Service Design For Systemic Change

Course

To deal competitively with the complexity of the production, economic and social models in which we act, companies, public administrations, as well as startups and individual professionals need an expansion of their design, organizational and executive skills.

In this rapidly changing scenario, also the Service Design approach is evolving thanks to the contribution of new trends of research and experimentation, integrating additional extra-disciplinary contributions that are useful in facing increasingly articulated design challenges.

The course therefore proposes an advanced view of the Service Design approach, process, and tools, thus supporting professionals and businesses to adopt a systemic approach that goes beyond the physical and digital singular experience, but includes speculative, strategic, and impact aspects in the design.

Didactics

Training objectives

This course provides training that updates the professional skills and tools of Service Design to meet today’s social, economic, and environmental challenges on both the small and large scale. Indeed, the role of the service designer is no longer intended to be limited to designing effective and desirable service experiences, but rather to strengthen its transformative role able to read, interpret and respond to current and future needs through solutions that consider all elements of the system and its impact on different scales.

Over the course, industry experts and qualified lecturers will address some of today’s most hotly debated issues in service design internationally, sharing approaches, methodologies and functional tools for systemic and speculative design, data-driven service definition, and impact measurement.

The course goal is to provide advanced service design skills for anyone who is already working in the fields of design, marketing, and management, anyone who connects to design issues from a human resources perspective, anyone involved in strategic consulting, and anyone who wants to strengthen their entrepreneurial skills.

Didactic Plan

The new course has an education plan integrating methodological skills with both core-subject and extra-discipline insights.

The online course will be structured in 5 modules of 6 hours each (for a total of 30 hours), 2 days per week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, over a period of 5 weeks. The online course could then be complemented by an (optional) in-presence design jam lasting 3 days (for a total of 17 hours), during which participants will be able to put into practice what they have learnt online through dedicated exercises.

The Design Jam will be held at Cascina Cuccagna, Via Privata Cuccagna, 2/4, Milano.

Didactic Modules

MODULE 1 – Service design landscape – May 7 and 10, 2025
The first module introduces participants to the role of Service Design in innovation and transformation processes, reflecting on the evolution of the discipline and its integration with extra-disciplinary approaches.

MODULE 2 – Systemic Design and critical tool design – May 14 and 17, 2025
The second module focuses on the connection between Service Design and system design in order to provide theoretical and design tools capable of analysing and designing complex service systems.

MODULE 3 – Speculative design approaches – May 21 and 24, 2025
The third module explores speculative design approaches useful for the interpretation and development of future scenarios, as well as for anticipating the needs and behaviours that characterise constantly evolving contexts and experiences.

MODULE 4 – Data-driven service experiences – 4 and June 7, 2025
The fourth module explores the design of the digital component of service experiences, focusing in particular on data-driven service models and the interpretation of the same through the application of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

MODULE 5 – Sustainable services & impact assessment – June 11 and 14, 2025
The fifth module explores the theme of sustainability – social, environmental and economic – as a key aspect in the design of service systems and the assessment of the related impacts in the short, medium and long term.

It will be possible to further explore the course topics listed above during an three-day design experience, which will be held in person over a weekend.

DESIGN JAM – Applied service design for systemic change – June 19, 20 and 21, 2025
This module has been designed as an immersive experience aimed at experimenting the systemic and transformative Service Design approach in a practical way, through the application of the contents discussed in the previous modules to a real case.

• Day 1 (3h) Exercise launch and scenario building
• Day 2 (7h) Service system design
• Day 3 (7h) Impact framework and final presentations

The design jam will take place in a suggestive location to experience three immersive days that have an experiential value in addition to the educational one.

Title Released

At the end of the Course, an open badge will be issued to the Course in “Service Design For Systemic Change” by POLI.design.

Admission

Requirements

This course is intended for candidates with a high school diploma or degree in Design, Architecture or Engineering, as well as in non-polytechnic disciplines such as Economics, Communication Sciences or Social Sciences for which polytechnic disciplines can offer a significant contribution to previous professional training.

The training offered by this course is aimed at graduates and professionals interested in acquiring specific skills in the field of Service Design. The maximum number of participants is 30.

To access the selection phase, please fill out the application form at the following link

There are no pre-requisites for application

Deadline for the application: April 22, 2025.

Price

Participation in the “Service Design for Systemic Change” course costs € 2.500,00 + VAT.
The course includes both the first part online and the in-person jam event.

It is possible to purchase the online course separately for a cost of € 1.550,00 + VAT.

It is not possible to pay for the Jam alone.

PROMO

EARLY BIRD -10%
The promotion for those who have clear ideas, know which educational path can enrich their future, and can’t wait to get back to the classroom.

Application deadline: March 18, 2025.
Deadline for sending the signed contract and the payment of the participation fee: no later than March 21, 2025.

BACK TO SCHOOL: -30%
The discount for those who have already trusted POLI.design and Polimi, and wish to return to study and build their future.

FAMILY SUPPORT: -50%
A chance to gift your siblings the encouragement they need to invest in their future.

POLI.NETWORK: -50%
A promotion designed to strengthen the bond and identity among members of the Politecnico di Milano community.

FRIEND TO FRIEND: -20%
An opportunity to gift to a friend to make education the foundation of their growth.

MORE THAN ONE: -15%
A discount for those who want to perfect their skills, for those who continually invest in education, not just once but multiple times. Thus:

• For those who purchase two Courses, the discount is equal to 15% on the participation fee of the least expensive educational path
• For those who purchase three Courses, the discount is equal to 15% on the participation fee of the two least expensive educational paths

BUSINESS BOOST
The discount designed for companies that recognize training as a crucial factor for growth.

The “Business Boost” discount provides a variable reduction on the participation fee for two or more employees in catalog courses. Specifically, the discount amounts to:

• 15% on the participation fee for the second employee’s enrollment
• 20% on the participation fee for the third employee’s enrollment
• 25% on the participation fee for the fourth employee’s enrollment

Companies wishing to enrol at least 5 employees in one or more courses of the Service Design and Innovation Cluster will have access to a customized offer.

n. 2 partial exemptions of 50% to be applied on the participation fee for the first two candidates who apply for the course and make payment by January 24th, 2025.

Reduction of 15% to be applied on the participation fee for Architecta members in 2020, 2021 and 2022 and 2023, provided they self-certify that they are architect members and the year since they have been members.

Faculty