Program Overview

Introduction to the Technological Innovation and Design Module

The Technological Innovation and Design module is part of the Master's Programme in Techno-Anthropology. This module aims to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary to develop or evaluate an innovation process for designing a technology or a specific product.

Prerequisite for Participation

The course module is based upon knowledge acquired in the module Technology in Practice (1st semester).

Content, Progress, and Pedagogy of the Module

The module focuses on applying theoretical and methodological knowledge, skills, and competencies within the Techno-Anthropological repertoire. Students will learn to qualify the development or evaluation of an innovation process for design of a technology or a specific product.

Learning Objectives

Students who complete this module can:

• Present theories of the interplay between innovation strategies and technology development, product design, and product evaluation by selected actors/user groups.
• Present theories and methods for analysis of the cultural or institutional context of technological product innovation in a technology domain.
• Present ethnographic or interventionist research methods of relevance to a specific technology design, product development, or product evaluation.

Knowledge

• Theories of the interplay between innovation strategies and technology development.
• Theories and methods for analysis of the cultural or institutional context of technological product innovation.
• Ethnographic or interventionist research methods.

Skills

• Draft a plan for how either an ethnographic study