Entry points, 1st year, Common Courses
Academic year 2025/2026
Aalto University (Aalto)
HCID Programme Lead and Academic Coordinator for Aalto: Mika P. Nieminen, mika.nieminen@aalto.fi
FIRST SEMESTER
| Compulsory Major Courses (17 ECTS) | ECTS |
| Language course: Compulsory degree requirement, both oral and written requirements | 3 |
| Introduction course for master’s students: Academic skills | 1 |
| User-Centred Methods for Product and Service Design | 5 |
| Research Methods: Foundations | 3 |
| User Interface Construction | 5 |
| Optional Major Courses (select 10 ECTS) | |
| Human-Computer Interaction | 5 |
| Device-Agnostic Design | 5 |
| Design of WWW Services | 5 |
| Explorative Information Visualization | 5 |
| Seminars and Special courses in Software and Service Engineering | 5 |
| Research Methods: Case studies & Design Science | 2 |
| Research Methods: AI-based Data Synthesis & Analysis | 2 |
| Computational Design and Interaction | 5 |
| Compulsory I&E Courses (6 ECTS) | |
| Introduction to Digital Business and Venturing | 3 |
| Digital Business Management | 3 |
SECOND SEMESTER
| Compulsory Major Courses (9 ECTS) | ECTS |
| Creative Digital Concept Design | 4 |
| Collaborative Evaluation of Interactive Systems | 5 |
| Optional Major Courses (select 10 ECTS) | |
| Emergent User Interfaces | 5 |
| Artificial Intelligence | 5 |
| Information Visualization | 5 |
| Compulsory I&E courses (18 ECTS) | |
| Entrepreneurship Lab | 10 |
| Global Business in the Digital Age | 4 |
| ICT Innovation Summer School | 4 |
KTH Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
Academic Coordinator: Jan Gulliksen, gulliksen@kth.se
FIRST SEMESTER
| Mandatory Courses | ECTS |
| Human-computer Interaction: Principles and Design | 7.5 |
| Research Methodology and Scientific Writing (Can be taken in year 1 or in year 2) | 7.5 |
| Entrepreneurship for Engineers | 6 |
| Conditionally Elective Course: | |
| Internet Marketing | 7.5 |
| Optional Courses | |
| Evaluation Methods in Human-Computer Interaction | 6 |
| Distributed Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Agents | 7.5 |
SECOND SEMESTER
| Mandatory Courses | ECTS |
| Interaction Design Methods | 7.5 |
| Human-Computer Interaction, Research Seminars | 3 |
| Interaction Programming and the Dynamic Web | 7.5 |
| Business Development Lab of Entrepreneurship Engineers | 9 |
| Summer Course- Entrepreneurship for Engineers | 4 |
| Conditionally Elective Courses, choose one: | |
| Technology-based Entrepreneurship | 7.5 |
| e-Business Strategies | 7.5 |
| Optional Courses | |
| Machine Learning | 7.5 |
| Haptics, Tactile and Tangible Interaction | 7.5 |
| Human-Centered Technologies for Disabilities | 7.5 |
University of Twente (UT)
Academic Coordinator: Mariët Theune, m.theune@utwente.nl
The master programme is provided by Interaction Technology.
FIRST SEMESTER
| Compulsory Major Courses | ECTS |
| Foundations of Interaction Technology | 5 |
| Concepts, Measures and Methods | 5 |
| Human Centred Design | 5 |
| Elective Major Courses | |
| Speech Processing | 5 |
| Data Science | 5 |
| Multisensory Design | 5 |
| Storytelling through Oral Presentation | 5 |
| Storytelling through Sound | 5 |
| Robot Perception, Cognition, and Navigation | 5 |
| Compulsory I&E Courses | |
| I&E Basics: Innovation Management Basics: for EIT | 5 |
| Business Development Lab for EIT I | 5 |
SECOND SEMESTER
| Compulsory Major Courses | ECTS |
| Introduction Human-Computer Interaction | 5 |
| Experience Design for Interaction | 5 |
| Elective Major Courses | |
| I-Tech project | 10 |
| Trends in Human Robot Interaction Research | 5 |
| Art, Mathematics and Technology | 5 |
| Human-Robot Collaboration | 5 |
| Affective Computing | 5 |
| Conversational Agents | 5 |
| Design and Behaviour Change | 5 |
| Pervasive Computing | 5 |
| Social Robot Design | 5 |
| Brain Computer Interfacing | 5 |
| Advanced Research Projects in Speech Processing | 5 |
| Advanced Project in Conversational Agents | 5 |
| Advanced Project in Brain Computer Interfacing | 5 |
| Advanced Research Projects in Human Robot Interaction | 5 |
| REDI: Research Experiments in Databases and Information Retrieval | 5 |
| Virtual Reality | 5 |
| Storytelling through Sound | 5 |
| Popular Science Writing | 5 |
| Embodied Interaction | 5 |
| Mastering Tinkering | 5 |
| Sports Interaction Technology | 5 |
| Tele-presence Robotics | 5 |
| AI for Autonomous Robots | 5 |
| Compulsory I&E Courses | |
| Business Development Lab for EIT II | 5 |
Elective I&E Courses (Choose one)
| First Semester | ECTS |
| Computer Ethics | 5 |
| Empirical Methods for Designers | 5 |
| Design and Service Experience | 5 |
| Trust and Risk | 5 |
| Second Semester | |
| Strategic Technology Management and Innovation | 5 |
| Advanced Topics in Digital Marketing | 5 |
| Information Systems for the Financial Service | 5 |
| Design Thinking for Service and Business Innovation | 5 |
| Advanced Project in Impact, Innovation and Entrepreneurship | 5 |
| Entrepreneurial Finance | 5 |
| User Support | 5 |
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)
Programme Coordinators: Prof. Ricardo Imbert Paredes and Prof. Elena Villalba Mora
FIRST SEMESTER
| Compulsory Major Courses | ECTS |
| HCI: Introduction and Design Methods | 6 |
| Programming of User Interfaces | 6 |
| Challenges for Accessible Computing for People with Functional Diversity | 4 |
| User Experience and Mobile Interaction | 6 |
| HCID Seminars I | 2 |
| Compulsory I&E Minor Courses: | |
| Introduction to Innovation and Entrepreneurship Management | 6 |
| Introduction To Technology Watch And Competitive Intelligence | 1 |
SECOND SEMESTER
| Compulsory Major Courses | ECTS |
| Evaluation of Interactive Systems | 3 |
| HCI Project | 6 |
| Data Mining | 3 |
| Compulsory I&E Minor Courses | |
| Entrepreneurship and Business Modelling | 6 |
| I&E Seminars | 5 |
| Summer School | 4 |
| Elective I&E Minor (choose one): | |
| Launching of ICT Product/services to the Market | 2 |
Polytechnic University of Milan (POLIMI)
Academic Coordinator: Franca Garzotto
Programme Manager: Federico Schiepatti, federico.schiepatti@polimi.it
This entry is best suited for applicants with a degree in Computer Science Engineering.
This means a strong base of ICT, computer science, programming, and engineering courses in your transcript of records, including math courses at the academic level (e.g., calculus, discrete or stats) and physics. A competitive academic record {of more than 3.4/4 or 4.24/5 or B+) is also needed. Please note that the admission committee of Polimi can specify additional constraints on the individual study plan based on previous studies, in order to compensate possible lack of basic prerequisites.
FIRST SEMESTER
| Compulsory Major Courses | ECTS |
| Advanced User Interfaces | 6 |
| Data Bases | 5 |
| Software Engineering 2 | 5 |
| Compulsory l&E Courses | |
| Strategy & Marketing | 10 |
| Elective Major Courses: Choose one HCI Course | |
| Videogame Design and Programming | 5 |
| Design and Implementation of Mobile Applications | 5 |
| Choose one ICT Course | |
| Artificial Intelligence | 5 |
| Recommender Systems | 5 |
| Principles of Programming Languages | 5 |
SECOND SEMESTER
| Compulsory Major Courses | ECTS |
| Hypermedia Applications | 5 |
| Computing Infrastructure | 5 |
| Compulsory l&E Courses | |
| Designing Digital Business Innovation Lab | 10 |
| l&E Summer School | 4 |
| Elective Major Courses: Choose one HCI Course | |
| Interaction Design Studio | 5 |
| Process and Service Design | 5 |
| Multidisciplinary Project | 5 |
| Philosophical Issues of Computer Science | 5 |
| Interdisciplinary Course of Robotics | 5 |
| Choose one ICT Course | |
| Computer Graphics | 5 |
| Machine Learning | 5 |
| Computer Security | 5 |
Exit points, 2nd year, Specialisation
Academic year 2026/2027
Aalto University (Aalto)
HCID Programme Lead and Academic Coordinator for Aalto: Mika P. Nieminen, mika.nieminen@aalto.fi
SPECIALISATION: Cross-Device Interaction
Aalto University offers a specialisation in Cross-Device Interaction with courses on various design and user interface development techniques embarking from web and mobile development towards post-desktop interactions with virtual or augmented reality. Human interaction capabilities and goals largely remain the same even if the used interaction device and implementation methods evolve. 90’s early experimentations with mobile code (Java) have changed to responsive design and a mobile-first culture of information consumption. Through developments in sensors, algorithms, and computer graphics we are waiting for the consumer breakthrough of augmented reality and 3D user interfaces.
| Compulsory Courses (14 ECTS) | ECTS |
| Introduction course for Master's students: Career and working life skills | 1 |
| Language course: Compulsory degree requirement, both oral and written requirements | 3 |
| Design of WWW services | 5 |
| Device-Agnostic Design | 5 |
| Compulsory I&E Courses (6 ECTS) | |
| I&E Study Project | 6 |
| Optional major courses (select at least 10 ECTS) | |
| WWW Applications | 5 |
| Full Stack Web Development | 5-7 |
| Introduction to Virtual Reality | 3 |
| Coding Virtual Worlds | 6 |
| User Interface Construction | 5 |
| Computational Design and Interaction | 5 |
| Seminars and Special courses in Software and Service Engineering | 5 |
Mika P. Nieminen is a Senior University Lecturer at Aalto University School of Science. He is the Programme Director for the master’s programme in ICT Innovation. Mika also leads the HCID programme for the EIT Digital Master School as a whole and coordinates it locally at Aalto. He also teaching several courses on User-Centred Design. His research interests include UCD at large, and user involvement and user-centred design competencies in particular. In the past he has helped to design and built a TimeMachine(2006), a Holodeck (2010), Design War Room (2012) and a cross-dimensional log cabin (2020) enabling collaboration in and out of VR.
KTH Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
Academic Coordinator: Jan Gulliksen, gulliksen@kth.se
Jan Gulliksen is a Professor in Human Computer Interaction at KTH since 2009. Before this he was a Professor in Human Computer Interaction from Uppsala University, where he did his Master in Engineering Physics and his PhD in Systems Analysis.
He was a Guest Professor at Uppsala university and has been a Visiting Professor at INSEAD.
He served as the Dean of the School of Computer Science and Communication (CSC) 2011-2017. Between 2012 and 2016 he served as chairman of the Swedish Committee for Digitalization belonging to the Ministry of the Enterprise. Now he is a member of the Digitalization Council. he is also the Digital Champion of Sweden serving the European Commission.
He chaired the Nordic collaboration in Human Computer Interaction, NordiCHI from its start in 2000-2020, that is in charge of the NordiCHI conference series. He also chaired IFIP TC 13 on Human Computer Interaction, 2010-2016, and is in charge of the INTERACT conference series. He now serves as vice chair for outreach in IFIP TC13. He is also the Swedish representative in the IFIP General Assembly. He conducts practice-oriented action research on usability, accessibility and user-centred systems design, particularly focusing on improving the digital work environments for everybody.
SPECIALISATION: Physical Interaction Design and Realization
KTH offers a specialisation in Physical Interaction Design and Realisation with courses in design, development and implementation of physical and multimodal interaction. KTH is well fitted for this specialisation with a strong research background in areas like Physical Interaction, Soma design, mobile computing and User Centred Design of communication media. Furthermore, KTH offers a unique and integrated education and research environment with world-leading ICT industries located in Stockholm / Kista. Other facilities accessible to the master's students include an Interaction lab (middla.gitbook.io/lab/), a mobile services lab, a haptics lab, a usability lab, a physical computing lab and a new centre for information visualization (vic-sthlm.se) featuring ultra-high-resolution displays, holographic displays, eye tracking devices and multitouch surfaces.
| Mandatory Courses | ECTS |
| Degree Project in Computer Science and Engineering, specialising in ICT Innovation, Second Cycle | 30 |
| Multimodal Interaction and Interfaces | 7.5 |
| Research Methodology and Scientific Writing (Can be taken in year 1 or in year 2) | 7.5 |
| ICT Innovation Study Project | 6 |
| Physical Interaction Design and Realisation | 7.5 |
| Optional Courses | |
| Human-Computer Interaction, Research Seminars | 3 |
| Haptics, Tactile and Tangible Interaction | 7.5 |
| Ubiquitous Computing | 7.5 |
| Developing Mobile Applications | 7.5 |
| Sensor Based Systems | 7.5 |
| Mobile Networks and Services | 7.5 |
University of Twente (UT)
Academic Coordinator: Mariët Theune, m.theune@utwente.nl
The master programme is provided by Interaction Technology.
SPECIALISATION: Intelligent Systems
The University of Twente offers a specialisation in Intelligent Systems, examining and developing models that can simulate human intelligence in agents (incl. robots). Such agents can perform automated reasoning and learn automatically from various kinds of data, enabling them to carry out a perception-action cycle of understanding human behaviours and generating system responses. We look at tools and methods that can deal with incomplete, uncertain and ambiguous real-life data, including human speech and language. Students can also learn to design and develop multi-agent systems that can be applied to complex real world problems.
| Compulsory Courses | ECTS |
| I&E study EIT | 6 |
| Research Topics | 4 |
| Final Project | 30 |
| Specialisation Courses (min. 10 ECTS) | |
| Machine Learning I | 5 |
| Natural Language Processing | 5 |
| Multi-Agent Systems | 5 |
| Speech Processing | 5 |
| Data Science | 5 |
| Foundations of Information Retrieval | 5 |
| Machine Learning II | 5 |
| Advanced Project in Natural Language Processing | 5 |
| Deep Learning - from theory to practice | 5 |
| Image Processing and Computer Vision | 5 |
| Human-Robot Communication | 5 |
| Robot Perception, Cognition, and Navigation | 5 |
| Other Elective Courses (max. 10 ECTS) | |
| I-Tech Project | 10 |
| Multisensory Design | 5 |
| Philosophy of Technology | 5 |
| Computer Ethics | 5 |
Mariët Theune is assistant professor at the University of Twente, working in the Human Media Interaction research group. She has a background in computational linguistics and her research interests include automatic language generation, serious games, dialogue systems and embodied conversational agents.
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)
Programme Coordinators: Prof. Ricardo Imbert Paredes and Prof. Elena Villalba Mora
Prof. Ricardo Imbert is an associate professor at the Computer Science and Engineering School - Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos (ETSIINF) at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) since 2000. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science in 2005. Ricardo is currently Associate Vice-rector for Information Systems - Vicerrector Adjunto de Sistemas de Información at UPM, since April 2016.
Dr. Eng. Elena Villalba Mora is a Professor (Associate) at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain, in the Computer Science field, concretely in Human Computer Interaction; with more 20 years’ experience in User Experience, Universal Design and Digital Health. She holds a master’s degree in Telecommunications Engineering and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, both from the Technical University of Madrid (Spain).
THIRD SEMESTER
| Compulsory Courses (20 ECTS) | ECTS |
| Accessible Design of Interactive Systems | 4.5 |
| Adaptive Systems | 4.5 |
| Assistive Products | 4.5 |
| E-health: Promoting Healthy Agein | 4.5 |
| HCID Seminars II | 2.5 |
| Elective Major Courses (choose 1) (4 ECTS) | |
| Management, Relationships and Communication in Working Groups | 4 |
| Intelligent Virtual Environments: Technologies, Architectures and Applications | 4 |
| Compulsory I&E Minor Courses | |
| I&E Study | 6 |
FOURTH SEMESTER
| Compulsory Courses (30 ECTS) | ECTS |
| Master Thesis | 30 |
University of Trento (UNITN)
Academic Coordinator: Luca Turchet, luca.turchet@unitn.it
SPECIALISATION: Cognitive Interaction
The University of Trento (UNITN) offers a specialisation in cognitive interaction which studies the mental, cognitive and emotional processes that are underlying language, vision, audition, touch and interaction.
This specialisation provides the student with interdisciplinary training in the design, development and evaluation of interactive systems (including multisensory ones), as well as in language science, neuroscience, psychology, and computational methods for the statistical analysis of large amounts of language and perceptual data. Theoretical knowledge will be supplemented by experience acquired in substantial practical projects carried out in research and industry labs.
Further information can be found here.
THIRD SEMESTER
| Innovation & Entrepreneurship courses (6 ECTS) | ECTS |
| Innovation and Entrepreneurship Studies in ICT | 6 |
| Elective Courses (choose 24 ECTS) | |
| Advanced HCI | 6 |
| Social interaction | 6 |
| Participatory Design | 6 |
| Multisensory Interactive Systems | 6 |
| Prototyping Interactive Systems | 6 |
| Decision-making Processes and Digital Nudging | 6 |
| Affective Computing | 6 |
| Research Project | 12 |
| Project course | 6 |
| Internship & Master Thesis (30 ECTS) | 30 |
Luca Turchet is an Associate Professor at the Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science of University of Trento, where he leads the Creative, Intelligent and Multisensory Interactions Laboratory.
He received master’s degrees (summa cum laude) in Computer Science from University of Verona, in classical guitar and composition from Music Conservatory of Verona, and in electronic music from the Royal College of Music of Stockholm. He received the Ph.D. in Media Technology from Aalborg University Copenhagen.
His scientific, artistic, and entrepreneurial research has been supported by numerous grants from different funding agencies including the European Commission (Marie Curie Individual Fellowship), the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, the European Space Agency, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Danish Research Council. He is co founder of the company Elk, which operates in the sector of Music Technology. He serves as an associate editor for IEEE Access and the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society. He has been guest editor of a special issue of the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society on the Internet of Sounds topic. He is the founder and General Chair of the International Workshop on the Internet of Sounds. His main research interests are in music technology, Internet of Things, human-computer interaction, and perception.
