PolyU Master of Design

PolyU Master of Design PolyU School of Design has been offering graduate studies since the 1990s. Our programmes have a study period of 1 year.

PolyU's first scheme-based taught postgraduate program, founded in 2004 and revamped in 2022, offers specialisms in Innovative Business Design, Intelligent Systems Design, Smart Service Design, and Transitional Environment Design for Jan & Sep entries. In 2004, the School launched Design Strategies (MDes), the first professional degree in Design in Hong Kong. Today, the School offers the scheme-ba

sed Master of Design (MDes) programmes taught on-campus at the Jockey Club Innovation Tower. Master of Design has graduated over 1,000 talented and capable designers in the past, and many have become leaders by applying their innovation skills in different fields. Students study in English but explore the increasingly world-changing context of Chinese culture as they acquire interdisciplinary skills and analytical thinking and development across boundaries. Aspects of interdisciplinary design among different MDes programmes corresponding to the global trend are highly encouraged within the Scheme. Since 2020, the MDes has been selected as a University Grants Committee established Targeted Taught Postgraduate Programmes Fellowships Scheme eligible programme. It is considered directly related to one of the seven priority areas conducive to the development of Hong Kong in the creative industries. A refreshed, all-new MDes curriculum has just launched in the academic year 2022-23. Four specialisms, Innovative Business Design (IBD), Intelligent Systems Design (ISD), Smart Service Design (SSD) and Transitional Environments Design (TED), led by new leaders, bring in a diverse community of teaching teams, industry partners, professional network, and creative talents. The new MDes, a unique and dynamic platform at PolyU and School of Design, is positioned to empower our graduates to be proactive leaders and game-changer for the future industry and give new impetus to interdisciplinary research and education in the Greater Bay Area.

 Our Smart Service Design students have reimagined MatchBox – an EdTech platform co-initiated by Cocoon Foundation and T...
11/03/2025



Our Smart Service Design students have reimagined MatchBox – an EdTech platform co-initiated by Cocoon Foundation and The D. H. Chen Foundation to empower secondary students in discovering their life and career purposes!

Tasked with enhancing "authentic learning experiences (ALEs)," our service innovators infused MatchBox with gamified challenges to foster curiosity and resilience, awarding users with prizes that keep up with the times, fun and relaxing user experience, suggestions to bring in new key partners, and so much more!

By addressing the needs of users and stakeholders and harnessing the power of AI, students transformed Matchbox into a dynamic tool that bridges ALEs with purpose. "This redesign isn't just about tech – it's about shaping a social learning community," shared a project team.

Join us in celebrating how smart service design enriches lives and tackles societal needs!

 Mr Reno Prawoto, Co-Founder and CTO of Moon Lab, shared insights on service-oriented architecture with our Smart Servic...
21/02/2025



Mr Reno Prawoto, Co-Founder and CTO of Moon Lab, shared insights on service-oriented architecture with our Smart Service Design (SSD) students, highlighting collaboration between designers and tech professionals for digital infrastructure in service innovations. A PolyU listed start-up, Moon Lab offers blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) solutions, bridging Web 2.0 and Web 3.0. The sharing has enriched students' understanding on service-oriented architecture and its key roles in digital servitization and smart service design. Learn more about our programme at https://polyu.hk/RIuYa

Announcing the winning projects from this year IBD Essentials subject – students from UTS, Australia, and Thammasat Univ...
10/02/2025

Announcing the winning projects from this year IBD Essentials subject – students from UTS, Australia, and Thammasat University, Thailand joined ours to work with industry partner, German fastening technology brand FIDLOCK GmbH and their representative, Lee Ing Global Ltd. Find out more from this global, interdisciplinary collaboration on our website.

Congratulates all project teams on your accomplishment!

Design

 2025 is all about promoting the development of the low-altitude economy (LAE)! As we approach the end of the year, our ...
16/12/2024



2025 is all about promoting the development of the low-altitude economy (LAE)!

As we approach the end of the year, our master’s students in the Smart Service Design (SSD) programme have just completed a studio project focusing on designing delivery and logistics services for the population and visitors in Hong Kong's outlying islands.

With support from S.F. Express (Hong Kong) Limited (SFHK), whose parent company has been recently listed in Hong Kong, our six teams of students explored application scenarios for deploying drones for service delivery.

Leveraging the low-altitude airspace and addressing the dense population in Hong Kong, the teams chose to design service solutions in the pilot project for groups located in remote areas with relatively limited access to medical care and delivery services. Students used user journey, service road map, system map, stakeholder map, and impact map to articulate how the low-altitude activities can benefit the community, brand, and economy.

Industry Partner: S.F. Express (Hong Kong) Limited
SFHK Representatives attending the presentation:
Mr Kenny Lau, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Hong Kong & Macau Region;
Mr Dixan Mak, Head of Marketing Department;
Mr Charles Chan, Head of Marketing Promotions Team, Marketing Department;

Subject Leader: Mr Dominic Leung (PolyU Design)
Specialism Leader: Dr Shera Park (PolyU Design)

-altitudeEconomy

We're calling local applicants for Master of Design programmes for the January 2025 Entry. Accepted students will kickst...
15/10/2024

We're calling local applicants for Master of Design programmes for the January 2025 Entry.

Accepted students will kickstart their studies in Sem 2, 2024/25 and are eligible to apply for scholarships supported by UGC's Targeted TPg Fellowships Scheme no later than 25 Oct 2024.

To apply and learn more, visit linktr.ee/polyumdes

 We extend a warm welcome to all new students joining our Master of Design (MDes) programmes. Today marks a new starting...
28/08/2024



We extend a warm welcome to all new students joining our Master of Design (MDes) programmes. Today marks a new starting point for your academic journey, filled with opportunities for growth, friendship, and discovery. We are thrilled to have you with us.

Looking back, when the MDes was founded in 2004, it was the first scheme-based, taught postgraduate programme at PolyU. The innovative curriculum aims to foster a learning environment that supports students in exploring transdisciplinarity, developing new approaches, and becoming an all-around creative talent.

As we welcome the 21st intake in 2024, we look forward to your contributions to making the world a better place with design.

Welcome address: Prof. Kun-pyo Lee, Dean of School of Design
Opening remarks: Prof. Stephen Wang, Master of Design Scheme Leader

# entrepreneurial

 The TED Capstone Research Project's special exhibition was hosted at the HiVE, a pioneering X-Reality hybrid classroom....
20/08/2024



The TED Capstone Research Project's special exhibition was hosted at the HiVE, a pioneering X-Reality hybrid classroom. This innovative space, developed by PolyU, provided students with a unique platform to showcase their environment designs in various formats.

Prior to this event, students were engaged in a hands-on, active learning process facilitated by a flipped classroom approach. This approach allows faculty to give highly differentiated instructions to students at different junctures, exploring a diverse range of topics, including soil remediation in Penny's Bay, mangrove ecosystems, mushroom burial, regenerative wetlands, rhizome and water systems, sonic oceans, bio-sensory connections, Hakka culture, e-waste and e-regeneration, from waste to green community, city and pigeons, age-friendly public spaces, and mobility in the city.

All Capstone Projects engage with the natural ecosystem and the urban environment at various scales. Successful explorations of exteriority and urbanity, including the environmental impact of designs at different scales (macro to micro); relationship to existing spaces (urban/spatial/ spaces and environments); the study of the physical and ergonomic relationship between humans and nonhumans and their living environments; connections to the psychological and emotional; relationship to the dimension of temporality and change, and many more, are addressed.

Check out our photo highlights capturing this special exhibition.

Subject coordinator: Dr Sunny Choi
Tutor: Jason Hilgefort
Guest critics: Brian Jan, Frank Chow, Massimiliano Dappero, Ting Yan Mok, Markus Wernli

Time to shine! Our Intelligent Systems Design (ISD) students revealed the eagerly anticipated deliverables for their Cap...
22/07/2024

Time to shine! Our Intelligent Systems Design (ISD) students revealed the eagerly anticipated deliverables for their Capstone Research Project on the final presentation day. Check out our photo highlights at the final presentation.

To learn more, stay tuned for our refreshed Project Gallery on our website.

Address

School Of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Jockey Club Innovation Tower
Hong Kong

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