Skip to main content

Archives: Courses

Eco-systems disruption by IT

Written by Sharon Feijen on .

An ecosystem is a collection of parties who work cooperatively and competitively to satisfy customer needs. Well-known examples are Google, Facebook, and Netflix, but there are many other eco-systems in the field, e.g. in Fintech, energy, and automotive industry. In this course, we focus on digital ecosystems which are enabled by Internet- and related technologies. Frequently, these ecosystems are disrupted by innovative information technologies, such as machine learning, blockchain, and 5G mobile. The overall goal of this course is to analyze disruptive opportunities for an eco-system given a particular emerging technology. This year, that technology is blockchain.

Course content

The course comprises the following topics:

  • Eco-systems and platforms
  • Introduction in the selected technology of this year
  • Business models and value proposition design
  • The e3value method for understanding business networks
  • The Business Process Modelling Notation for analysing cross-organizational networks
  • The Unified Modelling Language – class modelling
  • Transaction modelling
  • Technological design issues

Additional information on teaching methods

The following methods are used:

  • Lectures twice a week. These lectures include in-class workshops to practice the various methods used in this course
  • Group work: teams of about 2/3 students design an eco-system. At the beginning of the course a number of eco- systems are offered as inspiration
  • Group feedback sessions: Each week, students will get personal feedback in face-to-face feedback sessions. Moreover, groups will receive feedback on their submitted reports by email.

In order to be successful, the student should have sufficient knowledge about Requirements Engineering and/or Conceptual Modelling and should master such a modelling method (for example UML class or activity diagrams). 

Registration

Interested students can send an e-mail to shortmobility@vu.nl and will then receive the online application form. Please make sure to finalise your registration before 15 January 2025. Please reach out to the Aurora representatives at your home university to discuss the possibilities for funding.

Orbis Pictus: Visual Culture of Early Modern Europe (KHI/XOPS)

Written by Marketa Semberova on .

The starting point will be the book Orbis sensualium pictus by Jan Amos Comenius, which will serve as a basic guide to early modern culture and at the same time enable the selection and formulation of individual topics. Each student will choose one of the topics and, in consultation with the instructor, prepare a presentation along with supplementary material (readings for other students, list of recommended readings, etc.).

This course requires physical attendance throughout the whole semester.

Digital Citizenship (KMS/DEDCT)

Written by Marketa Semberova on .

This course focuses on creating awareness about digital rights, responsibilities, and ethics, aiming to equip students for the digital environment to become informed and safe participants in the online community. This course is to explore the theoretical foundations of digital communication and understand how digital and hybrid media theories interpret the historical and current roles of user-centric media. Moreover the course provides essential knowledge about the digital world and the consequences of the development of internet users’ daily lives.
This course aims to develop critical thinking and self-reflection skills among students in the digital environment, enabling them to become active, informed, and responsible participants in the online community.

Content of the course:
1. Digital world sensitizing concepts.
2. Digital public sphere – online privacy and security.
3. Deep mediatization (changes in the dynamics of online world).
4. Digital identity (from “qualified self” to digital narcissism) – online footprint.
5. Digital citizenship
6. Digital Rights and Responsibilities
7. Big Data Sciencea.
8. Digital Religion.
9. Human-machine communication.
10. Research findings in the area of the digital world (netnography).
11. Algorythms and iterations.
12. Information literacy.
13. AI and its consequences

 

This course will be held fully on-line.