Teaching Service Design in Portugal: A Case Study of a Training Offer

The labour market’s need for people with service design training has become a necessity. This evidence is not only reflected in the emergence of companies that provide this type of service, but also in the diversification of areas close to service design along with the digitalization process linked to physical artefacts and, the procedures used/implemented in social, organizational and business daily life. In Portugal, the academy has taken a not very assertive position in responding to this specific design need. Based on the previously described, we sought to frame the Portuguese academic training offer along with the Master in Product Design and Services at the University of Minho as a case study. Through its teaching approaches to product and service design, strategy, results, and the relationship with society, this analysis reveals that emotional design and collaborative approaches emerge as differentiating elements. Starting from projects and initiatives developed, we planned it to evaluate the suitability of this training to real contexts and, thus, the relevance of this teaching offer in preparing professionals for the future.