Please note! Course description is confirmed for two academic years (1.8.2018-31.7.2020), which means that in general, e.g. Learning outcomes, assessment methods and key content stays unchanged. However, via course syllabus, it is possible to specify or change the course execution in each realization of the course, such as how the contact sessions are organized, assessment methods weighted or materials used.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

- Interpret human-centered design, systems thinking and behavior change approaches to policy-level design briefs.

 

- Implement these approaches and associated methods within a project brief commissioned from within the Finnish government.

 

- Analyze collected information and integrate conclusions to develop creative proposals.

 

- Communicate their processes and outcomes verbally, visually and in writing to those from multiple disciplines, sectors and the public.

 

- Manage their project content and process, multidisciplinary team work and commissioner relationship.

Credits: 10

Schedule: 26.02.2019 - 21.05.2019

Teacher in charge (valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022): Ramia Maze

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Ramia Maze

Contact information for the course (valid 17.01.2019-21.12.2112):

Course responsible Ramia Mazé ramia.maze@aalto.fi +358 50 4010 030
Núria Solsona Caba nuria.solsona@aalto.fi
Taneli Heinonen mail@taneliheinonen.com
Tania Rodrigues tania.rodrigues@aalto.fi
Teaching assistant to be announced

Teachers and bios are here 

In case you have questions about the course, contact either Ramia or the teaching assistant.


CEFR level (applies in this implementation):

Language of instruction and studies (valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022):

Teaching language: English

Languages of study attainment: English

CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD

Content
Assessment Methods and Criteria
  • Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

    Assessment is done continuously by course teachers based on:

    • Participation in contact teaching sessions (including 80% attendance unless otherwise agreed in advance with teacher in charge ; attendance is mandatory for the first day of class, for the mid-review and Final Show) 

    • Individual and group work, including management and completion of assignments

    • Learning diaries (logs) and work-in-progress reports (blogs)

    • Presentations and final report

    In addition, teachers will take into account feedback from commissioners on:

    • Quality of project outcomes

  • Applies in this implementation:

    Students who successfully complete this course should be able to:

    • Apply knowledge of the areas of human-centered research and design, systems thinking and behaviour insight in relation to policy-level design brief.
    • Demonstrate creative and relevant application of these knowledge areas and methods within a 'real world' project brief commissioned by a Finnish governmental ministry.
    • Describe the relevance of their project in terms of creative and analytic processes and in terms of some key literature, concepts, methods and tools from across the knowledge areas.
    • Communicate verbally, visually and in writing to those from multiple disciplines, sectors and the public.
    • Reflect critically on their own role within a multidisciplinary group and within the governmental context.

    Assessment is done continuously by course teachers based on:

    • Participation in contact teaching sessions and individual learning diaries (logs) (15% of final grade)
    • Contribution to group work (planning and completing assignments and blog)(20% of final grade)
    • Presentations and final report (mid-review 10%, final presentation 20%, final report 20%)
    • In addition, teachers will take into account feedback from commissioners on quality (5% of final grade)

Workload
  • Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

    The course is 10 ECTS. This equals 270 total hours of work, or 19.2 hours per week, which is roughly 3 full working days per week. Students should not take another big course at the same time. Contact teaching is scheduled on 1 day per week.Tentative distribution of student workload below.

     

    Contact teaching days:

    - 24h lectures and  individual/group guidance (workshops, tutorials, peer-feedback)

    - 4h group sharing or presentations

    - 42h independent work on given assignments

     

    Independent individual/group work:

    - 12h project and groupwork planning

    - 62h stakeholder and systems research and analysis

    - 57h design development and communication

    - 8h learning diaries and work-in-progress reports

    - 28h preparing presentations and report

    - 30h time to think

  • Applies in this implementation:

    Course description in WebOodi. 85% attendance in contact teaching sessions is required unless otherwise agreed in advance. DfG is 10 ECTS. This equals 270 total hours of work, or 19.2 hours per week, which is roughly 3 full working days per week. Be prepared to work more if you are less familiar with human, systems, and intevention and design approaches. As this is an advanced studio course we assume that you are acquainted with the basics. Based on our experiences from previous years, we strongly recommend that students do not take another big course at the same time!

    DfG'20 will share guest lecturers and teaching activities with MUO-E0008 Designing for urban governance and services (MyCourses linkWebOodi link ; 5ECTS period IV). It is possible to take BOTH courses simultaneously for a total of 15ECTS. Both courses will be located side-by-side in the building Otakaari 1 on Aalto's Otaniemi campus.

DETAILS

Study Material
  • Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

    Course literature is adjusted on a yearly basis. See also the report ‘Design for Government: Human-centric governance through experiments’ (in Finnish ‘Design for Government - kokeiluilla ihmislähtöistä ohjausta’) produced by Design for Government with Demos Helsinki for the Finnish Prime Minister’s office.

    Students in the course sign an agreement about intellectual property rights (Creative Commons CC BY 4.0), in accordance with the course contract with project commissioners.

  • Applies in this implementation:

    Recommended background includes 'Design for Government: Human-centric Governance Through Experiments', a report produced by DfG with Demos Helsinki for the Finnish Prime Minister's office ; a summary of the report and links to download in Finnish and in English can be found here http://dfg-course.aalto.fi/2016/model-for-human-centric-governance/.

Prerequisites
  • Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

    This is an advanced studio course. This means that the course does not focus on acquisition of basic knowledge but on the application of knowledge to address project briefs commissioned from governmental ministries. As the course is part of a multidisciplinary master program (Creative Sustainability), sources of knowledge come from diverse disciplines. Students are expected to have basic knowledge in areas such as user research and human-centered design (such as ‘empathic’ approaches), systems thinking, policy design and design for behavioral change (such as ‘behavioral insight’). Students should have good to excellent knowledge and experience of such areas from previous courses and/or other equivalent experiences.

Registration for Courses
  • Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

    All interested students can register through WebOodi. Additional application information will be emailed to you by the teacher.

    Selection of students for the course is based on an additional application process that checks some prerequisite knowledge for the course. Based on the submitted applications, if there are more qualified applicants for the course than there are places in the course, there will be a selection process.

    If there is a selection process, the order of priority in student selection is: CS students for whom the course has been scheduled in the students PSP (HOPS) ; students for whom the course is part of their major's or programme's alternative studies and has been scheduled in the student's PSP (HOPS) for the current academic year, exchange students for whom the course is a part of his/her officially approved learning agreement and scheduled to be taken during the current semester; all other students.

    DfG is a multidisciplinary elective course. Therefore the order of priority for student selection is also based on prerequisite knowlege and the learning outcomes of the course. 

  • Applies in this implementation:

    Details on the course content, including the assignments, venues and materials, are provided under main and sub-sections on the DfG MyCourses page

SDG: Sustainable Development Goals

    8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

    10 Reduced Inequality

    11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

    12 Responsible Production and Consumption

    16 Peace and Justice Strong Institutions

    17 Partnerships for the Goals

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further Information
  • Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

    Minimum number of students: 12 ; Maximum number of students: 15-27 ; Number of student places depends on number of project briefs from ministries.

    Postgraduate (doctoral) students can take the course on the same workload basis as master’s students. Bachelor students can apply if they have completed at least 180 ECTS.

    More information (including Frequently Asked Questions) at http://dfg-course.aalto.fi/

  • Applies in this implementation:

    Details on the course content, including the assignments, venues and materials, are provided under main and sub-sections on the DfG MyCourses page

Details on the schedule
  • Applies in this implementation:

    KEY DATES

    DfG runs through two periods, period IV - V. There is no contact teaching on the last week of either period. Contact teaching sessions are on Tuesdays.

    • 25 Feb - Course starts!
    • 3 Mar - Workshop with ministry stakeholders
    • 31 Mar - Mid-Review
    • 19 May - Final public presentation 
    • 2 June - Final report due


Description

Registration and further information