Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)
Master of Science in Technology and Design (Urban Innovation and Design)
About programme
Cities are changing rapidly. Climate change, ageing populations, new technologies and evolving social needs are reshaping how people live, work and move.
Meeting these challenges requires more than understanding how cities work. It requires people who can turn insight into action. This includes framing complex problems, bringing stakeholders together, developing ideas, testing solutions and finding practical pathways towards implementation.
The Master of Science in Technology and Design (Urban Innovation and Design) is a 12-month, full-time programme that brings together design, technology and urban systems thinking to prepare professionals to create and implement meaningful urban innovations. Based in Singapore, students will learn in an urban environment where design, technology, policy and implementation intersect in practice.
Urban challenges rarely belong to a single discipline. A mobility challenge may involve accessibility, behaviour and policy. A digital solution may be technically sound but fail to meet users’ needs. A sustainability initiative may depend as much on partnerships and implementation as on technology.
Through applied, studio-based learning and real-world projects, students will learn to approach these challenges from multiple perspectives. They will build capabilities in human-centred design, urban systems, AI and digital tools, experimentation and implementation, while learning how to develop solutions that respond to the needs of people, institutions and places.
The emphasis is not only on understanding what should happen, but on asking:
What can we design? How might we test it? What will it take to make it work in the real world?
Students will move from ideas to implementation, framing urban challenges, prototyping and testing solutions with stakeholders, and developing practical pathways towards delivery and evaluation.
By working on real-world challenges and a substantive Capstone project, students will graduate with more than a qualification. They will build a portfolio that demonstrates their ability to design, test and advance solutions to complex urban challenges.
Programme structure
The 12-month programme combines design, urban innovation, experimentation and technology-enabled prototyping across three terms, culminating in an Urban Innovation and Design Capstone. Students will apply their learning to a substantive urban challenge and develop a tested, stakeholder-informed solution with a credible pathway towards implementation and evaluation.
Possible career paths and opportunities
Graduates will develop capabilities that can support roles across the public, private and community sectors.
Potential career pathways include:
- Urban Innovation / Transformation Manager
- Service or Policy Designer
- Smart City Solution Lead
- Urban Technology Product or Programme Manager
- Implementation Consultant
- Public-Sector Innovation Practitioner
- Sustainability Transition Specialist
These pathways reflect the programme’s emphasis on professionals who can bridge urban understanding, design, technology and delivery.
Message from the academic programme director
Cities are shaped by the choices we make every day: how we move, how we live, how we care for one another, and how we respond to change. As climate pressures, ageing populations and emerging technologies reshape urban life, we have an opportunity to ask: how can we make our cities work better for the people who call them home?
For me, urban innovation begins with people. It means being curious about their everyday experiences, understanding what matters to them, and working together to make things better. A promising idea is a starting point. Making it work requires us to question our assumptions, test possibilities, learn from setbacks and navigate the realities of how cities and institutions operate.
This is the spirit behind SUTD’s Master of Science in Technology and Design in Urban Innovation and Design. Offered together with SUTD’s Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities (LKYCIC), the programme brings the university’s strengths in design and technology together with the Centre’s expertise in urban research and practice. It connects an understanding of how cities and societies change with the practical work of shaping that change.
We have designed this programme for people who want to turn their concern for cities into the capability to change them. You may already be working on urban challenges, or be looking to bring your experience from another field. What connects our students is a willingness to work across disciplines, engage with different perspectives and learn through doing.
Over 12 months, you will work on real urban challenges, engage stakeholders, develop and test prototypes, and build credible plans for implementation. You will learn to ask sharper questions: Whose needs are we addressing? What would meaningful improvement look like? What will help a solution gain acceptance and work in practice? You will build a portfolio that shows how you approach these questions and turn your ideas into tested proposals for action.
At SUTD, we bring together human-centred design, technology and an understanding of urban systems. AI, data and digital tools offer exciting possibilities for exploring and testing ideas. Their value lies in how thoughtfully we use them to improve everyday life.
My hope is that you leave this programme with the confidence to act, the judgement to act responsibly, and the curiosity to keep learning. Cities need people who can imagine better possibilities and work with others to bring them to life.
If that is the kind of work you want to do, I look forward to welcoming you.
Dr Samuel Chng Chong Wei
Research Assistant Professor, Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities