Digital Product Design & Development
In digital product development, having a good idea is no longer enough — success depends on how quickly you can validate and bring it to life. The Digital Product Design and Development microdegree equips you with practical tools to turn business concepts into user-tested, functionally realistic prototypes. By combining UX design, AI-assisted prototyping and strategic thinking, the microdegree programme enables you to make better product decisions and reduce development risk.
Practical info
Course Date
Capacity
15 ECTS (390 academic hours, of which 72 in classroom and 318 individual work)
Lecturers
Language
English
Method
In class
Prerequisites
- Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent qualification
- At least 3 years of work experience in business or entrepreneurship (experience in both people and process management is highly valued)
- EU/EEA/Swiss citizenship or a valid temporary residence permit allowing study in Estonia.
- Sufficient proficiency in English (minimum level B2)
- Successful consultation with an EBS admissions consultant before August 15, 2026
Location
EBS University, A.Lauteri 3, Tallinn
Price
From product ideas to working, testable solutions
This microdegree focuses on translating product ideas into tangible, testable solutions. While product strategy defines what to build and why, this programme equips you with the skills to design, prototype and validate how it should work in practice.
Apply human-centric design and agile prototyping principles also to the public sector to streamline digital service delivery, ensuring that governance tools remain accessible, transparent, and responsive to citizen needs.
You will gain a structured understanding of digital product design — from defining user requirements to building high-fidelity prototypes. The programme integrates AI tools and low-code/no-code approaches, allowing you to rapidly test ideas without relying entirely on development teams.
In addition to practical skills, the programme strengthens your strategic decision-making: how to make informed decisions, structure product features and align design choices with business goals. As a result, you are able to move from concept to market readiness faster and with lower risk.
Who is Digital Product Design & Development intended for?
The microdegree is designed for professionals working in product development and innovation who want to strengthen their capabilities in digital product design and prototyping. It is suitable for product and project managers, UX/UI and service designers, as well as professionals in business development, innovation and marketing roles who are involved in developing and launching new products or services.
The programme is also valuable for entrepreneurs who want to validate their ideas and turn them into functional digital solutions. Participants are expected to have prior exposure to business processes or product development and hold at least a bachelor’s degree.
Explore the microdegree
The master’s level microdegree programme runs from 17 October to 12 December 2026.
Lectures and seminars take place over nine training days: every other week on Fridays and Saturdays. Each training day runs from 10:00 to 17:15. The schedule includes a 45-minute lunch break and several short breaks.
Exact dates: 17.10, 30.10, 31.10, 13.11, 14.11, 27.11, 28.11, 11.12, 12.12.2026
In-class discussion and direct interaction add depth to the learning experience and help build valuable connections, but the lectures are also recorded.
The microdegree is worth 15 ECTS credits. The total workload is 390 hours, of which 72 hours are contact teaching and the remainder is independent study.
We value in-person learning and peer interaction, so all sessions are held on campus.
Topics Covered
A high-quality digital product is created through the combination of user-centred design and a well-managed development process. This microdegree provides a clear framework for turning ideas into functional, user-friendly digital solutions.
The programme focuses on user experience design, prototyping and managing product development workflows. Participants learn how to connect design and technology, apply agile ways of working and collaborate effectively across product teams.
Successful digital products are built on a strong understanding of user needs and informed decision-making. This microdegree emphasises practical application, enabling participants to design, prototype and evaluate solutions that are intuitive, technically sound and feasible to implement.
What will you learn?
- User experience (UX) and service logic – designing user journeys and seamless experiences
- UX/UI prototyping and testing – visualising and validating ideas before development
- Delivery process and roles – turning ideas into working products
- Agile ways of working – using sprint-based workflows and collaborating effectively
- Quality execution – ensuring usability, functionality and clarity of solutions
User Research and User Requirements Analysis– 8 contact hours, 44 hours of independent study – 2 ECTS
Why it matters?
Provides the foundation for informed product decisions.
What will happen? covers user research methods, benchmarking, ideation, and defining and structuring user requirements.
User Experience (UX) Design – 16 contact hours, 62 hours of independent study – 3 ECTS
Why it matters?
Defines usability and the overall logic of the product.
What will happen?
Covers design ethics and heuristics, information architecture (e.g. card sorting), and the fundamentals of visual design (composition, typography, colour).
AI-based Agile Product Development Methodologies – 24 contact hours, 106 hours of independent study – 5 ECTS
Why it matters?
Enables rapid prototyping and validation of ideas.
What will happen?
Participants use AI tools and prompting to accelerate prototyping, develop the structure and interaction logic of digital products, and build testable, high-fidelity prototypes, with realistic interactions and behaviour. The session emphasises an AI-assisted “vibe coding” approach and iterative development to quickly move from idea to a working solution.
Capstone II: Digital product launch - – 24 contact hours, 106 hours of independent study – 5 ECTS
Why it matters?
Connects design, prototyping and business value into a coherent outcome.
What will happen?
Participants run a full product design sprint, plan and conduct user testing, iterate their prototype based on real feedback, and refine the value proposition. The course culminates in a strategic MVP presentation, where participants communicate the value of their solution to stakeholders.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification.
- At least 3 years of work experience in business or entrepreneurship
- EU/EEA/Swiss citizenship or a valid temporary residence permit allowing study in Estonia.
- English at B2 level
- Completed online consultation with EBS before October 10, 2026
Learning outcomes
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of the microdegree, the learner will be able to:
- Understand how to map user requirements and translate them into technical specifications;
- Understand how to create an intuitive and convenient user experience;
- Be able to create a technically working prototype to test with users.
Programme Completion Requirements
The microdegree is based on practical learning and the step-by-step development of a digital product. Throughout the programme, participants work with user research, UX design, prototyping and AI-based development tasks, applying their knowledge in both individual and team assignments.
To complete the programme, participants must successfully pass all courses, achieve the learning outcomes and present a final digital product solution (MVP) as part of the capstone project.
Assesment criteria
Assessment is based on practical assignments, prototypes, analyses and presentations that support the validation and development of ideas into functional solutions. Participants receive feedback throughout the learning process, and assessment is aligned with the learning outcomes of each course.
Courses are assessed on a pass/fail basis, while the capstone project is graded on the A–F scale.
Learning Enviroment
The courses takes place at EBS’s modern campus in Tallinn, A. Lauteri 3. Students have access to ergonomic classrooms, the EBS library, and the cloud-based Canvas learning platform. The study process is supported by online tools such as Canvas and MS Teams. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the building.
The University reserves the right to make adjustments to the programme in cooperation with the lead lecturer to ensure the best possible learning experience.
View intro video of the programme
How has the rise of large language models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) changed the work of requirements engineering and product management?
In this short webinar, Marko Rillo (Head of MBA Programmes, Estonian Business School) and Martin Maduka Ejeagwu (Junior Research Fellow, EBS) discuss how AI has sped up the creation of user stories, acceptance criteria, and requirements documentation — and why human judgment, critical thinking, and domain expertise matter more than ever as a result.
Certificate
A micro-degree certificate with ECTS credits, which can be counted toward an EBS master’s programme
EBS SUPPORT SERVICES
Not quite sure about your choice yet?
The programme is still being refined.
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If you do not yet hold a bachelor’s degree or prefer a hands-on approach to product creation, we recommend the bachelor-level course Digital Product Development and Prototyping. It focuses on rapid experimentation and prototyping, while this microdegree takes a more structured approach, combining design, technology and validation into a decision-making process.
