Students are expected to understand and reflect on emerging technologies and sustainable development and on the mutual influences between them. 

At the end of the course, students will be able to: 

discuss with experts of different disciplines on opportunities and risks of digital technologies; 
represent multifaceted points of view on digital technologies deployment; 
analyse and propose environmentally and socially sound solutions. 
The course activities will be carried out in groups or individually. 

Students will acquire the following competences: 

knowledge and understanding: analyzing environmental and social impact of emerging technologies; 
critical reflection and making judgments: knowing and applying contemporary critical approaches to evaluate the achievement of different sustainable development goals; taking a personal stand in the public debate on digital innovation; 
communication skills: working in teams; presenting proposals autonomously and in group; discussing with experts and peers. 

The course will be organized in thematic seminars with invited guests. Each topic will be investigated through a seminar comprehending an expert lecture, a students’ group presentation (flipped classroom) and an open discussion.

Seminars will cover several aspects of digital technologies in relation to sustainable development, and will be articulated in three areas as follows:

Digital data and society

• Personal data for interactive solutions: computer ethics and the problem of privacy

• Managing stereotypes in emerging technologies through data analytics

• Artificial Intelligence, operational listening and surveillance

Smart Governance for sustainable development at the community level

• Decision-making support systems for climate planning and action
• Data visualization and participation
• Citizen Science for environmental data generation and co-monitoring
• Extended experiencing: application and sustainability challenges
• Information society and environmental sustainability

Discrimination and new technologies: risks and opportunities

• Social inclusion and digital divide
• Interactive games and gamification
• Blockchain applications and human rights
• Converging technologies and human enhancement

• SDG11 - SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
• SDG12 - RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
• SDG16 - PEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS

Starting from the title itself, the entire course will be permeated by the themes of sustainable development in relation to the role that digital technologies can have (both opportunities and criticalities) in addressing the environmental, social and also economic transition. So, although all the SDGs are addressed and relevant, three in particular will be the background to the different seminars:

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Digital technologies will always be investigated starting from applications in society, with reference to urban and territorial contexts, and how they can produce new services for communities towards more sustainable models or, if not properly applied and managed, become a risk of further social and environmental divide and injustice.
• SDG 12: Responsible Construction and Production. The attention of the design of products and services to the promotion of a circular society passes through a critical knowledge and reflection of the use of digital technologies. On one hand, digital technologies can accelerate collaborative consumption models, and allow to save material resources. On the other hand, although invisible, digital technologies reveal a significant and growing environmental footprint, which must be taken into account in the design and management of products and services.
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong institutions. The application of digital and pervasive technologies in society increasingly requires public institutions to acquire the role of coordinators and guarantors of innovation processes, which are mostly generated in the private business sector. In fact, in order to promote the implementation and dissemination of new digital products and services to communities, local governments must be able to guarantee forms of democracy, inclusion and shared governance, open access to data and information, in compliance with rights and in response to the needs of individuals and the collectivity.

The course will be organized in seminars with invited guests.

Attending students will be asked to:

1. in groups, prepare a presentation on given material in assigned dates;
2. individually or in groups, deliver either a paper on a topic related with the course contents or a design proposal for an original product or a service, on a topic emerging from the seminars. The templates for both the paper and the design proposal will be given at the beginning of the course. The topics will be agreed upon with the teachers;
3. individually, participate in the open discussion.

Outcomes will be assessed through a summative evaluation approach considering presentation, paper or design proposal and participation.

Students have to attend at least the 80% of classes to be admitted to the exam as attending students.

Non-attending students will be able to take an oral examination on a bibliography agreed upon with the teachers.