SL2571 - Social Sustainability in Product- and Service Development

1. Descision

This course is established by Dean 2024-04-22. The course syllabus is approved by Head of Department of Strategic Sustainable Development 2024-08-29 and applies from 2024-08-29.

2. Entry requirements

Admission to the course requires 120 completed credits. English 6.

3. Objective and content

3.1 Objective

The purpose of the course is to provide organizations with graduates having knowledge and skills that are useful for promoting social sustainability through product and service development. By product and service development we mean development of any type of offering, including physical products, digital products, services, and any mixture of these. Product and service development has a key role for society’s transition towards sustainability and the social dimension of sustainability is currently under-developed in this context. Improved knowledge and skills in how to systematically and strategically integrate also social sustainability aspects in product and service development makes more optimized, whole-systems solutions possible.

3.2 Content

The course begins with an introduction to several of the pressing social sustainability challenges of today followed by a dive into the relevance of such challenges in connection to the engineering and technology fields. Students are then presented with a definition of social sustainability and a way to systematically think about and work with social considerations in product and service development. The course ends with practicing how to design and develop products and services that have the potential to strategically contribute to social sustainability.

4. Learning outcomes

The following learning outcomes are examined in the course:

4.1. Knowledge and understanding

Describe and reflect on society’s social sustainability challenges and their underlying causes.
Explain the connection of products and product-services to these issues and the role of product and service development in addressing them

Describe current efforts in integrating social sustainability aspects in product and product-service development

4.2. Competence and skills

On completion of the course, the student will be able to:

Analyze a product or product-service from a strategic social sustainability perspective
Identify strategic solutions to the social issues that occur in relation to a given product or product-service

4.3. Judgement and approach

On completion of the course, the student will be able to:

Assess and critically reflect on the connection of various products or product-services to social sustainability issues

5. Learning activities

The course is given on distance. The teaching in the course includes recorded lectures, and webinars, dialogues and discussion forums in real time. The teaching also includes individual assignments, group work and reflection individually and in groups. The lectures introduce theories, concepts, methods and tools. These are deepened, applied, integrated and reflected upon through the other learning items. Teachers with different scientific backgrounds, professional experiences and perspectives take part in the course.

6. Assessment and grading

Modes of examinations of the course

Code	Module	Credit	Grade
2505	Oral presentation	1.5 credits	GU
2516	Written assignment 1	0.5 credits	GU
2526	Written assignment 2	1 credits	GU
2535	Project assignment Part 1	3 credits	GU
2545	Project assignment Part 2	1.5 credits	GU

The course will be graded G Pass, UX Failed result, a little more work required, U Fail.

To be graded, all assignments must be submitted on-time. Late submissions, as well as poor-participation in project group activities, is considered as a fail for that submission opportunity, unless otherwise agreed with the course examiner. Two opportunities to perform failed assignments are offered within the next learning period. All submission deadlines are outlined in the Course PM, which is handed out at the beginning of the course. Further opportunities to perform failed assignments are provided at the next offerings of the course.

The information before a course occasion states the assessment criteria and make explicit in which modes of examination that the learning outcomes are assessed.

An examiner can, after consulting the Disability Advisor at BTH, decide on a customized examination form for a student with a long-term disability to be provided with an examination equivalent to one given to a student who is not disabled.

7. Course evaluation

The course evaluation should be carried out in line with BTH:s course evaluation template and process.

8. Restrictions regarding degree

The course can form part of a degree but not together with another course the content of which completely or partly corresponds with the contents of this course.

9. Course literature and other materials of instruction

Robèrt, Karl-Henrik, Göran Broman, David Waldron, Henrik Ny, Sophie Hallstedt, David Cook, Lena Johansson, Elaine Daly, Jonas Oldmark, George Basile, Hördur Haraldsson, Jamie MacDonald, Brendan Moore, Tamara Connell, Merlina Missimer, and Pierre Johnson. 2019. Sustainability Handbook. Lund: Studentlitteratur. ISBN 978-91-44-11595-5
Compendium with articles and other material.

10. Additional information

This course replaces SL2554

This is not a legal document. If you would like a copy of the legal decision regarding this course plan, contact the registrar at Blekinge Institute of Technology.

Course syllabus