Degree programme in service innovation and design

The next application period: Spring 2012

Download the Curriculum (PDF)

Download the article on SID programme in Touchpoint 3#3 (PDF)

Touchpoint 3#3 "From Sketchbook to Spreadsheet"

Creating Service Innovation & Design Competences

Laurea offers a cutting edge degree programme in Service Innovation and Design - an ideal vehicle to create distinctive competences. This Master of Business Administration programme is a 1.5 - 2.5-years, 90 ects credits professional program, which trains students from diverse backgrounds to become practicing service developers. It is offered in English. The requirement for Master's studies in Finnish universities of applied sciences is a Bachelor's level degree and at least three years of work experience after the Bachelor's degree. The Master's studies can be completed alongside a full-time job.

The aim of the programme is to provide students with multidisciplinary knowledge in service innovation and design through advanced studies of different service theories and their implications for service innovation and design practice. The programme brings students to the forefront of recent development in the service innovation and design field by including supervised development training. Another important objective is to improve students' competences in combining academic rigour with managerial relevance when working on independent projects. Compulsory study modules are:

Business and Management Competences in Service Innovations (15 ects credits)
Value Creating Competences (15 ects credits)
User-centric Service Design Competences (15 ects credits)
Thesis: a service development project (30 ects)

A central theme of the studies is that services (both commercial B-to-C and B-to-B as well as non- profit) possess a set of unique characteristics that require a distinctive approach to strategy, innovation and design. In the beginning of the studies students acquire competences related to deeply understanding the customers/users, their unmet needs, their behaviours in their natural environment. Then methodologies of futures studies as well as various service design tools and methods are learned. They are all preceding competences which form the basis for going deeply into the new service development process. Also branding, commercializing and selling competences are developed.

The elective study units (15 ects credits) enable students to pursue their specific interests, as well as overcome deficiencies in their design preparation. With faculty advice, these study units may also be selected from the other Master's programmes at Laurea or provided by international partner universities. With the university partners different kind of shared intensive courses, research and development projects and conferences will also be arranged. The program of study culminates in a thesis project.

Studying at Laurea

Laurea University of Applied Sciences operates in the Helsinki metropolitan area, one of the most competitive regions in the world. Laurea is one of the largest Universities of Applied Sciences in Finland with 8000 students on seven campuses. The degree programme of Service Innovation and Design is offered on Laurea's campus in Leppävaara, Espoo. Next to the capital Helsinki and most international companies in Finland - many of them information intensive service businesses - the city of Espoo is a modern, fast developing centre of business. The immediate vicinity of Laurea Leppävaara has recently undergone a remarkable change and still is. Leppävaara is being designed to become a significant cultural, commercial and welfare centre, self-sufficient in terms of services, entertainment and shopping. All this is in favour of Laurea Leppävaara, in terms of potential to effectively and proactively sense and reflect the changes in surrounding environment.

The Service Innovation and Design programme is conducted using the Learning by Developing (LbD) model developed and adopted by Laurea itself. Learning by Developing is a pedagogical innovation that the Finnish National Evaluation Council based their decision on when Laurea was appointed as a Centre of Excellence in Education. The LbD-model is based on involving students in diverse and demanding research and development projects, carried out by Laurea in cooperation with companies and other organisations. Under the guidance of lecturers and experts from business, students receive genuine, research-oriented and multidisciplinary learning, which is completely different from memorising facts by heart for exams. Business fields' developing needs and problem situations are the starting point for all learning. Through the development projects, students have the possibility to acquire the latest expertise in their field. Laurea's multicultural environment includes students from many countries. Different cultures and work methods enrich teamwork and learning.

Applying to study at Laurea

More information on the contents of the programme:
Katri Ojasalo, PhD, Head of SID-programme
katri.ojasalo [at] laurea.fi

More information on the application process:
Laurea Admissions Office
Tel. +358 (0) 9 8868 7293
admissions [at] laurea.fi