VERB1070 Technology and Society Course description

The language is normally English.

Technologies, from the stone axe to the computer, have been integral in shaping how we live, think, interact, and work. Advances in digitalization have made digital competences a significant factor in ensuring the employability of candidates in all professions vital to our society. Understanding the benefits, the limitations, and the transformative power of technologies on public and private life as well as professional practice is crucial.

In this course, students will acquire the basic knowledge needed to harness the potential of digital technologies and identify opportunities to use technology to foster inclusion, active participation, and sustainability in society and the workplace. Through individual reflection, shared exploration and group discussions, students will gain awareness of how technological developments might impact their future professions, and their role as citizens in an increasingly digitalized society.

This course will provide students with the foundational knowledge and means to become a responsible agent of change in their own profession and field of study. Students will learn to recognise limitations, strengths and potentially disruptive consequences of technological innovation and grapple with the social, ethical, and political issues that arise as technology becomes both increasingly complex and essential to the function of society.

No additional course-specific requirements.

The course provides an overview of the structure and reactivity of organic molecules. The laboratory course includes organic synthesis and the use of UV and IR spectrophotometers.

Approved laboratory course in KJPE1300 General Chemistry, or equivalent knowledge.

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

Knowledge

The student:

• is familiar with the structure, stereochemistry and bonds in organic molecules
• is familiar with organic acids and bases
• is familiar with reactions with alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, haloalkanes, aromatic compounds, alcohols, phenols, ethers, thiols, aldehydes, carboxyl acid, carboxylic acid derivatives and amines
• is familiar with the equipment used in organic chemistry and how it is used
• has some knowledge of the planning and performance of organic synthesis
• is capable of keeping up-to-date on key knowledge in the field of organic chemistry.

Skills

The student is capable of:

• reading and following the procedure of organic synthesis published in the chemical literature
• checking the identity and purity of a synthesis product with the use of physical measurements and spectroscopy
• reporting the results of their own laboratory work so that it can be reproduced by others.

General competence

The student is capable of:

• using knowledge about the reactivity of molecules to consider alternative syntheses and choosing a synthesis that entails little risk in relation to health, safety and the environment
• assessing their own work and, if necessary, proposing measures to improve an existing procedure
• communicating the results of laboratory work to both chemists and non-chemists, both orally and in writing
• contributing to good HSE practice in a workplace through attitudes to and knowledge of organic chemistry

The teaching will consist of lectures and exercises.

The following coursework is compulsory and must be approved before the student can sit the exam:

• 6-day laboratory course with 6 pertaining written assignments (2-5 pages per assignment)
• 10 assignments in OWL (Online Web Learning) (2-4 hours per assignment)

Part 1: Individual written exam, 3 hours, counts 80 %.

Part 2: Individual folder exam (OWL submission, 2-4 hours per submission, and laboratory reports, 2-5 pages per report), counts 20%. The 10 best submissions of a total of 15 submissions on OWL (Online Web Learning)

Both examinations must be passed to pass the course (grade E or better). All counting submissions in the folder must also be passed to pass (grade E or better) in the subject.

Exam results can be appealed.

Grade scale A-F.

One internal examiner. External examiners are used regularly.