Course-PM

TEK320 Digital Economics and Policy lp2 HT22 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the Department of Technology Management and Economics

(Note that weekly course modules, readings and case instructions will be published at the start of the course. Modules that detail the examination forms are available by the publication of the course home page. Kindly note that the first tab on the various examination items contain detailed information on the examination forms, in the module section.)

Contact details

Examiner and course responsible:

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

Teachers

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

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

Neda Farhand (NF), Analyst, Ericsson AB, Sweden

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

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

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

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, Austria

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

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

Course purpose

The course Digital Economics 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 Economics and Policy addresses digital issues from different angles, which include:

• Key policy and strategic issues in the Information and Communication Technology (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

Schedule

Find here the preliminary overview schedule in file format: Overview Schedule TEK320-v30 Nov 2023.pdf

Check out also TimeEdit for the schedule (to be revised by course start).

The Canvas Calender will be available at the course start. 

The general zoom access link for TEK320 is (used only as seen in the overview schedule above):  https://chalmers.zoom.us/j/67074648993 

Syllabus Overview

Find the introduction slides here which provide an accessible overview: <to be uploaded> 

Course readings and videos

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 the course home page. Published course cases will be available for immediate on-line purchase on https://www.iveypublishing.ca/s/ - see further information for each teaching case module, when published at the start of the course. In addition, several cases are in draft form, and freely available on the course home page, when the corresponding module is published. 

Changes made since the last occasion

The course includes a number of case readings and case discussion sessions. The grading schedule has changed to account for student contributions in case discussions. The individual reflections have been changed to reflect on personal learnings in classes and are short in length. 

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 digitalisation of 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 for digtalisation
(4) apply conceptual tools, methods and framework for analyzing policy dynamics and for taking strategic decisions of digitalisation.

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 reflections;
5. Contribution to case discussions;
6. Take-home exam

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. The deadline for the take-home exam is usually placed after the last course lecture. Project outline and project report are group-based assignments, while individual reflections, preparing questions to lectures, contributions to case discussions and take-home exam 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 the take-home exam will be distributed during a lecture at the end of the course 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. Late submissions will impact its assessment. 

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	12	30
Preparing Questions (for zoom and guest lectures)	4	10
Individual Reflections	4	10
Contribution to Case Discussions	12	30
Take-Home Exam	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:

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	30 October	12 November		Approval
Project Outline	30 October	12 November		Approval Approval
Project Outline Re-submission	13 November	21 November
Project Report	30 October	12 December	14 Dec	30
Individual Assignments	Start Date	Deadline	Oral Part	Max Points
Individual Reflections	6 November	10 November	Active oral role is expected during case discussions	10
Questions for Zoom and Guest Lectures	31 October	Before each zoom-based or guest lecture, in certain cases after the event. See assignment calendar		10
Contribution for Cases	2 November	15 December		30
Take-home Exam	11 December	18 December		20

Make-up Assignment and Examination

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 for written submissions are available on the course homepage, in the folder “Make-up assignments”. 

If a student does not pass the Contribution to Case discussions, an additional examination opportunity may be offered as an oral examination, by a separate appointment and agreement with the examiner. 

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. 

Currently, the evaluators are as follows but more are free to join:

MPMEI             Agnes Abrahamsson

MPMEI             Felix Axelsson

MPMEI             Diogo Carvalhal Vala

MPDSC             Semala Devi Jayaprakash

EXCHANGE      Ward de Kok

You can contact these students by email in Canvas.