Course content

Topics

• Communication theories and rhetoric
• Technology and communication
• Interdisciplinary collaboration
• Ethics, regulations, and standards
• Communication skills and strategies
• Company visits/collaboration

Theory should form the basis for, and be expressed through, practical work in the course.

The goal of the course is for students to work on cases relevant to their own projects in their studies or preferably current projects in real technology companies.

Summary:

The course covers communication theories, rhetoric, the role of technology in communication, interdisciplinary collaboration, ethics, regulations, and standards.

Students will develop communication skills and strategies through practical work and cases, preferably in collaboration with technology companies.

Learning outcomes include knowledge of AI, GDPR, universal design, and skills in addressing ethical issues, developing communication plans, and creating digital content.

The working methods include individual work, group work, presentations, and collaboration with companies, with assessment based on the application of theory, creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and presentation skills.

Learning outcome

Knowledge

The student should:

• Have knowledge of AI, GDPR, and universal design.
• Demonstrate basic competence in communication theories and rhetoric; understand the role of communication in various processes, such as information, influence, and persuasion.
• Have knowledge of factors that affect communication between people, both face-to-face and in virtual contexts.
• Know what characterizes and influences communication between people in interdisciplinary groups or teams.
• Be familiar with different types of (relevant) organizational cultures.
• Have knowledge of various technical and dramaturgical tools.
• Understand different modes of expression within multimodal texts and how elements in different modalities interact.
• Understand platform-specific strategies and target audiences.
• Be aware of some factors related to human-machine interaction.

Skills

The student should:

• Be able to address ethical issues and privacy in professional processes.
• Know and utilize tools for effective communication in project management.
• Be able to develop comprehensive communication plans for both internal teams and external stakeholders.
• Use and leverage AI and new technology to improve communication.
• Know and use tools to develop collaborative processes in a group or team.
• Become aware of their own communication patterns and their impact on others in collaborative processes.
• Demonstrate practical communication skills, such as writing skills for various digital platforms.
• Create visually appealing and interactive content that communicates with colleagues or external target groups.
• Be able to create engaging digital content (text, layout, photo, video, audio, websites) tailored to different platforms and target audiences.
• Have some practical skills in planning, executing, and evaluating campaigns to promote design, products, or projects.
• Be able to reflect on and evaluate their own and others’ communication work.

General Competence

• Ability to reflect on one’s own learning and development.
• Presentation skills.
• Collaboration competence.

Learning methods and activities

• Individual work
• Group work
• Regular presentations of own work and projects
• Peer evaluation
• Collaboration with companies

Compulsory assignments

• See course description

Specific conditions

Course materials

​Artificial intelligence for real students - an introductory user course:

https://studntnu.sharepoint.com/sites/kurs/Sider/studentkursKI.aspx - might be integrated as a part of the course