The Future of Technology & Society

About this minor

How do you prepare for the technologies of the future? You prototype them into existence today. As with the advent of Generative AI a few years ago, all too often we are caught off guard by technologies which may already exist. To mitigate this, you must become aware of these currents of technology now.

That is where the Minor Future of Technology & Society comes in, not only to show you these diverse currents of technology, but also how you can adapt existing and emerging technologies into your own field of study. To achieve this, you will work in interdisciplinary teams with international backgrounds on real societal challenges from client companies and organisations.

Over the course of the minor, you and your team will get to visit the clients off-campus, experiment with ideas and present concepts as if you’re in a future oriented start-up.

You build, test and present ideas

This minor is built around rapid prototyping and client collaboration. You do not spend most of your time listening to lectures. Instead, you:

• go on off-campus excursions to visit companies and clients.
• work in multidisciplinary teams.
• brainstorm future scenarios.
• build quick prototypes and mock-ups.
• test and present ideas.
• learn through feedback and iteration.

Sometimes the technology already exists and you design and apply it as is. Sometimes it is still in the process of arriving, so you get to speculate on its potential and create “illusion prototypes” to communicate possible future solutions.

Some examples of recent projects and topics that you could be involved with:

• developing a VR lab for physiotherapists.
• using LiDAR technology to scan crime scenes, allowing police to revisit them later through VR and/or AR while also making evidence easier to organize and access.
• using technology to make concert and theatre venues more sustainable by for instance using AR and hologram solutions.

Do you need a technical background?

No. The minor is intentionally interdisciplinary. You will work with teammates from technical and non-technical backgrounds who bring their own knowledge and expertise to the table.

If you already have technical experience, you can explore technologies in more depth and experiment freely. If you are less technical, the minor helps you understand what technologies exist and how they can be meaningfully applied in society.

Technologies and tools you can work with

Depending on your project and interests, you may experiment with:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Virtual Reality (VR)
• Augmented Reality (AR)
• Web-based solutions (figma, website, chatbots…etc)
• Arduino and physical computing
• Robotics
• Interactive installations

Outcomes

By the end of the minor, you will have acquired:

• the ability to think with a future oriented mindset and understand the currents of existing and emerging technologies.
• experience with interdisciplinary and international collaboration.
• critical perspectives on technology and society.
• the ability to think like a designer and utilize speculative design methods.
• the ability to communicate ideas and work with clients.
• experience with rapid prototyping and experimentation.
• the ability to translate abstract future ideas into meaningful concepts.

Courses

Future

Credits: 10

In this course, you will work with different technologies and explore how technological developments and society influence each other. By technical experimentation, Futures Literacy, Critical Citizenship and speculative design you will understand, interpret, reflect and work with the latest developments in technology and society. During this course, you will look through different lenses and mindsets to the future of different topics. The goal is to form your own vision on the future, design a speculative artefact in it and learn new technical skills to start creating this future.

Project Technology and Society

Credits: 20

In this project, the future is connected to a real topic and environment. You will work in a project group, together with stakeholders on a concrete problem, topic or issue in the field of society, technology and the future. During the project, you will explore the future of your topic and by researching, playfully exploring and imagining it, you will create your own vison. Within this vision, you create a future concept using different design methods and build a technical prototype as a first step towards your future concept.

During the project, you will learn about design and prototyping methods, co-creation, stakeholder communication, work in an international and interdisciplinary team, project management, designing user experiences and how to communicate and share the results of your project in an engaging way.

Before you can start

This minor is open to all students from Hanze UAS and other universities in the Netherlands (KOM). You have to be in the main phase of your study. A propaeduetic certificate is not required. 

For questions about the content of this minor, please contact the coordinator via the ‘Contact & FAQ’ tab above. 

Find out more about our application process and practical matters.