Service design approaches and applications in higher education: A thematic literature review

Service design has gained ground in the field of education. This article aims to reveal current approaches of service design applied to higher education pedagogy. The methodological approach is thematic literature review. Great variation in the application of service design can be found through review of selected literature. Three key categories were used for analysis: service, method and value. Four main approaches emerge from the results: service design applied on (1) courses and assignments; (2) pedagogical methods or models; (3) pedagogical applications for specific groups and (4) pedagogy outside formal education. Managers, teachers or researchers can use the results of this study to develop higher education pedagogy with service design approaches. Results also indicate possibilities for further research in the area of participatory design, international and national collaboration or value creation.