Course syllabus for The role of digitalization in the sustainable society

Course syllabus adopted 2022-01-27 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameDigitaliseringens roll i ett hållbart samhälle
  • CodeTEK735
  • Credits7.5 Credits
  • OwnerTKITE
  • Education cycleFirst-cycle
  • Main field of studyEnergy and Environmental Systems and Technology
  • ThemeEnvironment 7.5 c
  • DepartmentTECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS
  • GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language Swedish
  • Application code 52125
  • Block schedule
  • Open for exchange studentsNo
  • Only students with the course round in the programme overview.

Credit distribution

0119 Project 3 c
Grading: TH		3 c
0219 Take-home examination 4.5 c
Grading: TH		4.5 c

In programmes

Examiner

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Eligibility

General entry requirements for bachelor's level (first cycle)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Specific entry requirements

The same as for the programme that owns the course.
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Course specific prerequisites

No course specific prerequisites.

Aim

The course introduces basic knowledge of sustainability (ecological, social and economic) and critical discussion of the possibilities and risks of IT development in relation to sustainable development. The course provides understanding of the relationships that impact the sustainability of products and services, in a life cycle perspective, and of how complex sustainability challenges can be disaggregated into problems that can be addressed with the expertise of IT-engineers. The course develops the students’ ability to read and analyze texts with different perspectives on digitalization and sustainability, as well as conduct academical debate in writing.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

  1. Explain the three dimensions (ecological, economic and social) of the concept of sustainable development and for different perspectives on it. 
  2. Account for applications of the concepts of sustainable development and sustainability and identify ethical challenges. 
  3. Explain causes of unsustainable development and give examples of unsustainable conditions in society and nature and discuss strategies addressing them on different levels (from individual to transnational agreements). 
  4. Describe the relationship between IT, nature and society; identify possibilities and risks with digitalisation and automatisation. 
  5. Discuss different perspectives on how economical-, environmental- and social factors interact and impact on sustainability. 
  6. Account for methods and tools for analyses of environmental impacts during the lifecycle of an ICT service or product. 
  7. Use problem solving and critical and creative thinking in groups, to link ICT development and ICT use to sustainability. 
  8. Analyse different types of texts in sustainability debates and express themselves in writing addressing readers outside of their own fields of expertise.

Content

  • Basic principles of sustainable development 
  • Global sustainable development goals 
  • Differences among perspectives and discussions of sustainable development 
  • The role of the IT engineer in a sustainable society 
  • Formulating an IT project that contributes to sustainable development. 
  • Sustainability challenges of IT 
  • Life Cycle Analysis 
  • Climate change in a sustainable development context 
  • Writing reports for different readers

Organisation

The teaching is carried out through lectures in parallel with a project conducted in groups and is presented in writing and orally. One part of the course focuses on theoretical principles in sustainable development and serves as the basis for the formulation of a vision for the project. This part is accounted for in an individual take-home exam conducted in segments throughout the course. The second part of the course is a group project comprising the identification of a sustainability problem, tools for analysis of the current situation and developing an IT-based contribution to solving the sustainability problem identified by the groups. The group project is accounted for in a written report and an oral presentation.

Literature

Course literature will be announced on the course webpage.

Examination including compulsory elements

Group project presented in writing and orally (3hp). Individual take-home exam (4,5hp). Grades: F, 3, 4, 5. Both parts must have been passed to pass the course.

The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.