Master's Degree in Strategic Design and Social Innovation
On-campus program. Duration: two years. Semester-based.
Maestría en Diseño Estratégico e Innovación Social
Impact society with strategies that transform people's reality
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Program director
Ms. Emma Celeste Urbina Aceves
Master in Education and Knowledge Management, and Bachelor in Design from the Western Institute of Higher Technological Studies (ITESO), with a Specialization in Gerontology from the Marist University of Guadalajara.
She is a full-time professor in the Department of Habitat and Urban Development at ITESO, where she teaches various courses. She participates as a researcher, along with a multidisciplinary team, in the ITESO project "Habitat Laboratory for Older Adults." Her areas of interest are design focused on developing solutions to improve people's quality of life.
Reasons to study
this master's degree
You acquire knowledge to design strategies that contribute to the pursuit of social equity and economic autonomy, as well as a fairer distribution of wealth.
You develop a project that offers real solutions that benefit a productive sector from a strategic and comprehensive approach that considers sustainability.
You make use of the resources for research, development, evaluation and experimentation in the region's only materials library and in specialized laboratories and workshops.
A program built for professionals like you
The following can pursue this master's degree:
- Professionals in Design, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Architecture or related fields with knowledge of project development, production activities or organizational structures in general.
- Professionals from design, administration, marketing, communication or related fields with knowledge of management and development of productive, social impact or service projects.
- People with a critical perspective and interested in solving challenges and problems in the region by developing interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary work processes that propose innovative, comprehensive, people-centered and environmentally conscious solutions.
Upon completion of the master's program you will be able to:
- Recognize socioeconomic, environmental, technological and cultural dynamics and trends to produce critical, creative and innovative knowledge applied in development and design and innovation projects.
- Conduct social and environmental impact assessments of concepts, models, prototypes, systems, patents, products, social interventions or publications, among others, and propose improvements and solutions.
- To formulate and lead design projects from a strategic perspective that, through a systemic view of innovative concepts, generate alternative solutions that are relevant and committed to the context of productive sectors, social organizations and service sectors.
Career Opportunities
- Private companies.
- Secretariats for the promotion of applied technology.
- Civil organizations.
- Government agencies.
- Sectors that generate social innovation.
- Cutting-edge productive sectors.
- Academic institutions dedicated to strategic design.
- Agencies that promote innovation projects.
- Your own consulting firm.
The Lines of Knowledge Generation and Application (LGAC) are the thematic fields that characterize the program. They bring together the research or professional work trajectories of professors and students, from a systemic perspective of generating new knowledge or applying it, according to its nature and approach.
This graduate program focuses on generating knowledge and training professionals to develop projects related to the following area:
-
Co-design as a factor of innovation and development of productive sectors, social organizations and services to improve environments and living conditions.
This initiative addresses a broad field of intervention, promoting diverse socioeconomic and cultural activities related to the productive sectors, social organizations, and services. The following scenarios are addressed:
-
Intervention of productive sectors.
-
Intervention of social organizations.
-
Public service intervention.
Knowledge Generation and Application Lines
The Lines of Knowledge Generation and Application (LGAC) are the thematic fields that characterize the program. They bring together the research or professional work trajectories of professors and students, from a systemic perspective of generating new knowledge or applying it, according to its nature and approach.
This graduate program focuses on generating knowledge and training professionals to develop projects related to the following area:
-
Co-design as a factor of innovation and development of productive sectors, social organizations and services to improve environments and living conditions.
This initiative addresses a broad field of intervention, promoting diverse socioeconomic and cultural activities related to the productive sectors, social organizations, and services. The following scenarios are addressed:
-
Intervention of productive sectors.
-
Intervention of social organizations.
-
Public service intervention.
A Rich Graduate Experience
ITESO’s graduate programs are supported by a renowned academic faculty comprising leading experts in their fields, who are actively engaged in real-world projects that offer concrete solutions. The university boasts over 100 researchers, 79 of whom are affiliated with Mexico’s National System of Researchers (SNII). Some are also members of the Mexican Academy of Sciences.
Research at ITESO generates new, rigorous, and relevant knowledge focused on some of the region’s and country’s most pressing challenges. Areas of impact include human rights, access to justice, renewable energy, sustainable resource management, food security, mental health and well-being, quality education, data science, and public communication, among others. These programs aim to offer development alternatives, influence public policy, foster technological innovation, and promote socially impactful projects.
One of the key advantages of ITESO’s graduate programs is the opportunity for international academic exchange through alliances with the International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU), a global network of over 320 institutions. Additionally, programs supported by Conacyt offer research stays in Mexico and abroad for fieldwork, study, or the completion of research projects.
Sustainability is an institutional priority that drives research, education, and community engagement projects at ITESO. These initiatives aim to develop comprehensive, long-term strategies for ecosystem stewardship that are in harmony with local communities. ITESO’s campus is one of the most sustainable in the country, and among the few in the world with a protected forest on its grounds.
ITESO offers access to more than 100 specialized laboratories in areas such as nanotechnology, data science, food engineering, mechatronics, biotechnology, chemistry, systems, communication, multimedia, languages, nutrition, neuromarketing, arts, building technologies, and more. Facilities also include simulated courtrooms, exhibition spaces, mediation rooms, and audiovisual projection labs.
ITESO’s lectures foster dialogue, critical thinking, and the exchange of ideas across sectors. They provide spaces for collaboration between academia, industry, and civil society, aimed at generating knowledge with high social impact. These initiatives also strengthen academic networks and support faculty and student mobility.
With more than 80 active academic journals and a robust catalogue of books, ITESO leads private universities in the region in scholarly publishing. Publications cover diverse disciplines, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and are widely accessible—many available for free download online.
ITESO holds the most significant number of industry collaboration agreements among private universities in western Mexico. The university also offers dual-degree programs with institutions such as the University of Koblenz (Germany), Boston College, and Central Michigan University (USA).
ITESO’s library houses more than 640,000 physical volumes and 200,000 digital resources, including books, journals, blueprints, films, and a collection of rare and antique books. Open to the public, the library features reading rooms, exhibition spaces, a cinema, an agora, a material library, and collaborative workspaces.
ITESO offers expert consulting and support for businesses at all stages of development through the Center for Innovation and Technology Management, the High-Impact Social Innovation Center, and the University-Business Center. Graduate students engage in projects focused on entrepreneurship, innovation, business acceleration, solidarity economies, and fair trade alternatives.
Distinguished faculty
Research programs
Academic mobility
Sustainability
Computer systems
Lectures
Publications
Partnerships
Library
Business & Entrepreneurship
ITESO’s graduate programs are supported by a renowned academic faculty comprising leading experts in their fields, who are actively engaged in real-world projects that offer concrete solutions. The university boasts over 100 researchers, 79 of whom are affiliated with Mexico’s National System of Researchers (SNII). Some are also members of the Mexican Academy of Sciences.
Research at ITESO generates new, rigorous, and relevant knowledge focused on some of the region’s and country’s most pressing challenges. Areas of impact include human rights, access to justice, renewable energy, sustainable resource management, food security, mental health and well-being, quality education, data science, and public communication, among others. These programs aim to offer development alternatives, influence public policy, foster technological innovation, and promote socially impactful projects.
One of the key advantages of ITESO’s graduate programs is the opportunity for international academic exchange through alliances with the International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU), a global network of over 320 institutions. Additionally, programs supported by Conacyt offer research stays in Mexico and abroad for fieldwork, study, or the completion of research projects.
Sustainability is an institutional priority that drives research, education, and community engagement projects at ITESO. These initiatives aim to develop comprehensive, long-term strategies for ecosystem stewardship that are in harmony with local communities. ITESO’s campus is one of the most sustainable in the country, and among the few in the world with a protected forest on its grounds.
ITESO offers access to more than 100 specialized laboratories in areas such as nanotechnology, data science, food engineering, mechatronics, biotechnology, chemistry, systems, communication, multimedia, languages, nutrition, neuromarketing, arts, building technologies, and more. Facilities also include simulated courtrooms, exhibition spaces, mediation rooms, and audiovisual projection labs.
ITESO’s lectures foster dialogue, critical thinking, and the exchange of ideas across sectors. They provide spaces for collaboration between academia, industry, and civil society, aimed at generating knowledge with high social impact. These initiatives also strengthen academic networks and support faculty and student mobility.
With more than 80 active academic journals and a robust catalogue of books, ITESO leads private universities in the region in scholarly publishing. Publications cover diverse disciplines, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and are widely accessible—many available for free download online.
ITESO holds the most significant number of industry collaboration agreements among private universities in western Mexico. The university also offers dual-degree programs with institutions such as the University of Koblenz (Germany), Boston College, and Central Michigan University (USA).
ITESO’s library houses more than 640,000 physical volumes and 200,000 digital resources, including books, journals, blueprints, films, and a collection of rare and antique books. Open to the public, the library features reading rooms, exhibition spaces, a cinema, an agora, a material library, and collaborative workspaces.
ITESO offers expert consulting and support for businesses at all stages of development through the Center for Innovation and Technology Management, the High-Impact Social Innovation Center, and the University-Business Center. Graduate students engage in projects focused on entrepreneurship, innovation, business acceleration, solidarity economies, and fair trade alternatives.
Research at ITESO
“Universities are called to be places of possibilities — to open horizons through research and engagement”.
Arturo Sosa, SJ
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