Governance of Technology and Innovation M.A.

 

Our society is being transformed by technology and innovation in a sustainable manner. This is evident in global challenges such as the energy transition, climate change, aging societies, networked production, artificial intelligence, and mobility. To ensure a fair decision-making process, complex and confusing information, as well as ignorance must be grappled with. Special skills are required to shape this change in a socially responsible way. You will acquire these by linking sociology, and philosophy of knowledge with technological-political perspectives.

This international Master course of study teaches these skills in a practical way as it is situated at the interface of academic research, political advising, and public administration. This course of study focuses on questions on uncertain knowledge and decisions under complex social-technological conditions. Problems and approaches will be dealt with theoretically, conceptionally, and practically in the form of projects and internships. The Master course of study will also be run with industry partners from academic and technological organizations in economics, politics, and administration. The topics in the curriculum feature:

Analysis of Complex Knowledge Bases

• Analysis of complex knowledge structures
• Ignorance
• Digitalization of science and technology
• Modelling complex knowledge links
• Explainable artificial intelligence
• Predicting and evaluating knowledge
• Research metrics and standards
• Vision assessment

Innovation Tools and Techniques

• Participatory technological development, living labs
• Citizen science
• Responsible technological design, responsible research and innovation
• Ethical analysis of new technologies
• Open innovation, open science
• Foresight methods
• Technology road maps

Science and Politics

• Making decisions in uncertainty and ignorance
• Evaluating technological consequences
• Algorithm accountability
• Social sustainability cycles
• Sustainable transformation processes

Methodology and Research Skills

• Determining complex innovative situations
• Qualitative management and evaluation methods
• Monitoring and evaluation of technological development and innovation

The course content will be taught in customized lectures and seminars, which encourages intensive collaborative work on problems in the governance of technology and innovation. You will also deepen your knowledge through special formats for self-study. Finally, you can find out more about specialized occupational fields in a ten-week research internship or academic project.

 

Degree Content

The course of study starts with an orientation week, where you will be given a detailed overview of the curriculum. The course of study consists of:

• three basic modules in the first semester
• three advanced modules in the second semester
• an extension module from the first to the third semester
• a practical module in the third semester
• Master’s module in the fourth semester

Study Structure

1st Semester	2nd Semester	3rd Semester	4th Semester
Basic modules	Advanced modules	Practical module	Master's module
Scientific Theory of Research Changing Innovations Governance of Science and Innovation	Modelling for Innovation	Block seminar: Methods of Science and Technological Research	Master's seminar Master's thesis Master's final colloquium
	Technology Assessment
	Responsible Research and Innovation	Internship or academic project, at least ten weeks
30 CP	30 CP	20 CP	30 CP
Core elective module, one module out of five: A. Managing the Innovation Process B. Sustainability Strategies in Politics and Companies C. Technical Sociology D. Technology and Politics E. Decision Theory
10 CP

Please note: some modules are offered in German and some in English.

In future, you will find further information on the curriculum and a link to the module catalogue on the course of study’s webpage, as well as the institutes involved in it.

Study Abroad

You will be actively supported to pursue opportunities abroad. Thanks to the practical module in the third semester, the course of study offers a possible exchange window of one to six months. You will be made aware of such opportunities in the orientation week. All the cooperation programs at RWTH are outlined on the outgoing exchange webpages.

Internship

It is compulsory to pursue a ten-week research internship or academic project. You are free to choose between an internship in industry and academic research at RWTH.

Practical experience during your studies increases your own expertise of the field and is therefore an advantage when considering your later work options. A think tank from industry partners supports you with this – some offer internship opportunities exclusively to students in this course of study, for example Karlsruhe Institute for Technology’s Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, E.ON Energy Research Center at RWTH, and the Institute of Energy and Climate Research at Forschungszentrum Jülich.

You will typically pursue your internship in your third semester, which means the winter semester. It can be completed in one go or in appropriate blocks and lasts at least ten weeks in the lecture period, with the option of extending it to six months. The practical module will be supplemented with a seminar on Methods of Science and Technological Research in the first lecture week of the third semester and the colloquium of the extension module Governance of Sociotechnical Change in the final lecture week.

 

Prerequisites

You will need a first university degree in a social sciences or humanities discipline, or alternatively in natural or life sciences, or engineering. You will need to prove your interdisciplinary knowledge with courses taken in the contrasting subject group.

You will also need to have sufficient knowledge of German and English, as these are the languages of instruction. For further details, please consult the examination regulation. The examination board decides whether applicants have met the admissions requirements.

 

Decision Aids

This course of study follows an interdisciplinary approach in the fundamental subject components, which are offered by the Chair of Theory of Science and Technology, headed by Gabriele Gramelsberger, and Technology and Society, headed by Professor Stefan Böschen. It is recommended you look at the institutes’ profiles before you apply for the course of study.

The course of study concept is interactive, practical and based on students assuming a great deal of responsibility. This lets them compile their own study plan independently of the general learning requirements. The courses offer corresponding platforms to work and reflect on fundamental topics with others.

 

Career Prospects

Graduates will have acquired special skills to answer questions on knowledge and decision-making in complex processes of societal change through and with technology. They can quickly learn in different, complex decision contexts and acquire, structure, and supply the relevant knowledge for this, which implicates precise assessments, systematic classification, and clear communication.

The typical fields graduates work in are public administration, research and development in companies, research organizations in and outside Germany, and universities and research organizations. Generally, graduates can find jobs at organizations dealing with matters of information and data management.

As it is important to establish external contacts during your degree, this course of study operates a think tank, which not helps you network, but also lets you search for internships in an easy and focused way. You should be particularly careful when choosing your research internship or academic project and even consider supplementing these opportunities further.

 

Examination Regulations

Regulations that apply for all Bachelor and Master courses of study as well as detailed information about the necessary documentation of required language skills can be found in RWTH’s Comprehensive Examination Regulation. Examination regulations are only published in German as they are legally binding.

The subject-specific exam regulations regulate academic goals, requirements, curriculum, and exam procedures. The appendix to the regulations contains the description of the modules, from which the course of study is composed.

 

Faculty

The Master course of study Governance of Technology and Innovation is offered by the Department of Society, Technology, and Human Factors at the Human Technology Center and here by the Chairs Philosophy of Science and Technology and Technology and Society at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.