Admission requirements
This course is part of the minor Public Risk and Disaster. The course is taught at TU Delft by a lecturer from TU Delft. The course can only be taken within the framework of participation in the minor PRD. This minor is a consistent package of courses designed to help you build your knowledge in a logical and connected way. It is not possible to follow single courses.
Description
Our current society is intrinsically linked with and dependent on technology. Safety and security risks are often associated with these technologies, such as earthquakes associated with gas extraction, the risks of nuclear waste, hacking of self-driving cars, or cybercrime on the internet. This causes society to be constantly exposed to 'risk'. Often, the risk level only becomes known after the technologies have been deployed and undesired events occur. Contrary to relatively well-understood risks in organisations, the introduction of new technologies in society may imply uncertain, unforeseen, and ambiguous (safety and security) risks, and may give rise to societal and political debate.
In this course, you will learn to identify possible (safety and security) risks associated with new technologies, and provide suggestions for responsible design and deployment. In addition, you will learn to investigate the side-effects of technologies, and their potential effect on moral values, such as surveillance technologies and their effects on privacy and inclusion.
Course objectives
After this course, you will be able to:
1. Explain the goals and methods of technology evaluation and assessment, and apply them to a specific case
2. Identify and analyse possible security and/or safety implications of a (new) technology
3. Analyse how (new) technologies can be used to improve security and/or safety, and identify and analyse possible side-effects such as the effect on other values
4. Provide suggestions for responsible design and deployment of a new technology with respect to security, safety, and other values
5. Write a technology evaluation and assessment report in a multidisciplinary group
Timetable
The course schedule can be found at the TU Delft timetable: https://mytimetable.tudelft.nl/schedule. You can find the course schedule via ‘add timetable’ after logging in with your TU Delft credentials. Risk Management of Emerging Technologies has course code TBM025C.
Mode of instruction
This course includes lectures and working classes.
Attendance to the lectures and working classes is mandatory.
A student can miss a maximum of three classes. Both lectures and working classes are counted separately, with each session equaling one class. If a student misses more than three classes, they will not receive their final grade (except in highly exceptional circumstances).
Assessment method
Technology evaluation and assessment report – Group work – 50% total grade
A technology evaluation and assessment (TE&A) report will be written in a group. This report counts for 50% of the total grade. For this report, you will work in a group of approximately five students.
During the weekly working classes – where attendance is mandatory, you will receive assignments and guidance to develop the TE&A report.
Handing in the report late will result in a correction of the grade with one point (out of ten) per day. Three days after the deadline, submissions are no longer allowed.
Problems with group cooperation should be reported as they occur and will be taken into account if necessary.
A resit of the report is only possible if you achieved a minimum score of 4.0 during the first submission opportunity. If you participate in the resit option, you can achieve a maximum grade of 6.0.
On-campus exam – Individual – 50% total grade
An individual, on campus exam counts for 50% of the total grade. The exam is closed-book. The exam is digital and will be administered via the ANS platform. The exam will consist of several open-ended questions that need to be elaborated in a restricted time period.
You can only attend the resit of the exam if:
You have scored lower than a 5.0 on the first exam
You scored between 5.0 and 6.0, and the combined score with the technology evaluation and assessment report is not sufficient to pass the course. If you scored higher than 5.0, and the combined score with the technology evaluation and assessment report is sufficient to pass the course, you cannot attend the resit
You were unable to attend the first sit of the exam
Grading and passing the course
For all courses of the minor PRD, final grades are rounded off to the nearest half point, except between 5 and 6. At both universities, for grades between 5.0 and 6.0, a 5.5 and higher will be rounded up to a 6.0, and grades below 5.5 will be rounded down to 5.0. No final grades between 5.0 and 6.0 will be given.
In order to pass the course, the grade on the individual exam has to be 5.0 or more out of 10, and the grade on the group report has to be 5.0 or more out of 10. Furthermore, in order to pass the course, the mean of both assessments (individual exam and group report) has to be at least 6.0 out of 10.
If the final score is a passing grade, students are not allowed to the retake to obtain a higher grade, unless given explicit permission by the Board of Examiners of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (Leiden University).
This course is part of the minor Public Risk and Disaster. This minor needs to be completed in one academic year. It is not possible to retake courses that you have not passed during the following academic year. If you think an exception to this rule applies to you, please contact the Board of Examiners of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (Leiden University).
No matter what academic institution a student comes from, the minor Public Risk and Disaster falls under the course and examinations regulation of the bachelor Security Studies of Leiden University. These course rules are further expanded on in the rules and regulations of the Board of Examiners of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (Leiden University). This Board of Examiners is also the relevant body for disputes.
Upon request, students have the right to inspect their assessed work for a period of 20 working days after the announcement of the results of the exam or the report. During the inspection of the assessed work, it is not permitted to copy the underlying examination questions. If a student wishes to inspect the results, the student needs to contact the module manager via e-mail to make an appointment within the period of 20 working days after the announcement of the results. This appointment cannot take place online.
Reading list
The reading list will be made available via Brightspace.
For all six courses from the minor PRD – so both the courses offered by Leiden University as by TU Delft – the Brightspace platform from Leiden University will be used. So all study materials for this course can be found on the Brightspace platform from Leiden University.
Registration
To be announced by OSC staff.
Contact
Dr. Karolien van Nunen
Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management
Department of Values, Technology and Innovation
Safety & Security Science Group
E-mail: K.L.L.vanNunen@tudelft.nl
Room: C1.130 (building 31 TU Delft, Jaffalaan 5, 2628 BX Delft)
Remarks
All lectures, assignments, and communication for this course will be in English.
Lectures for this course take place at TU Delft (building 31 TU Delft, Jaffalaan 5, 2628 BX Delft).
Course descriptions are synchronised between the study guides of Leiden University and TU Delft. However, this may take some time. For the latest description of this course, please check the corresponding page in the [TU Delft study guide]:https://studiegids.tudelft.nl/. Risk Management of Emerging Technologies has course code TBM025C.
Please be aware that the minor PRD needs to be completed in one academic year. It is not possible to retake courses that you have not past during the following academic year. If you think an exception to this rule applies to you, please contact the board of examiners of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs.