THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2022/2023

Timetable information in the Course Catalogue may be subject to change.

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Edinburgh Futures Institute : Edinburgh Futures Institute

Postgraduate Course: Interdisciplinary Futures (fusion online) (EFIE11024)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh Futures Institute CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)
Course typeOnline Distance Learning AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryThrough seminars, presentations, and teamwork, students will develop the critical and creative skills necessary to becoming interdisciplinary thinkers. They will build an understanding of an array of disciplinary perspectives and approaches, and will frame them in the context of a 'wicked problem' (a pressing problem of global importance that is multifaceted and therefore difficult to solve).
Course description The first semester shared course 'Interdisciplinary Futures' will introduce students to interdisciplinary thinking. The course will consist of in-class workshops, online discussions, and the production of a final individual reflection.

First, students will be invited, in teams of peers drawn from different programmes, to reflect on ways of knowing in the context of disciplinarity, with this reflection being supported by selected readings and academic presentations. In teams, students will apply their new skills to a prototype challenge (for example, to design mock-ups of sustainable alternatives to products or systems). Finally, students will be invited to apply multiple disciplinary perspectives to a problem relevant to an EFI postgraduate programme.

Over the five weeks, students will: consider perspectives on ways of knowing; present reflections on life-wide learning; consider research, creativity, and knowledge creation in different disciplinary contexts; be invited to take an intersectional approach to innovation through an introduction to design thinking; and share the outcomes of a multi-disciplinary team challenge with the wider group.

Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) - Online Fusion Course Delivery Information:

The Edinburgh Futures Institute will teach this course in a way that enables online and on-campus students to study together. This approach (our 'fusion' teaching model) offers students flexible and inclusive ways to study, and the ability to choose whether to be on-campus or online at the level of the individual course. It also opens up ways for diverse groups of students to study together regardless of geographical location. To enable this, the course will use technologies to record and live-stream student and staff participation during their teaching and learning activities. Students should note that their interactions may be recorded and live-streamed. There will, however, be options to control whether or not your video and audio are enabled.

As part of your course, you will need access to a personal computing device. Unless otherwise stated activities will be web browser based and as a minimum we recommend a device with a physical keyboard and screen that can access the internet.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  25
Course Start Semester 1
Course Start Date
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 3, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 8, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 4, Formative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 81 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) 1) Individual Assignment (100%)

A 2000-word report containing the following elements:

I. An illustrated reflection on your developing epistemic framework, which draws on and incorporates at least one of your contributions to the class discussion board each week it is open (1000 words)

II. A discussion of the disciplinary perspectives that shaped the final team challenge (showcased in week 9). What worked well and what might you do differently to your design with more time and resources, or with additional disciplinary input? (1000 words)

The summative assignment will be due at the end of the semester.
Feedback Oral formative feedback will be provided in-class through discussions of both in-class and online activities.

Summative feedback will be provided in written form after assignments are handed in.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Interrogate different disciplinary approaches to research and creativity.
  2. Apply interdisciplinary perspective-taking.
  3. Demonstrate competence in core skills including independent research, planning and writing, and group collaboration.
  4. Apply knowledge, skills, and understanding through a reflective synthesis of the ideas discussed and experienced on the course.
Reading List
Essential Reading¿¿
Repko, Allen F. Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies / Allen F. Repko, University of Texas at Arlington (Retired), Rick Szostak, University of Alberta, Canada, Michelle Phillips Buchberger, Miami University of Ohio. Edited by Rick Szostak and Michelle Phillips Buchberger, Third edition., SAGE, 2020.

Recommended Reading: Interdisciplinarity¿¿
Nicolescu, Basarab. ¿Methodology of Transdisciplinarity.¿ World Futures, vol. 70, no. 3-4, Routledge, 2014, pp. 186¿99, https://doi.org/10.1080/02604027.2014.934631.¿¿

Bassot, Barbara. The Reflective Practice Guide¿: an Interdisciplinary Approach to Critical Reflection / Barbara Bassot. Routledge, 2016.¿¿

William Gaver. What Should We Expect from Research through Design?. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2207676.2208538.¿¿

Lury, Celia, and Nina Wakeford. Inventive Methods: The Happening of the Social. Edited by Nina Wakeford and Celia Lury, Routledge, 2012, pp. xiii¿xiii, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203854921.¿¿

Repko, Allen F. Case Studies in Interdisciplinary Research Allen F. Repko, William H. Newell, Rick Szostak. Edited by William H. Newell and Rick Szostak, SAGE, 2012.¿¿

Schön, Donald A. The Reflective Practitioner¿: How Professionals Think in Action. Basic Books, 2008.¿

Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills The course develops graduate skills in research, enquiry, and communication (SCQF 1 and 4), in creative practice (SCQF 2).

By working in groups, they will develop autonomy, accountability, and skills in working with others effectively (SCQF 3 and 5).
KeywordsEFI,Edinburgh Futures Institute,Postgraduate,Level 11,Interdisciplinary,Creative Skills
Contacts
Course organiserDr Larissa Pschetz
Tel:
Email: L.Pschetz@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Abby Gleave
Tel: (0131 6)51 1337
Email: abby.gleave@ed.ac.uk
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