FOURDIGIT conducted a practical service design education program at the Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology (TNI) in Bangkok, Thailand, in June 2025. This marks the second Thai university to adopt FOURDIGIT’s program.
FOURDIGIT leverages its experience in service design from both Japan and Southeast Asia, to nurture people who can deliver service design value. As part of this initiative, FOURDIGIT has developed and provides a short-term workshop-based course to train practical service design professionals in Thailand.
The program started at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) and was successful there before coming to TNI. At TNI, 15 students from all four departments worked together in mixed teams to learn about service design. FOURDIGIT plans to bring this program to more universities in Thailand and also develop customized versions for corporate training.
Program Overview
Practical Learning Program in Service Design for Future Leaders
By gaining insight into the state of design in the new era, changes in design values, and historical background, and by experiencing the same process as actual practice, students can acquire a broader perspective from learning that cannot be obtained from lectures alone.
<Features>
– Practical curriculum based on real service design practices
– Interactive learning environment with small class sizes
– Systematic learning combining lectures and hands-on practice
<Structure>
– Lectures, Individual Work & Team Discussions
Participants learn about experience design, service design, and the value of design in the digital market based on FOURDIGIT’s practical experience. The program emphasizes understanding through individual work and team discussions rather than passive lecture attendance.
– Design Workshop
Participants experience workshop methodologies used by FOURDIGIT in their business operations. They engage in the design process of creating new services using accessible themes.
– Presentation and Summary
Participants consolidate workshop discussions into a service concept and deliver presentations. Following worksheets, they discuss various service-related areas and package their ideas for clear communication to others.
Comment from Students:
“I realized that UX and UI design is much more than just about visual design. It involves designing the entire product and service experience. Learning about how new ideas are developed, how users interact with services, and how services evolve was particularly engaging. I now appreciate how service design principles apply across all aspects of business.”
“I particularly valued the collaborative nature of this program. It’s rare to have opportunities where we can freely share ideas and thoughts like this time. Working on real projects together with fellow students helped me better understand what we were learning.”
Comment from Katsuyuki Harada, Education Program Director at FOURDIGIT:
Our program at KMUTT received official recognition from The Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS). We then expanded to TNI after their professors visited and observed our program at KMUTT, connected through Mr. Nishimaki from the AOTS Thailand office.
Some students were introduced to human-centered design principles like personas and customer journey map for the first time. The workshops and presentations showed great enthusiasm and excitement for these new ideas. We aim to give these young people, who have grown up in the digital age, the skills and opportunities to design innovative services for the future.
Background of the Initiative
The digital economy in Southeast Asia is growing rapidly, but there aren’t enough experienced design professionals in the region. Similar challenges exist in education, where students have limited opportunities to develop practical skills despite today’s design jobs requiring knowledge of both business and technology. As a result, companies find it difficult to hire qualified designers and need to invest heavily in training new employees.
To address these challenges and promote design as a business solution, we decided to work with Thai universities, sharing FOURDIGIT’s expertise in developing design talent.
FOURDIGIT specializes in service design, branding, and customer experience design, and continuous improvement support in Japan and Southeast Asia. We also provide corporate training programs. In Okinawa, we run successful projects that combine local job creation with digital design education.
Based on these experiences, we aim to improve design education in Thailand while helping organizations develop talent more efficiently and reduce their training costs.
Organization Overview
Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology (TNI)
Founded by the Technology Promotion Association (Thailand-Japan) with the aim of promoting Thai-Japanese friendship and developing human resources for Thai industry. TNI nurtures students with practical technical skills and knowledge based on Japanese manufacturing philosophy.
Location: 1771/1, Pattanakarn Rd., SuanLuang, Bangkok 10250, THAILAND
URL: https://admission.tni.ac.th/old/web/TNI2014-jp/index.php
Established: August 2007
The Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS)
An organization aimed at contributing to mutual economic development between Japan and overseas countries through industrial human resource development. Their endowed course program is highly regarded as an initiative supporting practical industrial human resource development at educational institutions.
Head Office: 1-30-1 Senju-Azuma, Adachi-ku, Tokyo
URL: https://www.aots.jp/
Established: August 10, 1959 (Merger surviving corporation, establishment date of former AOTS)
