Online Program on Integrated Product Service System Design

POLI.design – founded by Politecnico di Milano and the Department of Design at IIT Hyderabad (IITH), presents the Integrated Product Service System (IPSS) Intensive Course—an international learning experience designed for emerging designers, innovators, and recent graduates eager to drive sustainable change in design, product management, and business innovation. The program is supported by the Indo Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IICCI).

Program Overview

This dynamic 54-hour course combines 30 hours of interactive online modules led by globally recognized faculty from Politecnico di Milano and Department of Design, IIT Hyderabad, followed by a 24-hour, hands-on workshop in India led by design experts from both institutions. Learners will connect theoretical foundations with practical skills, fostering creativity, collaboration, and leadership for tomorrow’s design-driven industries.

Key Features

• Expert instruction from leading academics and design professionals at POLI.design and Design Department, IIT Hyderabad
• Real-world design challenges and project briefs for applied learning
• Personalized mentorship and feedback from experienced tutors
• Strategic, sustainable, and innovative approaches to design and business

Course Module
Modules alternate between POLI.design and Department of Design, IIT Hyderabad, maximising diverse faculty expertise and global collaboration.

Introduction to Design and Innovation

Strategic Thinking and Vision Creation

Service Design Innovation for Complex Products and Services

Spatial Design: Physical and Social Innovation

Business Innovation and Business Model Canvas

Learning Outcomes

• Master IPSS methodologies and sustainable design practices
• Develop strategic thinking and global leadership capabilities
• Apply skills to complex, real-world design and business challenges
• Engage in international collaboration with peers and esteemed faculty
• Cultivate creativity, empathy, and innovation for a rapidly evolving marketplace

Fee Structure

Full Fees payment (including Registration fees)	88,000 + GST
Registration and confirmation fees payment	8,000 + GST
Balance Fees Payment	80,000 + GST

POLI.design

POLI.design is an international center for postgraduate education and a key player in the Politecnico di Milano Design System (1st in Italy, 1st in European Union and 6th in the world in the Arts & Design field according to the QS Ranking 2025). Founded in 1999, it has been dedicated to developing and refining cross-industry educational programs through a project-based learning approach, leveraging polytechnic knowledge and research.

Specializing Masters, Executive Courses and customized services for organizations equip students and professionals with a design mindset to lead the transformation in a wide range of fields. At the heart of the Italian and global design education network, POLI.design fosters strong connections between academia, institutions, and the business world.

POLI Design Team

Beatrice Villari
Scientific Director
PhD in Design and Associate Professor,
Department of Design – Politecnico di Milano.

She is a member of the Faculty of the School of Design where she teaches Service Design and design methodology. Beatrice is also the co-director of the Specializing Master in Service Design provided by POLI.design. She is one of the founders of RETHINK! Service Design Stories, the first Italian festival dedicated to Service Design. She is involved in several national and international researches focused on service innovation, service design, design for social innovation and design for policy and government. Within the Master in Design For Food, she stimulates students to reflect on the specificity of service design and the role of design in innovation and value creation in food services within the current social, economic and technological context.

Bryan Sabin
Coordinator

Bryan is the Coordinator of the Specializing Master in Service Design of POLI.design, and Product and Service Designer, Researcher, and Course Assistant at Politecnico di Milano. He has a background in Integrated Product Design, MSc at PoliMi, and in Basics of Design for Better Innovation Services, Master Executive of POLI.design. Since 2016, he has been working as design consultant and applied researcher for different companies, both private and academic, such as Rotho Kunststoff AG, Innesti sagl, POLI.design and Fondazione Politecnico. Since 2018, he has been course assistant and tutor at bachelor and master degrees’ courses in Industrial Product Design and Integrated Product Design at PoliMi.

Cabirio Cautela
Professor

He is Full Professor at the Politecnico di Milano – Department of Design, where he teaches design management and strategic design for innovation. He is Co-Director of the Master in Strategic Design and a member of the faculty of the MBA at the Politecnico di Milano Business School. His research interests and publications
focus on the strategic role of design, design management, and the relationship between design and technology in entrepreneurial processes. In 2012, he was a visiting scholar at Stanford University (CDR), where he conducted research on the evolution of the relationship between design and business models in start-ups. His recent articles have been published in Technovation, Design Issues, Design Management Review, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, and International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. He is also the CEO of POLI.design.

Gianluca Carella
PhD candidate with a background in Product Service System Design and Management Engineering

His research is focusing on how design can support companies in creating innovation,understanding how to overcome the barriers that companies may face in adopting design thinking. At the same time, he is working on projects that deal with entrepreneurship, supporting startups in combining the design and the business binomial, and understanding the role of design insidetechnology start-ups. Actually, he is collaborating with the Department of Design of Politecnico di Milano where he is working as designer and researcher involved in European research projects(Horizon 2020, Interreg, Erasmus+). His main streams of research areDesign Thinking, Strategic Design, Service Design, Design Management and Entrepreneurship. In the last years, Gianluca is teaching subjects related to his research activity both in the School of Design–Politecnico diMilano and in POLI.design.

Davide Fassi
Professor

Full Professor in Spatial and Product Service System Design at the Politecnico di Milano and Adjunct Professor at the Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona. Coordinator of the Polimi Desis Lab, a research laboratory on design for social innovation and sustainability, and member of the international coordination committee of the DESIS network. Rector’s Delegate for Cultural Activities and Public Engagement. Author of Temporary Urban Solutions (2012) and In the Neighbourhood (2017), his research focuses on the relationship between space and service, adopting a community-centred approach. He is the scientific coordinator of “Off Campus Nolo”, a Polimi living lab in Milan. He was awarded the XXV Compasso d’Oro in 2018 for the project “campUS – incubation and settings for social practices”, the Ambrogino d’Oro in 2022, and the Seoul Design Award (third prize) in 2023 for Off Campus Nolo.

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DoD, IIT Hyderabad

Department of Design at IIT Hyderabad since its inception in 2014, has grown to a leading academic entity in India to learn, research, experiment Design in India. DoD offeres broad range of Design specialisations at undergraduate, Postgraduate levels. It also caters not just to young new comers into design, equally cater to working professionals and mid career aspirants in Design. DoD values the importance of Indian contexts in the Design process while welcoming global trends and thought processes.

DoD Team

Deepak John Mathew
Professor

Deepak John Mathew is involved in setting up the design Department at IIT Hyderabad. He has been instrumental in designing and developing the dual postgraduate programme in Photography Design. He also set up the Photography Design discipline and started an International Postgraduate Certificate Programme in Photography at the institute in collaboration with University for Creative Arts, Farnham, UK. Deepak has curated a number of exhibitions at NID, including those featuring the works of the famed photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Anne Maniglier, and Raghu Rai. He had five solo shows in the UK and India, exhibited his work at many international and national exhibitions and has authored several papers and a book titled “Principles of Design through Photography”. He is a regular contributor and columnist to magazines like Indian Architecture and Builder and Better Photography.

Prasad Onkar
Associate Professor

Prasad Onkar completed his PhD in Computer-Aided Conceptual Design from Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing (CPDM), IISc Bangalore. He holds Master of Technology (M. Tech.) degree in Product Design and Manufacturing from Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, Karnataka, and Bachelor of Engineering (B. E.) degree in Mechanical Engineering from Karnatak University, Dharwad, Karnataka. Prior to joining IIT Hyderabad, he was Assistant Professor at Department of Design at IIT Guwahati. He was also a Visiting Researcher at Virtual Prototyping Lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy. He is also the convener of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) and member of Rural Development Centre of the Institute.

Shiva Ji
Associate Professor

Shiva Ji is a practicing Architect, Associate Professor and HoD in Department of Design and Department of Climate Change at IIT Hyderabad. He has attained B.Arch, MDes, MBA and PhD in sustainability assessment methods in built environments from IIT Guwahati. He has over 13 years of cumulative experience in industry and academics. He has accomplished several projects in the field and has over 39 designs launched in the market. He is involved with many research projects using state of the art technology in domains of architecture and design. He is a member with several national and International organizations and has chaired various technical sessions and conferences.

Seema Krishnakumar
Assistant Professor

Seema has more than a decade long experience as a visual communicator, documentary photographer and design faculty. She has worked for several government and non- governmental organisations as a designer. Earlier she worked with DJ Academy of Design, Kerala State Institute of Design and National Institute of Design. Currently she is pursuing her PhD at IDC, IIT Bombay. She holds a Masters in Communication Design from Pratt Institute, New York where she was also a Fulbright – Nehru fellow for the same.

Srikar AVR
Srikar is an Architect and an Industrial Designer by profession. He is an Product Design, PG alumnus of National Institute of Design. He also did another Masters in Strategic Design and Innovation from Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Srikar has led global consulting assignments with Iconic furniture manufacturing brands like Herman Miller and Steelcase. With 13 years of industry experience, he also worked in various capacities as a Design leader with brands like Kohler, DuPont, Godrej and Nokia in the areas of R&D, Design and Innovation, Advanced Materials in Design, CSRs, Sustainability, Analytics, Workplace Strategy. With his passion for research and teaching young minds; he travelled widely and been an active visiting faculty in leading design and architecture Institutes in India and abroad. He has been nominated as India design ambassador for Scandinavia (Norway and Sweden) representing Godrej for the company’s efforts in the field of Healthcare design innovations. He is also a member of CoA, WDO, IADRA, CII etc.