Digital Innovation covers the fundamentals of digital innovation and the development and implementation of novel and original solutions in which the innovation process, its outcomes, or the ensuing organisational and social transformation is embodied in or enabled by digital technologies. Digital Innovation is one of the core topics of the degree programme, so the course also provides a basis on which students can choose their electives. The course covers six primary topics:

• Fundamental properties of digital technologies and digital innovation
• Organising for digital innovation
• Digital platforms and ecosystems
• Digital innovation and capital creation
• Digital business models
• Digital entrepreneurship

• The module involves interactive lectures with exercises to integrate theoretical knowledge with practical design and analysis skills.
• Case studies are used to discuss the course contents. Contemporary scientific publications from Information Systems and Management are discussed in class.

After successful completion of the course, students will

Professional competence
• understand the basics of the fundamentals of digital innovation and the development and implementation
of novel and original solutions that are relevant to the field of information systems
• understand the main concepts, theories, and methods related to digital innovation

Methodological competence
• be able to apply the understanding and the methods into their projects or illustrative cases
• be able to analyse the role of digital technologies in existing business models
• be able to develop business models that consider options created through digital technologies

Social competence
• be able to collaborate and work in teams
• support each other during the learning process

Personal competence
• critically reflect on technological outcomes

Written exam (90min)

Digital Humanities stands at the intersection between digital technology and social action – between computing and humanities. Besides enabling digital innovation, digital technology has fundamentally changed the way we see the world, work, and socialise. We are increasingly challenged to make sense of data and information, and turn them into things we can use for different goals. On the other hand, we also need to adjust ourselves in order to collaborate with each other through digital technology – and sometimes even with digital technology itself. How far should we go? How do we find a balance? This course is primarily concerned with understanding different and sometimes contradicting views on the relationship between digital technology and social action. The course covers five primary topics:

• Introduction to digital humanities
• The computational turn
• Favourable views on digitisation and digitalisation
• Critical views on digitisation and digitalisation
• Examples of digital humanities projects

• The module involves interactive lectures with exercises to integrate theoretical knowledge with critical analysis skills.
• Case studies are used to discuss the course contents.
• Recent scientific publications from Information Systems and Digital Humanities are discussed in class.

After successful completion of the course, students will

Professional competence
• understand the basic concepts and underlying theories related to digital humanities
• understand different and sometimes contradicting views on the relationship between digital technology
and social actions

Methodological competence
• be able to analyse everyday examples based on these initial understandings

Social competence
• be able to collaborate in teams and support each other during the learning process

Personal competence
• be able to reflect on their own relationship with digital technology

Written exam (60min)

>Spoken and written communicative competence in various everyday situations
>Cultural competence

Interactive teaching

>Building German language competence
>Developing basic communicative competence
>Cultural competence
>Grammar and Vocabulary
>Learning strategies

Practise listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills and competences to reach an advanced B2 level (cf. CEFR descriptors).

Information about the placement test is provided on the website of the cross-faculty elective subjects > language courses and by the study programmes.

The schedule is preliminary and can later be adapted upon participants' request.

Interaction, coaching

Develop skills and competences to reach an advanced B2 level (cf. CEFR descriptors)

• listening:

o understand extended speech and lectures and follow even complex lines of argument provided the topic is reasonably familiar

• reading:

o understand articles and reports concerned with contemporary problems in which the writers adopt particular attitudes or viewpoints

• speaking:

o interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible
o take an active part in discussion in familiar contexts, accounting for and sustaining own views
o present clear, detailed descriptions on a wide range of subjects related to own field of interest
o explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options

• writing:

o write clear, detailed texts on a wide range of subjects related to own interests
o write an essay or report, passing on information or giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view

Develop skills and competences to reach an advanced B2 level (cf. CEFR descriptors)

• listening:

o understand extended speech and lectures and follow even complex lines of argument provided the topic is reasonably familiar

• reading:

o understand articles and reports concerned with contemporary problems in which the writers adopt particular attitudes or viewpoints

• speaking:

o interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible
o take an active part in discussion in familiar contexts, accounting for and sustaining own views
o present clear, detailed descriptions on a wide range of subjects related to own field of interest
o explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options

• writing:

o write clear, detailed texts on a wide range of subjects related to own interests
o write an essay or report, passing on information or giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view

Available on Moodle

Grading

Parts of assessment
A: written assignments
B: presentations
C: report
D: participation

Attendance: minimum 80% required

Grading

Parts of assessment
A: written assignments
B: presentations
C: report
D: participation

Attendance: minimum 80% required

cross-faculty course:
Rules for registration: www.uni.li/cross-faculty

• Identification of a research problem and development of a research questionThematically formulating a problem and developing a solution through application of - scientific methods Independence in handling a research problem determined in the course of an assessment.Discussion with the advisor about methodological and content issues in solving a research - topic.Completion of a comprehensive assignment where the students deal with a theoretical or - practice-oriented problem in their field of specialisation by drawing on scientific work methods. Completion of presentation documentation on a research problem within their specialised - field. Defense of the elaborated research topic and in-depth discussion with the examination board.

After completion of the module, the students have acquired a detailed knowledge and a critical understanding of their research topic. They have at their disposal specialised knowledge of methods and procedures for processing data and explaining it in a structured manner.
Furthermore, they exhibit originality and creativity in the application of their knowledge.

The students complete research and development projects, applying specialised research methods, survey and development techniques by drawing on their previously acquired skills.
Additionally, they present the significant findings of their project to academic and real economy specialists, thereby utilising various communication methods in order to illustrate complex data on a scientific level.

Upon positive evaluation of the thesis module the Master's degree is awarded to the candidate.

In Digital Business, students collaborate with small and medium-sized companies to develop new business models, open new markets, and innovate with existing products and services, so students learn to recognise, understand, develop, and exploit digital innovations. The course topics change from semester to semester, but the course usually addresses seven grand themes:

• Designing digital business strategy
• Digital entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship
• Opportunity recognition
• Business model innovation
• Value creation and cocreation
• Digital transformation
• Project management

• The course involves interactive seminars with workshops and regular presentations.
• The faculty and a jury of representatives from regional companies evaluate the students’ solutions in terms of innovativeness and usefulness and provide them with feedback and advice.

After successful completion of the course, students will

Professional competence
• understand the complex nature of digitalisation in small and medium-sized enterprises as well as start-up
ventures
• understand the entrepreneurial aspects in digital business: from opportunity recognition to designing digital strategy and business model and convincing potential stakeholders

Methodological competence
• be able to develop feasible solutions to their identified issues and evaluate them using appropriate methods

Social competence
• be able to collaborate in teams and with external partners
• be able to outline a project plan to implement their ideas and complete the project under time pressure

Personal competence
• demonstrate readiness to innovate and to view an idea, a problem, or a solution from several different
angles
• be able to articulate their ideas clearly in an elevator pitch, in order to persuade potential collaborators
and sponsors of the values of their ideas

Technological competence
• be able to identify the appropriate technologies to support digital business solutions

Seminar paper, presentations, project results; attendance is mandatory (80%)

Data Science covers statistical and exploratory techniques that are used to make sense of the vast and complex data sets that have emerged in business. Data Science is one of the core topics of the degree programme, so the course also provides a basis on which students can choose their electives. Students learn to detect patterns in large data sets in quantitative and qualitative formats to translate them into actionable insights. The course covers seven primary topics:

• Data visualisation and exploration
• Supervised learning techniques for regression (e.g. logistic regression)
• Supervised learning techniques for classification (e.g. classification trees)
• Unsupervised learning techniques (e.g. clustering, dimensionality reduction)
• Fundamentals of deep learning
• Text mining (e.g. topic modelling)
• Hands-on labs with Python

• The course involves interactive lectures with exercises to integrate theoretical knowledge with practical design and analysis skills.

After successful completion of the course, students will

Professional competence
• understand the basic concepts and methods of data mining and predictive analytics
• be able to assess the assumptions and quality of statistical models

Methodological competence
• know and be able to select and apply the right statistical models for a given task or data set
• be able to derive actionable insights from statistical results
• know basic visualisation and storytelling techniques

Social competence
• communicate effectively using visualisations
• understand different stakeholder perspectives in a data mining project

Personal competence
• critically reflect on analytical outcomes
• improve and mitigate self-inflicted errors

Technological competence
• be able to use Python including their libraries such as scikit-learn and matplotlib to apply machine learning
and to create visualisations

Written exam (90min)

Data and Application Security provides an introduction to cyber security and covers topics related to information and communication security. This is one of the core subject areas of the degree programme, and the course provides a foundation for choosing further electives in the area of cybersecurity. The course covers the following topics:

• Security goals and design principles
• Economic aspects of security and risk analysis
• Basics of cryptography
• Authentication and access control
• Key instruments of network security
• Key instruments of web security
• Software security, vulnerabilities, and attacks
• Email and mobile device security

• The module involves interactive lectures to integrate theoretical knowledge with practical design and analysis skills.
• The module involves practical exercises in which students investigate security problems and find appropriate countermeasures.
• Lab exercises are used to support the acquisition of practical skills.
• Theoretical material is demonstrated with relevant practical tools.

After successful completion of the course, students will

Professional competence
• understand the main security objectives and design principles
• understand basic theoretical concepts in the above mentioned security fields
• understand elementary attacks against security instruments
• be able to find solutions for basic security vulnerabilities

Methodological competence
• be able to administer basic security instruments
• be able to implement simple programs related to the security instruments

Social competence
• be able to organise learning materials and work in groups
• be able to divide problems into meaningfully tasks, work on them and help each other within the group

Personal competence
• be able to address new challenges and independently identify viable solutions
• be able to think “out of the box” and apply knowledge in an unusual context

Technological competence
• be familiar with programming in Python and its security related libraries
• be familiar with remote access tools such as VPN and SSH

Exercise: Assignments
Lecture: Written exam

BPM and Organisational Practice explores Business Process Management (BPM) through an organisational-studies lens, so it is a BPM elective. Emphasizing the duality of stability and change in organisational work, the course covers the factors, mechanisms, and interventions that affect how processes behave over time. The course covers six primary topics:

• Organisation theory
• Process- and practice-based research
• Organisational routines
• Intra-organisational dynamics and endogenous change
• Organisational learning, unlearning, and forgetting
• The role of agency and intention in the execution of organisational work

The course involves interactive lectures with exercises to integrate theoretical knowledge with practical design and analysis skills.

After successful completion of the course, students will

Professional competence
• understand the key assumptions and management implications of BPM
• understand key assumptions about process work from organisation theory
• understand the main concepts of (strong) process theory
• understand the main competence of routine dynamics theory

Methodological competence
• be able to synthesize the main tenets of two different scientific fields (BPM and routine dynamics)
• be able to analyse organisational phenomena through the lens of (strong) process theory
• be able to attend to (subtle) social dynamics evolving throughout organising processes

Social competence
• Be able to change roles when addressing managerial questions (role as BPM expert versus role as organisation theorist)
• Be able to work together with colleagues on case assignments

Personal competence
• Be able to find unconventional approaches to BPM-related question
• Be able to reflect on strengths and weaknesses from specific scientific fields

Technological competence
• Know about ways to observe and measure process dynamics

Written exam (60min)

For many executives, conflicts are nothing more than incidents, the sand in the wheels of everyday life that they want to deal with as little as possible. That's where the problem starts: Conflicts are part of everyday life! They are the rule rather than the exception; anything else would also be unusual between people with different experiences, values, attitudes and interests who have to get along in the company or elsewhere in everyday life.

So, wherever people work together, there are always tensions, conflicts and verbal arguments. You are either party to or have to settle a disagreement with colleagues. Are you wondering how to solve the dilemma so that everyone saves face? How do you target factual goals while taking into account the emotional and social needs of all participants? And how do you stay calm and confident? These challenges are easier to solve with diplomacy. With diplomatic skills, it is easier to prevent conflicts and, if necessary, to resolve them.

In this course you will receive an overview of how to deal with tension, friction and opposites, how to deal with conflicts and lead controversial situations from discussion to dialogue - with the appropriate inner attitude, skillful diplomatic behavior and the right words, in all clarity and with full respect.

Methodological mix of input, reflection, group work, role play, …

Participants will be able to ...

use diplomacy instead of verbal acts of strength,
appear self-confident and signal strength diplomatically, so they get from discussion to dialogue,
deal with stress and respond calmly to irrelevant verbal games or attacks,
reflect on their personal conflict behavior and optimize it,
know and be able to use de-escalating techniques in conflict situations,
implement conflict management in difficult management situations,
use strategies for deadlocked situations and “difficult” interlocutors,
dig out "survival strategies" when they have to argue under pressure,
use effective dialogue guidelines and strategies,
learn from the experiences of a diplomat who has worked in many crisis areas.

Students will be able to …

transfer what they have learned in class into conflict situations in their professional and personal lives, and verbalize the relevant strategies.

n/a

Course based on continuous assessment, see details under "assessment". 

Meeting attendance is an essential pre-requisite for successfully completing a course based on continuous assessment.

Attendance must be proven for at least 80% of the stipulated contact time. Responsibility for checking and providing written proof of this obligatory attendance lies with the course lecturer who is required to store this information at least until the end of the semester.

In the case of absenteeism that exceeds the specified limits of absence, a medical certificate is required. Responsibility lies with the Head of the Coordination Office for Cross-Faculty Elective Subjects to approve the reason for the student’s failure to attend.

Participation in other activities of the university is not recognized as an excused absence.

Grading
Evaluation with the standard numerical grades

Parts of assessment

A: (20%) – Attendance and active participation
B: (30%) – Paper presentation during class
C: (50%) – Self-reflection presentation during last module

Compulsory attendance (min. 80%)