POSDO6100 Practice Oriented Systemic Design Emneplan

On this course, you will be challenged to take a role as a practice oriented systemic designer - facilitating, managing, and designing systems, service and product solutions, and strategies for implementation. You will combine methods from both design and game dynamics in order to engage users and consumers towards behavioural and systemic change.

The skills, knowledge and insights you will attain during this course are highly sought after in both the private and public sectors, especially within the rapidly growing service and systems design field, systemic product design, and academic design research.

The course is a collaboration between Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway and L’École de design Nantes Atlantique, France.

None, other then the admission requirements.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved advanced level in the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence: 

Knowledge 

The student will attain knowledge within:

• general systems theory

• cybernetic and communication theory

• system dynamics and analysis

• game dynamics in systems

• methods for data gathering in complex settings (visual interviewing, design probes and play probes, co-design, among others)

• experimentation in systems

Skills 

The student is capable of:

• describe and identify exceedingly complex contexts through systems thinking

• creating Systems-maps on the basis of complex settings through data gathering, analysis, cooperation and creative processes

• using Systems-maps as conversation tools

• utilizing methods for data gathering, sharing, cooperation, analysis, and documentation: visual interviewing, design probing, play probing, co-design, feministic design, auto-ethnographical research, mapping workshops, Systems-maps workshops, and analysis: by theoretical overlay, of relations, patterns, causality, stakeholder, systems dynamics, and concept mapping, on the basis of visualizations data

• documenting all findings in common visualizations and reducing data into graphs that communicate essences of discussions, findings, tendencies, and so forth

• creating services and products on the basis of the above-mentioned skills

General competence 

The student attains advanced competence in systems oriented design by:

• developing the ability to understand and handle complexity and systems thinking in design processes in teams and complex organizations, and in products, systems, and service design projects

• holistic thinking and understanding of design projects in relation to sustainability, environmental and social megatrends, general societal contexts and dynamics, culture, politics, market and technological contexts

• communication and cooperation by visualization, Systems-mapping, and other types of mapping

• all which contribute to the capability to play a lead and cooperative role in design related projects in public and business contexts

• the ability to implement a chosen specialization as an additional approach or focus within this specific course context

• apply game dynamics in systems, services, and products

The most important teaching and learning methods for this course are: workshops, group work, lectures based on conversation theory, discussions (conversation theory based), studio courses and tutoring.

Physical attendance and digital course, Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)

The course is planned for students to meet in groups physically and through digital media.

The following required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam:

• note of reflection. Maximum 1000 words

• workshop documentation

Individual or group portfolio examination. 

The portfolio consists of: Systems Maps (visual map) + additional movie or animation

The examination result can be appealed. 

All aids allowed

A grading scale of A (highest) to F (lowest) where A to E is a pass grade and F is a fail grade.

Two internal examiners (one examiner from each University) External examiners are used regularly.

To apply for this course you need:

• A bachelor’s degree, or an equivalent degree

• CV

• A letter that outlines your motivation for applying for the course, and how you think this might benefit your professional practice.