As an engineer, it is important to be aware of the impact technology has on people and society. During your bachelor's program, you will therefore follow an Impact of Technology program (ITEC). This program consists of 2 courses; ITEC: Ethics of Technology and Engineering and ITEC: Engineering for society.
ITEC: Ethics for technology and engineering
Ethics of Technology and Engineering introduces students to normative skills that help engineers, designers, and researchers to make decisions concerning ethical questions. These skills are needed e.g., to understand the complex societal context of sustainable mobility and energy systems, to deal with and to identify privacy aspects of all kinds of smart systems, or to help solve controversial health and risk issues. Students acquire insights into basic ethical concepts (such as values, risks and responsibilities) and analyse the role these concepts play in the context of the development and design of technologies.
Depending on your program, you will follow the course in Quartile 4 (0LVX10) or Quartile 2 (0LVX30)
More information on the content can be found in the Osiris Course Catalogue or go to the ITEC pages via the links below.
ITEC: Engineering for society
Technological innovation is one of the key elements of human progress. New technologies can provide business opportunities, solve social problems, and allow users to do new things. However, even with clear expectations and active participation of a broad range of stakeholders, new technologies also raise ethical questions, can have serious implications for society and the environment, and pose new risks, often unknown and unknowable before the new technologies reach maturity. Society not only shapes technology but technology also shapes society.
New technologies strongly depend on social acceptance and cannot escape public debates of regulation and ethics. Engineers who develop technologies must do that responsibly, since they do not just make things; they build society. They need to reflect on – and include – public values in this process. This requires methods and approaches to evaluate and compare technologies. This course provides theoretical and practical frameworks for assessing and designing responsible innovations.
Depending on your program, you will follow the course in Quartile 1 (0LVX40) or Quartile 3 (0LVX20)
More information on the content can be found in the Osiris Course Catalogue.