Students who have successfully completed the taught part of the course will continue onto the MSc Dissertation. Successful completion of the dissertation will...

Dissertation: Environmental Design and Engineering (BENV0002)

Students who have successfully completed the taught part of the course will continue onto the MSc Dissertation. Successful completion of the dissertation will result in the award of the MSc.

The dissertation is supervised by a member of staff, but is largely self-directed. You may select a topic to assist career development, in relation to a project placement, to develop a strength, or for the inherent interest in the subject.

During the third term and the summer vacation period, MSc students complete their 10,000 word research dissertation. To support this, all MSc students will be asked to consider potential dissertation topics from the beginning of the Spring term. Students can choose their own topic providing it relates to one of the main themes of the course, or can choose from topics suggested by members of academic staff or industry partners. By middle of term two, all students will be assigned supervisors for their dissertation. During term three, students will present their progress to academic panels and their peers. Students will spend the rest of the summer term and summer vacation period completing the dissertation, and submit the work at the beginning of September.

In an increasingly competitive, global and interconnected world, firms across industries are entering into cooperative partnerships as a means of securing...

Enterprise Management: Relationships between Firms (BCPM0043)

Policy making for digital technologies - whether in government, the private sector or any other organisation - involves balancing wide-ranging interests,...

Foundations in Digital Technologies and Policy (STEP0030)

Policy making for digital technologies - whether in government, the private sector or any other organisation - involves balancing wide-ranging interests, values, and power dynamics. With so many options/voices on the table, so many possible futures, and so many interdependencies, how do those in decision-making functions or advisory roles know which way to turn? People who are working in this space (and who you are aspiring to be), thus, need to have both a broad understanding of a plethora of topics that they encounter, while also some deep specialisation that allows them to interpret and understand the complexities they face.

This module is aimed at providing MPA students with precisely this breadth and the much-needed foundations which will put you on the right path to dig deeper. We will give you the proficiency, language, and tools to start this exciting journey which will require you to navigate different stakeholders, technologies, and policy discussions.

We want to stress: There are no prerequisites for this module. You do not need a technical background for this class. And you also don’t need to have experience in policymaking. However, you do need to learn the basics! These fundamentals will ensure that whenever you speak with engineers, computer scientists as well as policy official, you have anchor points to inquire, interrogate, and follow up.

How are we going to do this? Well, we will cover a lot of ground, from how the Internet works to what cyber norms are. To introduce you to these issues (many of which are particularly challenging and complex for policy makers), we will offer you weekly topical lectures, a timely and comprehensive reading list, as well as engaging in-class content in tutorials. A selection of high-profile guest speakers and frequent career-related advice ensure that you are getting the most of this module and have incentives to reinforce, combine, and link back to the learning that takes place across other courses at STEaPP.