The main goal of these specialization courses is to create Super Experiences, which truly enhance customer engagement. The professional profile of an Experience Designer needs specific competences, which in this entity are:

• Empathy
Empathy is about the ability of truly and deeply understanding the life, needs and desires of a customer. It is also measured through teamwork skills: how well do the teams and the individuals enhance each other's strengths and respect each other's differences.

• Sense-making
Sense-making is about the rationality, profitability and doability but also about the meaningfulness of the actions, ideas and concepts created by the teams.

• Curiosity
Curiosity measures the initiative and fearlessness of the designer. It is about approaching people and challenges with an open and accepting mindset. Curiosity is also about daring to see and try unconventional and unexpected solutions.

• Volition is about actually getting things done. It is about taking control of the task and not waiting for orders.

• WOW-ness is a key competence of an experience designer. Ability to create something for customers that really affects their feelings.

Passed course is assessed on a scale of 1 to 5. The assessment criteria are presented for grades 1 - 3 - 5.

Experience designer specialization is built into a game with three modules:

Tutorial (10 ects): The purpose of this course is to learn the skills and to apply the design thinking approach to create something meaningful for the target group.

Super Experience Challenge (10 ects): The purpose of this course is to respond to the challenge of named commissioner and to create experiential prototype(s) as a solution to the given challenge. The design thinking approach is utilized to design a meaningful wow-experience for the given target group.

Final Boss Challenge (10 ects): The purpose of this course is to implement planned concept for commissioner or continue the concept development process according to commissioner’s instructions.
The above mentioned course are closely connected with each other and have to be executed as a package in the given order.

Depending on the implementation, learning takes place for example in intercampus camps, workshops, project work, independent studies, teamwork and peer-to-peer learning. The assessment of one’s own learning.

Toolkits, books and peer-reviewed articles on the contents’ topics, companies’ web-portals, industry related reports and statistics, and other different kinds of design tools.

There is an application period of the Experience Designer (Spring 2022), which will be in December 2021 and candidates will be selected based on interviews. This specialization is aimed for all Haaga-Helia's degree programs.

The 30 ects in the program will replace the compulsory studies of student’s own degree program during the execution (alternatively, the student can discuss with his or her own study counselor on the replacement studies of the Experience Designer). The studies of the specialization are completed in order (10 ects, 10 ects, 10 ects) and the completion of the previous level is a prerequisite for moving to the next level.

Haaga-Helia's second+ semester students.

Grade 1
Student has difficulties to understand customer needs and focus on customer experience of a target group. The student participates in the project planning, implementation and evaluation with a minimal input.

Grade 3
The student participates in the project planning, implementation and evaluation independently and makes use of the advice available. The student is able to utilize and create customer understanding by choosing and using relevant research and development methods.

Grade 5
The student participates with goal-orientation and proactively in the project planning, implementation and evaluation.