The goal of the DDVE Master’s Program is to teach as efficiently and practically as possible. The whole study time is packed into compact weekend sessions giving students a chance to work while studying. Compared to a regular university where practical activities are preceded by several years of theoretical study, DDVE’s program consists of different product development projects. All students work in teams. Theoretical lectures and seminars are there to support the practice.

Aiming to involve students already experienced in and practicing ICT-development, design, management, social sciences, etc. we must take into account their established lifestyle. The DDVE Master’s Program is structured especially to suit the time constraints of a working professional with a family.
Studying takes place at weekends – three weekends at school, one free. Altogether, there are 12 weekend sessions in one semester.

From Friday to Sunday the lectures and practical development projects take place. Instead of special exams at the end of a semester, reporting of the results and evaluation come at the end of each weekend.

Any studying is most effective if paired with practical activities. Failure can be the best teacher of all. According to Lean Startup ideology, an entrepreneur must fail fast and often. The minimum viable product must be brought to the users without delay to get valuable feedback.
Thus, our Master’s Program consists of a series of product development projects forming an initial idea into a thoroughly researched, presentable prototype. The projects are guided by experienced industry professionals. In the beginning, projects are shorter and unconstrained, later they are longer and deal with actual problems of existing companies and NPOs.

DDVE pays great attention to teamwork skills. The students work together in teams of 3-5 members. The teams are always re-shuffled before the next project. This way students can try different roles and cooperate with different sets of individuals. They take turns in leading, testing, marketing, etc. The teams are formed to contain all necessary competencies for product development. By the end of the 2 years of our Master’s Program we expect some of these teams to stay together forming a sustainable spin-off start-up or an innovative development team for a bigger company.