The Service Design Course review from Mirsu Kulaksizoglu

The Service Design course, led by Hilkka Lydén from Laurea University, was a valuable opportunity for many immigrant women to learn the basis of the Design. The participants learned such topics as user understanding and empathy, prototyping, testing, visualization and much more. As the registration for the course is renewed, Mirsu Kulaksizoglu, an active participant of the course, has shared her insight.

Mirsu first joined the course due to her own curiosity about the topic and the familiar person within the group. Even if the required commitment and consistency were causing difficulties due to the initially full schedule, it had truly become a valuable experience on more than one level.

“At the beginning of the course, I was genuinely excited to join, partly because I already knew one person in the group. As the course progressed, we started having regular classes every Wednesday morning, which required commitment and consistency. We would wake up early, prepare ourselves, and join the sessions with our cameras on, ready to learn new concepts and methods.
At first, this routine was quite challenging for me. Wednesdays were almost my only free days, and at the same time, I was working a part-time job. Adjusting to this schedule was not easy. However, over time, I became more comfortable with it and started to truly appreciate the learning process.”

She also praised the teacher and enjoyed working in the group. The course touched upon various topics that intrigued the participants and allowed them to learn more than they expected.

“Our course teacher, Hilkka, was excellent. She managed the sessions in a very professional and supportive way, and the structure of the course allowed us to learn a wide range of service design topics, from user understanding and empathy to prototyping, testing, and visualisation. Overall, the learning experience was both enriching and practical.”

At the end of the course, the participants had to create a final project. In Mirsu’s case, as her main focus is social media and content creation, it was a video that promoted communication and illustrated main concepts learned within the Design course.

“At the end of the project, we presented our final outcomes, and as part of the Finnish team’s project for Auroras, I created a video that supported our concept and communication. The feedback was very positive, and the team and stakeholders genuinely appreciated the work. Since I truly enjoy social media and content creation, I was happy to contribute to the project in this way and support the team with my skills.”

Furthermore, the course allowed participants to obtain new and useful connections. Even though Mirsu had to change teams in the middle of the project, she benefited from the transfer more than she expected. With the integration within the new social environment, Mirsu had the opportunity to explore different ways of task management and collaboration.

“Although the separation of the Latvian team was demotivating at first, joining the Finnish team turned into a very valuable experience that allowed me to adapt to a different working system, catch up with their process, and learn from new people. It was meaningful for me to observe how they managed tasks, collaborated, and organised their work, which helped me gain new perspectives and learn many new things.”

Even though Mirsu valued her experience in the Service Design course, she strongly believes that organizing such a course in person would enhance the communication between the participants even more.

“As a constructive suggestion for the future, I would truly appreciate having more face-to-face meetings overall, either within each country or through joint team meet-ups, as I believe meeting in person would strengthen collaboration, motivation, and team spirit even further.”

All of the challenges considered, Mirsu was left with a positive impression about the course. She believes that the Design Course will also aid her in finding her dream job, as it is not only a beneficial addition to her CV, but also a useful skillset that will aid her in the future.

“Overall, I am truly grateful that I joined this course. While I would have appreciated completing the journey with the Latvian team we initially started with, I am proud and thankful to have been the only person from that team who finished the course, as it reflects my determination, responsibility, and commitment to completing what I start.”

“Through the course, I made many valuable connections, discovered new ways of approaching challenges through service design thinking, and earned a certificate that is a strong addition to my CV.”

This course was supported as part of Project – Central Baltic Mentoring for Migrant Women seeking Employment – CeMeWE CB0100070, as Interreg Central Baltic Programme 2021-2027 project co-funded by the European Union.