PSSDCOMMUNITY NETWORK Designing a Professional Networking Service for Students and Alumni
- Categories
- Community Design, Brand Identity, Social Media
- Role
- Researcher and service designer. Founder of the PSSD Community Network and coordinator of its international alumni circles.
- Context
- Master’s thesis project, developed and implemented in collaboration with the MSc Product Service System Design programme at Politecnico di Milano.
Description
The PSSD Community Network is a university service connecting students and alumni worldwide. Through career orientation, networking events, and a global peer-to-peer platform, it supports members from first semester to senior roles. It gives faculty and graduates a direct channel to collaborate and keep the programme aligned with industry practice.
Launched in 2025 by the PSSD master programme, it already has 200+ members, with local Global Circles starting in 13 cities.
Project website →
The Challenge
How to design a sustainable alumni community?
Informal communities tend to fade, even with motivated participants. Sustainability came from understanding what each stakeholder needs and defining the value exchange between them.
Participatory Research
Engaging stakeholders throughout the design process
Alumni engagement is only the end of a broader path: students need support well before graduating. A survey (10% of PSSD alumni responded) revealed the university-to-work transition as a key challenge, and interviews with coordinators and career advisors positioned the service within Polimi’s ecosystem.
Co-designing and testing with alumni and transitioning students boosted engagement, visibility, and collaboration from the start.
Service Proposal
Alumni International Network
An ongoing project with a growing, active community
Pilot 01
Ambassador Programme
Alumni volunteers act as local community builders and facilitators of the Global Circles, formally recognised through the Global Ambassadors Board on the PSSD website. An annual Alignment Meeting connects them with faculty and each other, and sets the themes for the season.
Pilot 02
Global Circles
Each year, alumni worldwide meet in local groups, in person or online, to explore a shared topic. These meetups are led by Ambassadors and supported by the Network Assistant, and their insights are published in an online archive. Between events, local chat groups serve as a professional networking space to stay informed and exchange opportunities.
Communication System and Social Media
If the Career Orientation Program and the Alumni International Network are the community-facing dimensions of the PSSD Community Network, this system is what sustains them. Like a greenhouse, it provides a shared, transferable foundation so the network does not depend on specific individuals.
Sustainablity plan
Community Infrastructure Service Maps
Politecnico di MilanoJoined Master Thesis
Project background
Born as a student collaboration for PSSD’s 20th Anniversary, the Community Network became a joint thesis project by Valentina (Alumni International Network) and Ayano (Career Orientation Programme). Developed over a year with PSSD faculty, it aims to build a lasting community where every generation can find support, share knowledge, and create opportunities.
Team
- Valentina Phung
- Ayano Osawa
