 633/72. design-2/
FACULTY
The Specializing Master is taught by an outstanding Italian and international
Faculty, belonging to Italian and foreign universities, but also drawing on
the expertise of design professionals and entrepreneurs working in Italy and
abroad. It is supervised by an Advisory Board whose members represent
Italian and international excellence in service design and innovation.

MASTER BOARD
Politecnico di Milano - Dipartimento di Design - Scuola del Design - POLI.design

Stefano Maffei Beatrice Villari Bryan Sabin

DIRECTOR CO-DIRECTOR DIDACTIC COORDINATOR

Raffaela Scognamiglio Beatrice Ferrari

EXTERNAL RELATIONS MANAGER TUTOR
TEACHING FACULTY Lauren Kelly
BEHAVIOURAL DESIGNER & FOUNDER AT BEHAVIOURSTUDIO

Marzia Aricò Eva Knutz

ENTREPRENEUR, DESIGN LEADER ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN DENMARK

Ottla Arrigoni Ezio Manzini

SERVICE DESIGNER AT FUTUREGOV INTERNATIONAL DESIGN THEORIST & PROFESSOR AT POLITECNICO DI MILANO

Valentina Auricchio Thomas Markussen

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT POLITECNICO DI MILANO ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN DENMARK

Pier Paolo Bardoni Elena Messina

CEO & FOUNDER OF THINGS UX RESEARCHER & MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGIST AT EXPERIENTIA

Yulya Besplemennova Payton Meyer

SERVICE & SYSTEM DESIGNER AT OBLO SENIOR INTERACTION DESIGNER AT GOOGLE SEARCH

Sine Celik Chiara Monteleone

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT EXPERIENCE DESIGN LEAD & RESEARCHER

Silvio Cioni Luca Morena

GENERAL MANAGER MILAN AT SKETCHIN CEO & CO-FOUNDER OF NEXTATLAS

Paolo Ciuccarelli Erwan Mouazan

PROFESSOR OF DESIGN AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY FOUNDER OF ECOVALA

Marta Corubolo Elena Novati

ADJUNCT PROFESSOR AT POLITECNICO DI MILANO UX RESEARCHER AT DOCTOLIB

Andrea Cuman Giulio Quaggiotto

PARTNER & DIGITAL COMMUNICATION MANAGER AT STUDIOLABO HEAD STRATEGIC INNOVATION UNIT AT UNDP

Ralitsa Diana Debrah Lucio Pascarelli

DESIGN EDUCATOR & EDTECH PRACTITIONER AI & METAVERSE CONSULTANT

Claudio Dell’Era Lara Penin

FULL PROFESSOR AT POLITECNICO DI MILANO ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN

Ilaria Durante Gabriella Piccolo

PH.D. CANDIDATE & RESEARCHER AT POLITECNICO DI MILANO SERVICE DESIGNER AT PLANET SMART CITY

Alessandra Facchin Daniele Radici

Ph.D. STUDENT AT POLITECNICO DI MILANO FREELANCE INNOVATION & STRATEGY ADVISOR

Marco Fogaccia Alessandro Redondi

BRAND DESIGNER ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT POLITECNICO DI MILANO

Francesca Foglieni Tobias Revell

ADJUNCT PROFESSOR AT POLITECNICO DI MILANO DESIGN FUTURES LEAD AT ARUP FORESIGHT

Marc Fortuny Elena Silvestrini

PROJECT LEADER AT NTT DATA STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER AT DESIGN JUSTICE NETWORK

Peter Gall Krogh Roberta Tassi

PROFESSOR AT AARHUS UNIVERSITY SERVICE DESIGNER & FOUNDER AT OBLO & SERVICE DESIGN TOOLS

Heidi Gargareta Enrico Tedoldi

SERVICE & UX DESIGNER AT TANGITY ASSOCIATE DESIGN DIRECTOR AT SKETCHIN

Antonio Grillo Laura Trivilino

SERVICE DESIGN & UX DIRECTOR AT TANGITY FREELANCE SERVICE DESIGN & TRANSFORMATION ADVISOR

Sara Innocenti Stefaan Verhulst

ANTHROPOLOGIST, UX RESEARCHER & STORY DESIGNER AT EXPERIENTIA CO-FOUNDER OF THE GOVERNANCE LABORATORY AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

Anab Jain Josina Vink

CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR AT SUPERFLUX ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT INSTITUTE OF DESIGN

Indy Johar
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT DARK MATTER LABS
FACTS & FIGURES
The Specializing Master prides itself on its commitment to internationality
and wide range of industry partnerships. Its students come from diverse
backgrounds and bring a range of perspectives to the programme. The
Specializing Master serves as a stepping stone for many students, allowing
them to choose between a variety of sectos following the completion of the
Master’s programme.

STUDENTS’ GEOGRAPHIES
The Master’s student population is distributed in 39 countries on 4 different
continents. Italy is the main base area.
The geographical distribution shows a fairly homogeneous balance of
international origins between Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

figure based on the United Nations geoscheme’s subregional division

ALUMNI OCCUPATION

97.6% Within one year of completing the Specializing

Master, 97.6% of our alumni become employed.
occupation rate
within 1 year of
graduating This underlines the market’s ability to absorb
service designers early in their career or recent
graduates, offering them good opportunities for
professional growth.

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The Master’s alumni work across more than 20 Marketplac

e
~56%
different industries, ranging from healthcare to Works in a Consulting
Hi-Tech consultancy
real estate, demonstrating the broad reach of
t
service design in organizations and its diverse Ente
rtain
men

applications. Ba
nk
ing

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io Co
at ns
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g
are
hc
alt
He

Other

The figure
those who

32.8%
Of internships we The curricular internships for Master’s students
provide switch come through an international network of partners
into a job who have either adopted service design practices
contract or are interested in developing such skills.

Roughly 1/3 of the curricular internships

convert to employment contracts, effectively
guaranteeing an almost direct continuity
between training and the job.
ALUMNI SAY...

Chiara Casadei from Italy holistic view and formal understanding of service
BACKGROUND IN PRODUCT DESIGN design principles and methods while enhancing
my creative problem-solving skills and level of
I decided to attend the Master in Service Design critical reflection in business, design, and life in
founded by POLI.design for several reasons. First general. The structure fosters a deep, collaborative
of all I was fascinated and curious to find out approach to active learning, underpinned by
what Service Design really was. I was coming from integrated subject matter, each project building
a Product Design background, and I was really upon the existing knowledge and concepts of
interested in understanding the wider picture that the previous one. I’ve particularly benefited from
surrounds the single product, the single touch high caliber lecturers from various disciplines with
point. Secondly, I wanted to enter a reality that contrasting styles and points of view, reflective of
would have given me the opportunity to get in true work situations. As paradigms shift, I always
touch with the work world, the “real world” outside seek new ways to engage clients in the cultural
the university walls. I needed something in a way transitions that help them enact relevant change
more practical and stimulating, such as designing and deliver on the needs of both the consumer
for real “clients”. My expectations were fully met. and the business. Having the skill-set of a service
This master gave me the possibility to not only designer helps me do so by transforming both user
attend classes and practical courses held by the and stakeholder relationships and experiences for
most influential figures in the Service Design world, the better.
but also to attend workshops with real partners,
trying to approach real challenges, working with Adriana Matiz from Colombia
designers coming from all over the world. This BACKGROUND IN INT. RELATIONS, INNOVATION CONSULTING
has been very challenging but also incredibly
satisfying. Nevertheless I have to admit that the I first discovered service design while trying to
best part of all the experience was definitely the figure out why people wouldn’t use the digital
internship. The Master in Service Design offers a marketplace I was working on. Once I realized
great chance to spend some time working for real the depth and power of the service design tools
firms, finally being part of a project team and for creating and adding value to the user’s
address real problems. This has been an amazing experiences, I quickly fell in love with the possibility
opportunity, and I can only say that both the of understanding better how service systems work
theoretical part and the internship satisfied me in and how we can improve them to deliver a better
a total way. experience. Once I decided that this was the
path I wanted to follow I encounter the Master in
Christina Sadek from Canada Service Design at POLI.design, which caught my
BACKGROUND IN MARKETING, INNOVATION, AND TELECOM attention because of the way the programme was
structured with enough flexibility to let me explore
As a design thinker, innovation management my own interests and a practical approach to the
practitioner, and seasoned marketing professional learning process. The experience has been worthy,
I’m passionate about bringing to market I have seen myself grow by learning not only the
meaningful products, services, and experiences. theoretical and methodological aspects of service
With this aim in mind, I’m extremely happy with my design, but also the way in which a team of service
decision of pursuing the Master in Service Design designers can approach issues and provide
at POLI.design. The course has provided me with a solutions in a quick and practical way.
XI EDITION PARTNERSHIPS
MAIN PARTNER PREMIUM PARTNER PREMIUM PARTNER PARTNER

PAST EDITIONS PARTNERSHIPS

SOCIALS / WEBSITE
Apply online on: polidesign.net/en/servicedesign

Download the 10-years report: Nurturing Service Designers

Ask for more info: [email protected]

Follow us on:

@masterservicedesign

@Master Service Design - Politecnico di Milano

POLI.design CONTACTS
POLI.design
Politecnico di Milano / Campus Bovisa
Via Don Giovanni Verità, 25
20158 — Milano

T. 02 2399 7206

[email protected]
www.polidesign.net/en/formazione/business-design/master--service-design-2/