YEAR
2024
COMPANY
College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University
TEAM
MY ROLE
Project Description
Problem
The Double-Degree Program (DDP) offered by the university enables students to study abroad and earn dual qualifications. However, the process is often unclear, fragmented, and emotionally stressful for both students and administrators.
Information is scattered across multiple channels, leading to redundant communication and time-consuming searching.
Students struggle to understand key steps and deadlines, resulting in last-minute preparation and uncertainty.
Emotional support and peer connection are missing throughout the journey, making the experience isolated and overwhelming.
Solution
The project proposes an integrated service system combining information design, digital experience, and community interaction to support double-degree students throughout their study-abroad journey. Three connected design outcomes were developed:
Booklet – a printed guide that clarifies the entire DDP process and provides timeline references for key preparations.
D&I Pro Platform – a digital hub where students and admins can efficiently access, share, and update information.
Offline & Online Activities – community-based interventions that build emotional connection and facilitate peer support.
Together, they form a closed-loop ecosystem that transforms information into action and action into shared experience.
Background
This project was conducted within the Tongji University College of Design and Innovation, in collaboration with the Sustainable Business & Cultural Bridge Lab.
Process
The design process began with interviews and contextual research to understand the real experience of double-degree students and administrators.
By analyzing their daily communication and preparation activities, the team identified major pain points in information flow, emotional needs, and coordination responsibilities.
From the qualitative data, eight paradoxes were extracted to represent the conflicting expectations between students and administrative staff. For example, students need earlier and more detailed guidance, while administrators struggle with limited time and fragmented channels.
These paradoxes helped form the basis for the research questions that guided the next design phase.
Subsequently, co-creation workshops were organized with both students and administrators. Participants worked collaboratively through mapping exercises, information card sorting, and tool evaluation. During the sessions, they visualized the full journey of going abroad, identified gaps in communication, and proposed new interaction formats.
Insights generated from these workshops led to the definition of key service touchpoints that structure the study-abroad experience, including a Booklet for process guidance, a Digital Platform (D&I Pro) for information and communication management, and a series of Community Activities to maintain emotional and peer support.
STEP 1 — Interview
Conducted interviews with double-degree students and administrators to understand their real experiences, pain points, and communication patterns throughout the study-abroad process.
STEP 2 — Paradox
Analyzed interview data to extract eight key paradoxes that reveal conflicts between students’ needs and administrative constraints in the study-abroad process.
STEP 3 — Research Questions
By analyzing eight paradoxes discovered from interviews, four key research questions were defined to guide the following design process, focusing on improving process clarity, unifying official information channels, enhancing communication efficiency, and building accessible peer-support interactions for double-degree students.
STEP 4 — Proposal 0 (Preliminary Design Brief)
Based on the four research questions, initial brainstorming sessions were conducted to translate user needs into potential service touch points. The concept “The Wall” was proposed, a visualized information hub that integrates four key modules: Process, Package, New Question, and Sharing.
It connects time-based information with interaction and feedback, serving as the foundation for following co-design workshops.
STEP 5 — Co-design Workshop
Five co-design workshops were held with six students and two administrators to refine “The Wall” concept. The sessions focused on three aspects: Information, Action, and Tool — organizing information flow, testing participants’ behavior and needs, and collaboratively developing and evaluating potential tools. Through timeline mapping, dot voting, and card sorting, the team identified responsibility distribution, refined user–admin collaboration, and extracted concrete service components for implementation.
STEP 6 — Refined Research Questions
Based on findings from the workshops, the initial four research questions were refined into three more actionable directions. The refinement emphasized clearer information structure, more efficient and unified information delivery, and stronger peer connection and emotional support, forming the foundation for the final service system design.
STEP 7 — Solution Iteration
The refined research questions were transformed into three main design directions that address information clarity, accessibility, and emotional connection across the double-degree journey.
Solution
The final design outcome is a three-part service system that supports double-degree students throughout their study abroad journey — from preparation to return. Building upon research insights and co-design workshops, the solutions aim to improve information clarity, efficiency, and emotional connection across online and offline touch points. Together, they form an integrated ecosystem consisting of:
Booklet – a concise visual guide for early cognition and preparation;
D&I Pro Platform – a digital hub for unified information and collaborative interaction;
Offline Activities – social and emotional initiatives that foster peer support and a sense of belonging.
Solution 1: Booklet – a concise visual guide for early cognition and preparation
Solution 2: D&I Pro Platform – a digital hub for unified information and collaborative interaction
Solution 3: Offline Activities – social and emotional initiatives that foster peer support and a sense of belonging
