Course-PM

TEK320 Digital economics and policy lp2 HT21 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the Department of Technology Management and Economics

Contact details

Examiner and course responsible:

Erik Bohlin, erik.bohlin@chalmers.se and tel +46317721205

Course assistant:

Parissa Mokhtabad, parissa@chalmers.se and tel +46317721160

Teachers

Erik Bohlin (EB), Professor, Chalmers University of Technology, (examiner and course responsible)

Johannes Bauer (JB), Professor, Michigan State University, USA

Sebastian Borregaard, Director, Konsert Strategy & IP, Sweden

Anwesha Chakraborty (AC), PhD, Bologna University, Italy

Simon Forge (SF), Ph.D, Managing Director, SCF Associates, United Kingdom

Rob Frieden (RF), Professor Emeritus, Pennsylvania State University, USA

Martin Glaumann (MG), Partner, Arthur D. Little AB, Sweden

Bronwyn Howell (BH), Professor, Victoria University, New Zealand

Per M. Johnsson (PMJ), Director, Ericsson AB, Sweden

Fredrik Lindeberg (FL), Ph.D., Security Director, NetNod, Sweden 

Chun Liu, Professor, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Yu-li Liu (YL), Professor, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Gérard Pogorel (GP),  Professor emeritus, Télécom ParisTech (formerly École Nationale Supérieure des Telecommunications - ENST), France

Stephen Schmidt (SS), Chief Legal Counsel, TELUS Inc., Canada

Georg Serentschy (GS), Managing Director, Serentschy Advisory Services GMBH, Austria

Pratompong Srinuan (PS), Director, National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission, Thailand

Jonas Wessel (JW), Director, Post- och telestyrelsen, Sweden

Harald Øverby (HØ), Professor, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

Course purpose

The course Digital Economy and Policy introduces students to one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy, namely the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, and its effects on other sectors. The aim of the course is to provide tools for analysing the complex dynamics of  digtialisation, by taking both a historical and forward-looking perspective on key strategic and policy issues, as well as their underlying economic logic. 

Content

The course Digital Economy and Policy addresses ICT issues from different angles, which include:

• Key policy and strategic issues in the ICT industry;
• Overview of tools to understand institutional change, regulation, policy, industry change and corporate strategy;
• Investment, costing and demand;
• Foresight and future issues relating to digitalisation;
• Interaction between government actions and strategic decision making;
• User perspectives of technology change and development;
• Identification and analysis of the particular ethical dilemmas that the ICT sector poses, related to privacy, inclusion, and sustainability

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be able to:

1. Apply theories, frameworks, conceptual tools and methods related to institutions, policy, regulation, strategy, industry and innovation dynamics in relation to the complex interplay between technology and society;
2. Analyze policies and regulations relevant for ICT industries and markets, in an international perspective, and address ethical and social dilemmas, such as sustainable development;
3. Identify main policy, regulatory and strategic issues;
4. Apply conceptual tools, methods and framework for analyzing policy dynamics and for taking strategic

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.

Study plan

Schedule

Check out TimeEdit  

See also calendar function in Canvas for further details. 

The general zoom access link for TEK320 is: https://chalmers.zoom.us/j/62063871384

Find here the schedule in file format: Overview Schedule TEK320-v 17 Nov 2021.pdf  

Course material

Course literature is available on the course homepage, with some readings to be uploaded at least one week before the lecture. Lecture slides will be uploaded on the course homepage after each lecture. See applicable week modules for readings and slides.  Recorded lectures are uploaded on a Google drive link available on a separate module.

Text vs files: Syllabus and modules

The syllabus as separate and downloadable file, with the complete information, will be made available.

For the same text, scroll further below, and consult the course page modules for detailed information on the assignments. Readings and lectures slides are available in the modules per week and day. 

<Syllabus to be uploaded and finalized.>

Changes made since the last occasion

The course will be conducted partly on distance. 

Learning objectives and syllabus

Learning objectives:

By the end of the course students will be able to:
(1) apply theories, frameworks, conceptual tools and methods related to institutions, policy, regulation, strategy, industry and innovation dynamics, in relation to the complex interplay between technology and society
(2) analyze policies and regulations relevant for ICT industries and markets, in an international perspective, and addressing ethical and social dilemmas, such as sustainable development
(3) identify main policy, regulatory and strategic issues
(4) apply conceptual tools, methods and framework for analyzing policy dynamics and for taking strategic decisions.

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.

Study plan

Group Registration

Group registration opens at the start of the course. Group registration provides access for the two group-based course assignments (project outline and project report). Each group has maximum of four students, and only one group slot is open per student. The students pick themselves which group they want to join. 

Examination

In order to pass this course, students are required to complete six assignments:

1. Project outline;
2. Project report;
3. Prepare questions for lectures
4. Individual reflection;
5. Take-home exam 1;
6. Take-home exam 2

All six assignments are compulsory, which means that only students that deliver all six assignments can pass the course. Students are asked to complete the first five assignments while the course lectures are ongoing. Only the deadline for take-home 2 is usually placed after the last course lecture. Project outline and project report are group-based assignments, while individual reflection, prepare questions to lectures, take-home exam 1 and take-home exam 2 are individual assignments.

These six assignments are described in more detail in the separate modules in this course home page. Furthermore, handouts with additional instructions regarding take-home exam 1 and 2 will be distributed during the lectures and later uploaded on the course homepage.

Written assignments have to be uploaded on the course homepage, using their specific assignment slots. Deadlines for uploading assignments on the course homepage are mandatory. It is not possible to upload documents after deadlines are passed.

Grading

Each assignment gives students a certain amount of points. Students have to earn a minimum amount of points per assignment in order to pass the course. Minimum and maximum points per assignment are illustrated in Table 1. There are no points associated with the project outline, which, however, needs to be approved by the examiner.

 

Table 1. Minimum and Maximum amount of points per assignment

ASSIGNMENT	MIN AMOUNT OF POINTS	MAX AMOUNT OF POINTS
Project Outline	Approval	Approval
Project Report	16	40
Prepare questions for zoom lectures and webinars	4	10
Individual Reflection	4	10
Take-Home Exam 1	8	20
Take-Home Exam 2	8	20
Total	40	100

The sum of all points earned gives the final grade. The final grade can be FAIL, 3, 4 or 5. The amounts of points which correspond to the various grades are illustrated in Table 2.

The sum of all points earned gives the final grade. Please have a look at the table below:

 

Table 2. Final Grade

SUM OF POINTS	FINAL GRADE
Below 40	FAIL
Between 40-59	3
Between 60-79	4
Between 80-100	5

 

Course summary

Mandatory Assignments, Deadlines and Max Points

Group-based Assignments	Start Date	Deadline	Oral Part	Max Points
Group Registration	1 November	14 November		Approval
Project Outline	1 November	13 November		Approval Approval
Project Outline Re-submission	15 November	22 November
Project Report	1 November	14 December	16 Dec	40
Individual Assignments	Start Date	Deadline	Oral Part	Max Points
Individual Reflection	1 November	2 December	No oral pres	10
Questions for Zoom Lectures and Webinars	1 November	Before each zoom-based lecture, in certain cases after the event. See events calendar		10
Take-home Exam 1	25 November	9 December		20
Take-home Exam 2	10 December	7 January		20

Make-up Assignment

In order to pass this course, all six assignments have to be completed. For the individual assignments, written texts have to be submitted via the course homepage. If one of the written texts is not delivered, students cannot pass the course.

For the group-based assignments, both the written and the oral parts are mandatory for all students. Written texts have to be submitted via the course homepage. If one of the written texts is not delivered, students cannot pass the course. Students who cannot participate in the presentation of the project report are asked to deliver an additional assignment. Make-up assignments are available on the course homepage, in the folder “Make-up assignments”. Deadline for uploading make-up assignments on the course homepage is 8 January.

Guest lectures

This year we will have many guest lectures by international experts, specialized academics and professionals in large and small companies. Students are kindly invited to participate in guest lectures, for two main reasons. Firstly, for the sake of students’ own learning process, which can benefit from experiences and expertise of guest lecturers, and, secondly, as a form of respect towards time and effort of lecturers. Importantly, for this year the course includes the assignment Questions for Lectures, which is a specific hand-in to stimulate reading and discussion with guest lecturers. (More information is available in the Module Individual Assignments on this course home page, made available at the start of the course.) Information from the guest lectures may be important for the the take-home exams, the individual reflection and the project work, so all are encouraged to attend the lectures by zoom. 

MTS requirement for all students

According to Decision 2002-12-11/C889-02 of the vice president for graduate studies, all students have to achieve credits in the study programme Humans, Technology, Society (Människa, Teknik, Samhälle) in order to obtain the degree of graduate engineer (civilingenjör). The course TEK320 is part of the MTS curriculum. 

Course Evaluation

At the end of the study period, the course will be evaluated by an evaluation group. The group evaluation is formed by the examiner and two or three students. Students can voluntarily propose themselves as potential evaluators. A course evaluation meeting is usually held at lunch time (12-13). The aim of the course evaluation is to improve and further content and structure of the course.