Topic outline

  • General

    • The Internet Forum lecture series addresses the different aspects - threats and opportunities - of something that concerns us all; digitalization. It's been said that everything that can be digitalized, will be. But what does digitalization mean, in practice, to the Finnish society, and safety and security? What do leadership and ethical questions have to do with digitalization? During the lecture series, expert lecturers give their answers to these and many other topical questions.

      The theme this year is 5G - what do we all have to know?

      The lectures are studia generalia lectures, meaning that anyone can come in and listen. For students of Aalto University (and visiting students) the lecture series is also available as a course.

      The course consists of a series of seven online lectures (on Tuesdays, 5 pm to 7 pm) plus lecture diaries of all lectures. There will also be an optional exam for extra credits.

      All lectures will take place in Zoom and Panopto simultaneously. Questions to the lecturers are only possible in the Zoom chat, and Panopto will have a delay of about half a minute. Both Zoom and Panopto links to the lectures, and related content can be found in the menu on the left (click the hamburger button in the top left corner if you can't see the menu).

      Note that as this is a course you can take multiple times, the course code will be changing slightly from year to year. To find the course in Sisu you need to use the full code. Also, the course needs to be in your primary study plan (HOPS) for your enrolment to succeed.

    • Passing the course

      There are two ways to pass the course: With and without an exam. The course with the exam is worth 5 credits, without the exam it's worth 3 credits. In both cases, you'll have to attend six of the seven lectures and write learning diaries of all seven lectures. Each diary, provided that it's handed in in time and it doesn't need any extra work, is worth two points. (If you submit late but the diary is otherwise good, it's worth one point. If you're in time but the diary needs significant reworking, it's worth one point.) In any case, seven passing diaries are required.

      Without the exam

      If you choose not to attend the exam, your grade will be determined by the diary points in the following way:

      Points Grade
      13 to 14 5
      11 to 12 4
      9 to 10 3
      7 to 8 2
      5 to 6 1
      4 or less 0

      With the exam

      If you choose to attend the exam, your grade will be determined by both the diaries and exam questions. The diaries will account for 20% of the grade and the exam for 80% of the grade.

    • Lectures and diaries

      The lecture diaries are to concern the topic of the lecture and what it will mean in the future in terms of both society, business and individual. There is a place on each lecture's page in MyCourses to hand in the diaries; hand in your diaries as PDF files (minimum two pages). The deadline for all diaries is the start of the next lecture. The diaries will be graded pass/fail.

      Attending the lectures live is highly recommended (it's the only way to ask questions and participate); if you cannot attend live, you can also watch the lecture videos (you need to attend to a live lecture at least six times to pass the course). Lecture diaries will be required from all seven lectures. Some (not all) guest lecturers let us distribute their slides after the lecture; these will appear on the corresponding lecture page in due time (not necessarily before the lecture diary deadline!).

      There is no specific format for the lecture diaries (other than the PDF file format); make them look nice and write at least two pages of what you learned on the lecture. Type your diaries on a computer; hand-written texts will be rejected. Some helpful questions to think about while writing (note that you don't necessarily need to answer these exact questions; they are to provoke thoughts):

      • What was I told during the lecture?
      • What did I learn during the lecture?
      • How can I use what I learned during the lecture?
      • Are there any deeper ramifications for myself, my family and friends, or the whole world?

      Hopefully this reminder is unnecessary, but any time you hand in any writings, they need to be written by you (ie no copy-paste). The diaries will be checked by Turnitin; you can view your own originality report immediately after submitting and resubmit if needed. Note that the system saves only the most recent upload; if you submit a new report after the deadline, it will count as a late submission.


    • Exam

      The exam questions will be based on the lectures and/or the exam material (the two links below). Note that you need an Aalto account to see the articles (click the link, on the next page click "DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals - Not for CDI Discovery" and lastly click the red PDF button).

      The course exam will be arranged on December 15th, 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm as an online exam. Exam enrolment is not necessary because of the online exam.

      Online exams can be found on their own page (in the menu on the left). Using course materials (lecture slides, lecture videos, exam materials) is allowed in online exams. You will not have the time to peruse all the material during the exam, so preparation is still important. As materials are allowed, the questions will also be a little more thought-provoking.


    • Course Staff

      The responsible teacher for this course is Professor Jarno Limnéll. The course assistant is Juho Kaivosoja.


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