Curriculum for the Master's Programme in Service Systems Design, 2023

1: Preface

Pursuant to consolidation Act 778 of August 7, 2019 on Universities (the University Act), the following is established. The programme also follows the Joint Programme Regulations and the Examination Policies and Procedures for Aalborg University.

2: Basis in Ministerial orders

The Master’s programme is organised in accordance with the Ministry of Higher Education and Science’s  Order no. 2285 of December 1, 2021 on Full-time University Programmes (the University Programme Order) and Ministerial Order no. 2271 of December 1, 2021 on University Examinations (the Examination Order). Further reference is made to Ministerial Order no. 35 of January 13, 2023 (the Admission Order) and Ministerial Order no. 1125 of July 4, 2022 (the Grading Scale Order).

3: Campus

The programme is offered in Copenhagen.

4: Faculty affiliation

The Master’s programme falls under The Technical Faculty of IT and Design, Aalborg University.

5: Study board affiliation

The Master’s programme falls under Study Board of Media Technology

6: Affiliation to corps of external examiners

The Master’s programme is associated with the external examiners corps on Civil engineering corps of external examiners

7: Admission requirements

Applicants with a legal right of admission (retskrav)

Aalborg University offers no bachelor’s education with a legal right of admission to this education.

Applicants without legal claim to admission

• Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Medialogy, Aalborg University
• Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Interaction Design, Aalborg University
• Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Art and Technology, Aalborg University
• Bachelor of Science (BSc) in IT Communication and New Media, Aalborg University
• Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Architecture and Design (Specialisation in Industrial Design), Aalborg University
• Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Interaction Design, University of Southern Denmark
• Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Digital Design and Interactive Technologies, IT University of Copenhagen
• Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Design, Design School Kolding
• Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Design, Royal Danish Academy

Admission to the master’s programme in Service System Design  requires that the applicant has passed a relevant qualifying bachelor’s or professional bachelor’s degree programme. A bachelor’s or professional bachelor’s degree programme is defined as relevant if the degree programme provides competencies to a minimum of ECTS within the following subject areas:

• Disciplines connected to STEAMD (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics and Design) [20 ECTS], or
• Disciplines connected to Marketing/Business/Management Studies [20 ECTS], or
• Disciplines connected to Healthcare-related services and processes [20 ECTS]

All applicants without a legal claim must prove that their English language qualifications is equivalent to level B (Danish level) in English

8: The programme title in Danish and English

The Master’s programme entitles the graduate to the Danish designation Cand.scient. i service system design. The English designation is: Master of Science (MSc) in Service Systems Design.

9: Programme specifications in ECTS credits

The Master’s programme is a two year, research-based, full-time study programme. The programme is set to 120 ECTS credits.

10: Rules concerning credit transfer (merit), including the possibility for choice of modules that are part of another programme at a university in Denmark or abroad

The Study Board can approve that passed programme elements from other educational programmes at the same level replaces programme elements within this programme (credit transfer).

Furthermore, the Study Board can, upon application, approve that parts of this programme is completed at another university or a further education institution in Denmark or abroad (pre-approval of credit transfer).

The Study Board’s decisions regarding credit transfer are based on an academic assessment.

11: Exemptions

The Study Board’s possibilities to grant exemption, including exemption to further examination attempts and special examination conditions, are stated in the Examination Policies and Procedures published at this website: https://www.studyservice.aau.dk/rules

12: Rules for examinations

The rules for examinations are stated in the Examination Policies and Procedures published at this website: https://www.studyservice.aau.dk/rules

13: Rules concerning written work, including the Master’s Thesis

In the assessment of all written work, regardless of the language it is written in, weight is also given to the student's formulation and spelling ability, in addition to the academic content. Orthographic and grammatical correctness as well as stylistic proficiency are taken as a basis for the evaluation of language performance. Language performance must always be included as an independent dimension of the total evaluation. However, no examination can be assessed as ‘Pass’ on the basis of good language performance alone; similarly, an examination normally cannot be assessed as ‘Fail’ on the basis of poor language performance alone.

The Study Board can grant exemption from this in special cases (e.g., dyslexia or a native language other than Danish).

The Master’s Thesis must include an English summary. If the project is written in English, the summary can be in Danish. The summary is included in the evaluation of the project as a whole.

14: Requirements regarding the reading of texts in a foreign language

It is assumed that the student can read academic text and use reference works, etc., in English.

15: Competence profile on the diploma

The following competence profile will appear on the diploma:

A Candidatus graduate has the following competency profile:

A Candidatus graduate has competencies that have been acquired via a course of study that has taken place in a research environment.

A Candidatus graduate is qualified for employment on the labour market based on his or her academic discipline as well as for further research (PhD programmes). A Candidatus graduate has, compared to a Bachelor, developed his or her academic knowledge and independence so as to be able to apply scientific theory and method on an independent basis within both an academic and a professional context.

16: Competence profile of the programme

Knowledge

Students who complete the programme will obtain:

• practical, conceptual and professional knowledge that qualifies the role and value of service design when applied in real-life contexts
• knowledge about design theories and methods that focus on the design of advanced and complex product-service systems

With respect to Problem-Based Learning students will be able to:

• account for the scientific foundation, and scientific problem areas
• describe the state of the art of relevant research

Skills

Students who complete the programme will be able to:

• analyse design briefs and identify actionable plans to execute service design processes
• evaluate and address major organisational and business issues emerging in the design of a product-service system
• represent and prototype innovative solutions
• manage complex stakeholders’ ecosystems

With respect to Problem-Based Learning students will be able to:

• master the scientific methods and general skills associated with the problem area
• produce a project report according to norms of the area, apply correct terminology, document extensive command over relevant literature, communicate and discuss the research-based foundation, problem and results of the project orally, graphically and in writing in a coherent manner
• critically evaluate the results of the project in relation to relevant literature and established scientific methods and models, evaluate and discuss the project’s problem area in a relevant scientific context
• evaluate and discuss the project’s potential for further development

Competencies

Students who complete the programme will be able to:

• analyse a complex socio-technical system in relation to a given design brief, identifying the key stakeholders, roles and responsibilities
• conceive, design, and evaluate different forms of prototypes targeted at specific users/use cases
• facilitate co-design activities with a wide range of stakeholders

With respect to Problem-Based Learning students will be able to:

• participate in, and independently carry out, technological development and research, and apply scientific methods in solving complex problems
• plan, execute and manage complex research and/or development tasks, and assume a professional responsibility for independently carrying out, potentially cross-disciplinary, collaborations
• independently assume responsibility for own scientific development

17: Structure and Contents of the programme

The programme is structured in modules and organized as a problem-based study. A module is a programme element or a group of programme elements, which aims to give students a set of professional skills within a fixed time frame specified in ECTS credits, and concluding with one or more examinations within specific exam periods. Examinations are defined in the curriculum. Each semester has an overall theme, which is reflected in the scope of the (mandatory) course modules and semester projects.

The programme is based on a combination of academic, problem-oriented and interdisciplinary approaches and organized based on the following  work and evaluation methods that combine skills and reflection:

• lectures
• classroom instruction
• project work
• workshops
• exercises (individually and in groups)
• teacher feedback
• reflection
• portfolio work

18: Overview of the programme

All modules are assessed through individual grading according to the 7-point scale or Pass/Fail. All modules are assessed by external examination (external grading) or internal examination (internal grading) or by assessment by the supervisor or course-responsible only.  

If the student wants to study abroad, the Study Board recommends this in the third semester. The student must apply for a preapproval of credit transfer by the Study Board of Media Technology

19: Additional information

For further description of the chosen exam format, please refer to the semester descriptions for the relevant semester and module. These can be found on the Study Board's website.

All students who have not participated in Aalborg University’s course ‘Problem based Learning’ or PBL introductory course during their Bachelor’s degree must attend and have approved the PBL introductory course before they can participate in the project exam. For further information, please see www.create.aau.dk/education/.

20: Commencement and transitional rules

The curriculum is approved by the dean and enters into force as of September 1, 2023.

The Study Board does not offer teaching after the previous curriculum from 2020 after the summer examination 2024.

The Study Board will offer examinations after the previous curriculum, if there are students who have used examination attempts in a module without passing. The number of examination attempts follows the rules in the Examination Order.

21: Amendments to the curriculum and regulations

The Vice-dean has on the 26th of August 2024 approved that the assessment is changed to "passed/not passed" in the module "Design Futures". Valid from spring 2024.