Name and position of the participant and other supporting staff if relevant

József Veress, PhD

Assistant Professor

Name of the course and discipline, level and year of study and any useful background info.

Digital Disruption

BA in Business Informatics and other bachelor programmes, 2^nd year students, English, elective, international and Hungarian students

Course taught during a single  week

Name of community partner and/or any other supporting partners (public or private sector)

Envienta Hungary  Kollabor, Innoria

CERL project title(s)

How can we create value in a regenerative way (restoring the ecological system and its components) instead of in a destructive (disruptive) way?

Tangible info – e.g. module descriptor, learning outcomes, assignments, assessment criteria, …

293NBUSVI444BB, project week course

Students working in groups of 5 must prepare a project description of non-traditional, regenerative value creation with outlines of a business plan.

During the preparation they must co-create a visual explanation of the concept (video presentation). Each group must provide written feedback (at least 3 questions and 3 proposals) for the work of all the other groups. Each must indicate also which feedback was the most and the less useful for their further work.

Then the groups prepare the PPT version and present their concept receiving feedbacks from the other groups and from the representatives of the partner organizations.

Based on all the feedbacks in two weeks they have to finalize and submit the project description of about 1500 words.

How was it taught:

1.      number of students

2.      student groupwork or individual,

3.      how they worked with the partner,

4.      how the project proceeded,

5.      any reflection done with students,

6.      evaluation or formal assessment of their learning,

7.      Could or should we follow up with students?

8.      tech used

9.      Anything else interesting?

10.   For how long have you been teaching this course, and since when there is a community partner involved?

 1.      21 students

2.      They worked together in 5 groups

3.      During the project week the student’s groups met several guest speakers from organisations connected to ENVIENTA including Kollabor and Innoria.

4.      Getting an insight from the guest speakers the students formed suggestions how to create value in a regenerative, ecologically restoring way.

5.      The student’s groups and the community partner all received the feedback form of the science shop as the project week and eventually the semester work ended.

6.      The partner was present when the students presented their group work and reflected live on the results The group got a formal evaluation and grade for their work from the educator, based on the quality of the Video presentation (10%), Feedback provided to other teams (10 %), Feedback the groups provided to the feedbacks of the other groups (10 %), their oral presentation (10%), and their project proposal (60%).

7.      Feedbacks from students of the previous semesters could be helpful in improving the quality of the course.

8.      Software programs for preparing video materials, PPT software, Office

9.      The aim is to facilitate teamwork /cooperative behaviour inside and also among the groups of five students.

10.   I have taken over a traditional digitalisation course in 2019 and immediately have involved the ENVIENTA. In 2020 I have invited also other partners dealing with non-disruptive digitalization.

What did you CHANGE about your programme/course in relation to CERL during CIRCLET?  

1.      I have re-focused on cooperation / teamwork enhancing collaboration also among the teams.

2.      I have increased the number and of the (community) partners instead of using the previous, sometimes outdated case descriptions.

3.      I have strengthened the direct contact and cooperation among the involved partners and the students.

CHALLENGES and how you overcame them?

The students approaching digitalization and its transformative role in most cases follow the mainstream Economics and market driven value creation approach.

I have used multiple ways and methods to facilitate the recognition of the growing importance of non-market related value creation in a regenerative approach having focal role in handling the climate crisis. The presence of and conversation with the (community) partners turned the theory into practice.

What did your STUDENTS LEARN or how will they benefit?

Students discussed and co-crated cases of non-conventional value creation in various forms:

„Trender” – bring along your used clothes!

A virtual campaign to support Amazon employee’s lobby

Envisioning and Encouraging Technological Alternatives

The „Vehicular Digistruptors” – digital mobility

Road construction using recycled garbage

What do you think the BENEFIT was TO THE PARTNER?

Do You have any feedback from the partner?

 The partners received useful, often critical feedbacks from young people, potential partners and consumers they could consider developing, improving their activities.

HOW could/will you IMPROVE YOUR CERL teaching practice next time?

Make the involvement of the partners more effective in the planning phase of the course. Get in touch earlier with the students to have chance learn and shape their expectations and better incorporate them into the course.

3 TANGIBLE PIECES OF ADVICE you would give to someone starting a CERL project with students?

1.      Contact and involve both the students and the partners into the preparational phase.

2.      Try to establish longer term contacts between the partners and the students – for example in frame of student research related activities.

3.      If possible bring parts of the course to the headquarter of the partners.

Any good, QUOTABLE FEEDBACK you received from students, partners, colleagues, family, etc.?

“I have expected an old professor reading his materials during the course. The presence of many other presenters with good topics made it much more enjoyable…”