Abstract:

The study program in Systems Science has played a significant role for five decades in preparing students for careers in the IT sector. The Swedish Internet Foundation highlights that due to the dynamic nature of the subject, continuous updating and innovation are necessary to meet the changes brought by digitalization in society. According to the Swedish Agency for Digital Government, digital competence among the public, teachers, and leadership are three crucial areas for actively contributing to and engaging in the digital society. This confirms the importance of the Systems Science program as a central educational source for developing qualified personnel and capable individuals. Updating educational programs is often a complex process that involves the entire university structure. The challenge of constantly adapting the program to societal developments requires a balancing act. In our study program, we have taken on this challenge by aiming for an education that is future-proof and where sustainability is a fundamental principle. The purpose of our presentation is to illuminate our strategy for planning and implementing the revision of our Systems Science program. We also aim to show the results and evaluations of the concrete work that has been done since the planning of the revision work was completed.

Our work was initiated by examining the historical, current, and future roles of system scientists. With the increasing impact of digitalization in society, there is an opportunity for the function of system scientists to transform. This presents a paradox: modernizing Systems Science education for the future without compromising its fundamental essence. Therefore, it was crucial to define the characteristics that should typify a system scientist from our university.

Furthermore, it was of utmost importance to assess the extent to which existing programs supported sustainability, which included a comparison with UNESCO’s key competencies that are essential for promoting sustainable development. We aimed not only to explicitly include sustainability in our course plans but also to design a program structure that allows for addressing the latest technology within a current societal context, which we believe is the core of sustainable program development. In our presentation, we will demonstrate how our program revision and our ongoing process of developing new courses and course plans support the competencies required for those who will build the future IT society. Systems thinking competency is central for system scientists and is trained in almost all courses. The design development process is recurring in many courses and fully builds on strategic and normative competencies. Collaboration competency is constantly practiced in frequently occurring projects and group work. Self-awareness competency is included in conflict management and project management, and many exams contain elements that require and further train competence in critical thinking. Integrated problem-solving competency is trained in, for example, programming and project work. Finally, we allow our students to practice their Anticipatory competency through courses like Future Digital Ecosystems, where students, using Futures studies methodology, explore how digital transformation affects our common future.

Our presentation aims to provide insights and inspiration to other development projects, especially within IT education, to promote sustainability.

Keywords:

Sustainability, systems sciences education, study program revision.