DIT004 Digitalization in a changing world
The purpose of this course is to prepare students as self-aware, responsible agents of change in the world, such that you are able to apply critical thinking and a long-term systemic perspective to the plethora of development opportunities provided by digitization.
We discuss sustainability and sustainable development concepts in class and relate them to climate change, world economics, systems thinking, and technological development. This builds the foundation for critically assessing the potential and risks of digitization in a changing world - i.e. when new ideas come around, you will be able to judge them well.
To make this very applicable in your future, we also conceptualize and develop prototypical IT systems that support sustainable development.
The course is carried out via:
- Flipped classroom for introducing concepts. You will be watching a documentary or reading a book or research article as preparation and then we discuss them in class and reflect on how to use these concepts in our work.
- Reflection by keeping a research diary. Development of and reflection on a personal sustainability practice. That means we try practices like yoga, meditation, walks in nature and reflect on the effects - yup, we have a well-qualified professor for that in IT, see below;
- A team project will be carried out in small teams over the extent of the course to apply all the new concepts (so you are comfortable at integrating your new sustainability knowledge into technology development), including requirements engineering, design, and prototyping of an IT service or product to explore sustainable development.
The course responsible and main teacher is Associate Professor Birgit Penzenstadler, who has been researching the connection between technology and sustainability for a decade, and for the last three years integrated her yoga teacher practice into research to increase the wellbeing and resilience of developers and engineers.
Kindly email me at birgitp@chalmers.se instead of messaging via Canvas.
This course is linked to Global Goal number: 3 (health & wellbeing), 9 (innovation) and 11 (sustainable communities).
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding: Students will know and understand the important concepts around sustainability, sustainable development, how technology can support humans in shifting towards a sustainable lifestyle, and what risks to be aware of.
Competence and skills: Students will be able to apply business analysis, requirements engineering, design and quality assurance methods that support the integration of sustainability-related values and objectives into IT systems and service development.
Judgement and approach: Students will be able to assess and judge the sustainability of a system under consideration in a specific context with its respective stakeholders using an established analysis framework and derive implications for supporting the envisioned benefits and mitigating potential risks in long-term systemic effects.
The course is sustainability-focused, which means that at least one of the learning outcomes clearly shows that the course content meets at least one of the University of Gothenburg’s confirmed sustainability criteria. The content also constitutes the course's main focus.
Components
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Project, 5 credits
Grading scale: Pass (G) and Fail (U) -
Assignments, 2.5 credits.
Grading scale: Pass (G) and Fail (U)
Form of teaching
Development of and reflection on a personal sustainability practice; flipped classroom for introducing concepts; a team project will be carried out in small teams over the extent of the course, including requirements engineering, design, and prototyping of an IT service or product to explore sustainable development.
Language of instruction: English
Assessment
The assessment is composed of active participation in class, contributions to the design and implementation of the team project, a final presentation thereof, and a written and illustrated report on the project including a documentation of its developments and analysis of its sustainability impacts.
If a student who has twice received a failing grade for the same examination component wishes to change examiner ahead of the next examination session, such a request should be made to the department in writing and should be approved by the department unless there are special reasons to the contrary (Chapter 6 Section 22 of the Higher Education Ordinance). If a student has received a recommendation from the University of Gothenburg for study support for students with disabilities, the examiner may, where it is compatible with the learning outcomes of the course and provided that no unreasonable resources are required, decide to allow the student to sit an adjusted exam or alternative form of assessment.
In the event that a course has ceased or undergone major changes, students are to be guaranteed at least three examination sessions (including the ordinary examination session) over a period of at least one year, but no more than two years after the course has ceased/been changed. The same applies to internships and professional placements (VFU), although this is restricted to just one additional examination session.
Grades
The grading scale comprises: Pass (G) and Fail (U). The course is passed if both modules are passed with at least 50%.
All assignments have to be submitted. If assignments are submitted after the due date, grading may be delayed until mid-September. If you need to comply with specific requirements in order to get this course accredited in your home university, please come talk to me at the beginning of the course and we can fix that. Thank you!
Course evaluation
The course is evaluated through meetings both during and after the course between teachers and student representatives. Further, an anonymous questionnaire is used to ensure written information. The outcome of the evaluations serves to improve the course by indication which parts could be added, improved, changed or removed.
References list
Games
Websites
- Vandana Shiva's documentary (she's our current big hope for taking seeds back from Monsanto): https://vandanashivamovie.com/Links to an external site.
- Solutions Journalism: https://www.yesmagazine.org/Links to an external site.
Research articles
- Regenerative design by Bill Reed (2007)
-
ICT for sustainability: An emerging research field by Hilty & Aebischer, 2015
- Requirements: The key to sustainability by Becker et al., 2016
- Take a deep breath. Benefits of neuroplasticity practices for software developers and computer workers in a family of experiments by Penzenstadler et al. 2022
- Tapping In-How to Decide: Mind, Heart, or Gut? by Penzenstadler and Norton, 2021
- When the implication is not to design by Baumer and Silberman
- Karlskrona Manifesto first publication
Books
- Designing Regenerative Cultures by Daniel Wahl
- Design Justice by Sasha Costanza-Chock
- "Insolvent" by Christoph Becker
- "Less is more" by Jason Hickel
- "Subtract - the untapped science of less"by Leidy Klotz
- Speculative DesignLinks to an external site. by Dunne & Raby
Further reading and online resources
- Project Drawdown
- Appropedia - the sustainability wiki you can edit
- Will healthy eating make you happier? A research synthesis using an online findings archive by Venhooven, 2021
- Is happiness relative? by Venhooven, 1991
- Systems thinking courses by the Open University
Tools
- The Sustainability Analysis Framework.
- SDG Impact Assessment Tool. (and the SDGs)
- Encyclopaedia of Life
Face to face meetings
We will have a combination of input, discussion, and working sessions.
Here is the Google Maps pinLinks to an external site. to the building.
Education credit points magic: If you ever wondered how this works, I am also documenting this for myself and future instructors. 7.5 ECTS gets us to work together for about 200 hours, and with 5 weeks in this summer school, that means you will be fully occupied by this program, because that turns into 40 hours of work per week. We meet face to face for 8 hours per week, first for discussing input after you prepared it according to the reading list and my instructions, then you work in groups to apply what you have learned. Part of that group work you do on your own outside of class, and there are feedback and tutorial sessions where we work together and you can ask me lots of questions.
Course summary:
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