The course includes lectures, seminars, project work in groups and a home exam. Lectures and seminars include presentations and discussions about challenges and goals of sustainable development in different parts of society, for example how digitalisation can contribute with solutions but also contribute to new challenges, and basic innovation theory with applications for sustainable innovation.

The project work is carried out in collaboration with a company or research project. The aim is that the students should apply knowledge and skills in digitalisation from earlier courses on different problems with connection to sustainable development. The project work is reported in a written report and orally at a final seminar.

In the home exam, the students are given the opportunity to specialise in an area of digitalisation for sustainable development of their own choice.

The overall aim of the course is that students upon completion of the course should have sufficient knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of digitalisation, with regard to ecological and social sustainable development in a system perspective, so that they can make conscious choices and can search additional knowledge in a well-informed way when developing new solutions.

On completion of the course, the students should be able to

• Give an account of and problematise the concept sustainable development
• Give an account of central concepts and methods that are used to describe and assess sustainability aspects of technical solutions with a system perspective
• Describe societal challenges with connection to ecological and social sustainable development
• Give an account of national and international goals for sustainable development
• Apply knowledge of sustainable development to independently suggest, describe and evaluate new solutions within digitalisation for sustainable development in a system’s perspective
• By means of basic innovation theory reflect on the potential of digitalisation for sustainable development
• Cooperate in project form and based on given preconditions develop new solutions
• Present results in scientific written format and popular oral format
• Present and receive criticism orally and in writing

The course includes 

• 12 on-campus lectures
• 3 on-line lectures (video content)
• 2 compulsory thematic discussion seminars, incl written preparation assignments
• 1 group project, incl 3 compulsory supervision meetings
• 3 compulsory project seminars
• 1 home exam

A few days before the course starts, a list of topics for course projects will be announced in Canvas. Read these before the course starts, so that you have a chance to ask questions about them before it is time to select projects (before the end of the first course week). Students select projects (rank their most preferred) based on personal interest in the topic. Groups of 5 students will be formed based on  students' choices, but first choice cannot be guaranteed.

Course literature/media (articles, reports, and on-line media) complementing each lecture is listed in the overview of lectures on Canvas. All material is available in Canvas or on-line.

The course literature/media should be used as reference material when preparing for Thematic seminars writing the Home exam. 

Students at KTH with a permanent disability can get support during studies from Funka:

Funka - compensatory support for students with disabilities

A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

• PRO1 - Project work, 5.0 credits, Grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F
• SEM1 - Seminar, 1.0 credits, Grading scale: P, F
• TEN1 - Home exam, 1.5 credits, Grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

The course is to a large extent based on attendance and active participation. Lectures, seminars and supervision of projects therefore have requirements of a certain level of attendance. All items are however designed to give the students flexibility to complete in other ways of the items where they have not been able to attend.

PRO1 - Project, 5.0 hp (grading A-F)

Project work entails independent group work, submission of weekly status reports, attending supervision meetings and project seminars, submission of a project report, and presentation in a final seminar.

• Detailed instructions are available in Canvas.
• Attendance at project seminars and supervision meetings is compulsory.
• If you cannot attend, you need to inform your supervisor and your project group, and do a written compensation. Instructions are available in Canvas.
• Grading criteria for the Project report are available in Canvas
• If some aspects of the Project report are assessed as Fx, the group will be asked after the Final seminar to supplement these aspects within three weeks.
• After supplementing, only grade E will be given for these aspects. The final grade of the Project report will be the total weighted grade of all graded aspects.
• A well functioning group work process and collaboration is important for the final grade. Failing to collaborate in a profesional manner may affect the final project grade. 

SEM1 - Thematic seminars and Reflection papers, 1.0 hp (grading P/F)

Thematic seminars are prepared by writing and submitting short Reflection papers on topicscovered in the lectures and literature up to that seminar. Feedback on Reflection papers is provided throughdiscussions with peers and teachers during the thematic seminar. The intention is that you should be able touse material from your Reflections papers as inout when writing the Home exam.

• Detailed instructions for Thematic seminars and Reflection papers are available inCanvas.
• Submission of Reflection papers is compulsory.
• Attendance at Thematic seminars is compulsory.
• If you cannot attend, you need to do a written compensation assignment. Instructions can be found on Canvas.

TEN1 - Home exam, 1.5 hp (grading A-F)

The Home exam is an individual writing assignment in which you will use material from lectures, the course literature, literature search, as well as your own written material in Reflection papers to write about digitalization, innvation and sustainable development.

Detailed instructions for the Home exam are available on Canvas

• Grading criteria for the Home exam are available in Canvas
• If some aspects of the Home exam is assessed as Fx, you will be asked to supplement these aspects withing three weeks.
• After supplementing, only grade E will be given for these aspects, while the final grade of the Home exam will be the total of all graded aspects.
• Late (first) submission of the Home exam (within three weeks of the deadline) is considered as supplementing Fx, and can be graded as Pass (E) (if all requirements for E are fulfilled).
• If you do not complete the Home exam within the given time limits, you need to re-register for the course next year to submit.

Final grade

The final course grade is calculated as the average of PRO1 and TEN1 (equal weight).

• All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
• In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
• In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.

AL1523 is a new course from Spring 2023. It replaces AG1815. Major changes compared to AG1815 include

• The new course plan clarifies better the intended learning outcomes in relation to digitalization, innovation and sustainable development. It also emphasizes the importance of collaboration in projects.
• Literature assignment in AG1815 has been replaced by Home exam in AL1523. The Home exam has a similar design but with slightly adjusted instructions and requirements.
• Compulsory attendance in lectures has been removed. Since attendance and active participation is important for student performace, this has been raplaced by a requirement to refer to lectures and course litearature in the Home exam.
• Thematic seminars a Reflection papers are more explicitly designed to help students complete the Home exam.