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Management of Emerging Technologies

Overview

Module description

Continuous and rapid technological developments put organisations under pressure, raising questions about which technology is needed to remain competitive in the marketplace and satisfy customers' and citizens’ needs. The pressure on organisations can become substantial, and the velocity of innovations can feel relentless. At the same time, new technologies open up important opportunities, but using them also creates numerous challenges that impact the entire spectrum of activities of an organisation. Being able to understand the behaviour of emerging digital technologies, their benefits and challenges is the first step on a journey that takes organisations to emerging digital technology readiness.

In this module we take you through that first step. We will combine academic theory and organisations’ experiences; there will be guest speakers from industry, case studies to discuss, exercises to work on. The lecturer combines an academic approach with 20 years' practice in the emerging digital technology space.

This nine-week module is made up of three parts:

  • The definition of emerging technologies and digital technologies, and the process of adoption and use of those technologies, moving from theoretical to real cases in both private and public organisations
  • Specific emerging digital technologies and their applications, with discussions on big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things, distributed ledger technologies and their evolution, and sessions on artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and digital technologies for the space economy
  • The challenges and dilemmas of emerging digital technologies with a specific focus on ethical concerns and insights from climate and sustainability debates.

Indicative syllabus

  • What are emerging digital technologies?
  • Adoption of emerging digital technologies: theory and practice
  • Managing emerging digital technologies part 1: measuring the digital maturity of organisations and forecasting the impact of emerging digital technologies
  • Managing emerging digital technologies part 2: strategy development, implementation, skills and people, organisation structure (teleworking and virtual organisation)
  • Emerging digital technologies and entrepreneurship
  • An overview of the current landscape of emerging digital technologies part 1: DLT, the IoT, cybersecurity
  • An overview of the current landscape of emerging digital technologies part 2: data and artificial intelligence
  • The future landscape of emerging digital technologies: the challenge of quantum technology
  • Policy and emerging digital technologies

Learning objectives

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

  • understand how the adoption of emerging digital technologies affects markets, companies and government as well as the associated management challenges and opportunities
  • apply basic economic and management theory to develop an in-depth understanding of the character and impacts of emerging digital technologies
  • demonstrate knowledge of the current landscape of emerging digital technologies
  • analyse and evaluate how the application of selected emerging digital technologies is managed
  • critically discuss the broader societal effects of the application of digital technologies
  • evaluate the prospects of managing the challenges of future emerging technologies.