DATA1100 Technology and Society for Programmers Course description

Digital competence is a key factor in ensuring the employability of candidates in all professions vital to our society. This course will provide a fundamental understanding of our digital world. It gives an overview of how technology affects our lives and the way we work, as well as our social structures, work patterns and individual preferences contributing to shaping technology. Social media, digital governance, and eHealth are all examples of how technology has profoundly changed our everyday lives in the last few decades. An understanding of the benefits and limitations of technology is vital in any profession, regardless of field or speciality. In this course, students will acquire the basic knowledge required to harness the potential of technology and recognise its limitations and potentially harmful consequences on work and society. They will learn to identify the opportunities to use technology to foster inclusion and participation in an increasingly diverse and multicultural society. They will practice communicating orally the concepts they acquire in a structured manner.

This course is given in English.

After completing the course, the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• has advanced knowledge of their area of specialisation and can analyse academic problems to identify the need for research and professional development
• has in-depth knowledge of the research process

Skills

The student

• can analyse relevant theories and issues to initiate and carry out a limited research, quality improvement or development work
• can use relevant methods for research, quality improvement or development work in their own work
• can analyse and deal critically with various sources of information and use them in scholarly arguments in their own research, quality improvement or development work
• can carry out an independent, limited research, quality improvement or development work in accordance with the approved project description and the applicable norms for research ethics

General competence

The student

• can communicate relevant issues, analyses and conclusions from their own research, quality improvement or development work to both the general public and academia
• can contribute to new thinking, innovation processes and evidence-based practice in the health services and in health-promoting work

After completing this course the student should have the following learning outcome:

Knowledge

On successful completion of this course the student understands:

• the role of technological innovation with regards to consumption, economic growth and sustainable development
• the idea of digital citizenship, including digital rights and responsibilities, from a local, national and global perspective
• the democratic principles behind e-inclusion and a universally designed society
• the basics of information security, including precautions to guarantee safety and privacy
• the basic ideas behind of algorithms, and how their use may constrain or enable work processes and other aspects of everyday life

Skills

On successful completion of this course the student can:

• evaluate and discuss technological and societal aspects of a case in a specific domain
• describe and discuss ethical challenges at the intersection of technology and society, including issues of integration, participation and multiculturalism
• identify, respond to and limit the negative impact of unethical and harmful online behaviour
• evaluate the possibilities and challenges of technological solutions in various professions relevant to their field of study

General Competence

On successful completion of this course the student can:

• be a valuable contributor to the design, planning and implementation of new technology
• be a positive agent of change in their own profession and field of study with regards to leveraging the potential of technology
• participate in innovative processes involving new and emerging technologies and build skills in anticipating and adapting to technological change
• reflect on technology use both within their field and from an interdisciplinary perspective

The course will utilize 'blended learning', with a combination of in-person teaching or guidance, and use of online material. The students will be working on interdisciplinary cases focused on critical reflection.

5 group submissions

Individual multiple choice home exam over 24 hours.

The exam is only given in English.

Language of instruction: Norwegian/English

Under supervision, the students will conduct an independent research or development project, or a literaturestudy. Students can choose to write the master’s thesis individually or in pairs. On application, large, interdisciplinary innovation projects can be written in groups of up to four students. Students can also apply to write the master’s thesis with students from other specialisations if they so wish, provided that the scope of the master’s thesis is the same. If more than one student work on the master’s thesis together, each student’s contributions must be documented. The thesis can be written as a monograph or as a scientific article on a specialised topic.

Development of the project description in preparation for the master’s thesis is part of the course MAVIT4070 Research Design and Project Description, 10 ECTS credits.

Pass/Fail

All compulsory courses in the programme must be passed before the student can submit their master's thesis for assessment.

The following must have been approved in order for the student to be permitted to take the examination:

• Two oral presentations (up to 20 minutes each) at the master seminar, and completion of the opponent role with critique/feedback on the presentation from fellow students.