PolyU Master of Design

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 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 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 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

Did you miss our info seminar?
You can watch the playback on our Info Day platform anytime.
▶️ Info Seminar - Master of Design| https://bit.ly/3AqAlf9

#2035

Master of Design (MDes) Information Seminar 2024 0:00 - Programme IntroductionInnovative Business Designhttps://www.polyu.edu.hk/sd/study/tpg/innovative-business-design/Intelligent Systems Designhttps://www...

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 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. 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 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.

The use of electric vehicles and autonomous driving has increased the time spent in-cabin, shifting how people view their cars from "means of transportation" to "mobile environments". The new notion allows designers to create a branded, innovative cockpit experience.

Further to this emerging trend, the Intelligent Systems Design (ISD) has brought a returning partnership in the Capstone Research Project with GAC, specifically, the Advanced Design Department of its R&D Center. Working with a special design team within the R&D unit exposes students to various emerging technologies and processes. In turn, the students get to help envision the technology's potential with concepts, prototypes and scenarios.

GAC hosted ISD students and faculty at their R&D Center's facilities in Guangzhou and showed them around to see how pioneering technologies and novel materials are used in the concept vehicles. Students presented the initial concepts for the digital cockpit, reimagined the driver's interaction with the car and obtained valuable feedback from supervisors.

ISD Capstone Research Project is a unique educational experience that immerses students in scenarios and conversations in cutting-edge and competitive industries. It is also a chance for students to explore the sectors to develop their careers in the future.

Industry Supervisors: Mr Stephen Chan, Mr Haitao Qi (GAC R&D Center)
Academic Supervisors: Prof. Stephen J. Wang, Dr Zhibin Zhou (PolyU Design)

Welcome to Weeks 2 and 3 of the Intelligent Systems Design (ISD) Capstone Research Project.

After finalising the project pairing, ISD students set off to visit the leading manufacturers in the Greater Bay Area. Three teams working with XPENG AEROHT, Asia's largest flying car, conducted a study trip to the manufacturer's test base in Guangzhou. To many students, it was their first in-person experience with flying cars and EVTOLs and seeing ideas flow and people at work in a young, tech-centric EV maker where students shared the contagious positive, can-do spirit.

"Seeing a bunch of go-getters chasing their dreams at PENG is exciting," said student Lisa Chen. "They just succeeded in securing funding from some firms, and everyone is working their tails off to propel the company forward. I hope they all get to see their dreams come true soon! And let's all look forward to the day when the low-altitude economy takes off and blossoms across China!"

Students made use of the small interactions with one another during the trip to cross-pollinate new thoughts. "The visit brought us many new inspirations and understandings," said one student. "We had a better chance to exchange inspirations with different group members as we travelled together." Student Mitter Jia concurred, "I think the journey was very cool. We learnt about the development process of XPENG AEROHT through our research at XPENG, and we also identified design points we need to keep exploring in the future!"

The specialised, collaborative environment offered by the ISD Capstone Research Project is an excellent starting point for turning students' interest in ISD into an industry-supported project well-positioned for their academic and professional advancement.

Industry Supervisor: Mr Richard Li (XPENG AEROHT)
Academic Supervisors: Prof. Stephen J. Wang, Dr Junnan Yu (PolyU Design)