​Digital Product Lab

Smart Energy

Ondernemen met Technology

The Future of Technology & Society

Programme 

The programme is integrated: you learn the theory in lectures. This knowledge is applied and further mastered in assignments partly carried out on actual business locations. The study assignments are conducted in international project groups with the aid of real cases from the industry. Teamwork in international/multicultural groups is an important skill for working successfully in IT management and is given substantial focus. Team results are presented and discussed with your fellow students, Business professionals and lecturers. (Business) management consultancy is also a key skill for professionals in this industry and is included in the programme.

Complexity of Organizations 

IT can only exist if it provides added value to organisations and their employees: the organizations are the "customers" of IT. Understanding ones customer is a prerequisite for providing optimal services; as IT'ers it is essential that we posses insight into the many facets of organisations. In 6 lessons we will consider many of the intricacies of the many different types of organisation. Subjects we shall discuss include; types of organizations, strategy, processes, structure, people, information.

Credits 

3 

IT & Culture 

In this assignment you will discover cultural differences between your fellow students, cultural differences in education and you will make a comparison of departmental cultural profiles of three different companies based on company presentations and interviews.

Credits 

3 

Agile Management 

This course is divided in two courses: ITIL Frameork Agile working in IT organisations has taken a big flight in recent years, because Agile provides effective results in the development of software. In almost every IT organization, small teams emerge that work closely together with the customer(representative) in a series of short iterations in order to produce successful shortterm results: working software that provides real value to the customer. In this course module, you will discover the principles of Agile working in organizations, compare this new way of working with traditional project management methods and discuss other related frameworks, like Lean. Besides that, you will learn how to organize a specific Agile project and discovers what management challenges are related with introducing Agile working in organizations. The student also learns the principles of "Scrum", a way of working based on the Agile principles. This knowledge forms the foundation for playing the Scrum game successfully. This course module covers the operational aspects of Agile working and Scrum and consists of 5 lessons, including 1 guest lecture and 1 Scrum game. A digital test in BlackBoard is part of this course and consists of 5 open questions. (The test will be combined with the test of course module "Management of Change). Finally, all lessons are mandatory. 

Credits 

3 

Lean Management 

Lean can be seen as a very set of elementary methods to optimize process performance, originally used in the Toyota factories. In these workshops you will apply Lean principles on relevant ICT cases and in real live situations.

Credits 

3 

Consultancy IT Operations 

Thanks to the cooperation of a number of regional organisations you, in teams, will have the opportunity to apply a variety of the knowledge and skills they have already gained. To do this you will execute a consultancy assignment relating to the manner in which the organisations provide their IT services. You will interview employees in the various organisations and, at a later date, provide the organisation with their findings and proposals for possible improvements.

Credits 

3 

Management of Change 

It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory. -W. Edwards Deming In order to remain effective all organisations have to change. A lack of competence unfortunately leads to many failed change initiatives leading to poor results and a multitude of dissatisfied employees. During the 5 lessons the importance of answering 3 simple questions will provide an introduction tot his vast subject; the questions relate to the "why", "what" and "how" of every change initiative.

Credits 

3 

IT Management & Governance 

This course will give you an overview of methods and frameworks on how to be in control of IT performance and the principles of good decision making in IT. Topics like SOX legislation, COBIT, TOGAF, ISO and the Weill & Ross framework are covered. Also management decisions concerning Sourcing will be discussed.

Credits 

3 

Business Case Management 

In this assignment you and your team will make and present a Business Case based on comprehensive company documentation.

Credits 

3 

Agile Governance 

Lean can be seen as a very set of elementary methods to optimize process performance, originally used in the Toyota factories. In these workshops you will apply Lean principles on relevant ICT cases and in real live situations.

Credits 

3 

IT Innovation Consultancy

This is your final consultancy assignment. You will conduct an integrated IT management assessment based on interviews with an IT company in the vicinity of Groningen and present your result on site.

Credits 

3