Ethics and Responsible Innovation
| Module title | Ethics and Responsible Innovation |
|---|---|
| Module code | BEM3055 |
| Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Sarah Hartley (Lecturer) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 100 |
|---|
Module description
Summary:
Technology and innovation are shaping and changing society (or are promising to) in dramatic ways. In recent years, pressure has mounted for technology and innovation to be ethically responsible - shifting innovation from a focus on delivering economic value to addressing societal challenges such as those outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UK’s Industrial Strategy. This module will explore what ‘responsible innovation’ might look like, through research-led case studies. Students will have the opportunity to investigate emerging and potentially disruptive innovations such as driverless cars, genome editing, mineral mining on Mars, genetically modified insects that eliminate malaria, robotics, and geo-engineering as a response to climate change. These and other cases of technological innovation will be explored through the literature on responsible innovation. Together, we will examine different aspects of responsible innovation critically exploring innovation, public engagement, the political economy and innovation in Low and Middle Income Countries. As a final year module, students have the chance to engage in a significant amount of critical reflection, and self-directed study, spending time researching and reading academic journal articles that support the ideas put forward in the lectures and workshops. The module will equip students with the knowledge and skills to engage with debates about future technologies that will shape their world.
Additional Information:
Internationalisation
The module draws on cases of technological innovation with an international reach. Students are encouraged to consider the international and cultural dimensions of responsibility and social and environmental global challenges. Lectures and assignments address innovation in international development, including cases from South America, North America and Africa.
External Engagement
Guest speakers will be invited to participate in guest lectures and workshops.
Employability
Students have the opportunity to develop a number of skills valued by employers, including their creativity, critical thinking, and research and presentation skills. They also develop their ability to reflect on and address societal and technological challenges.
Sustainability
We directly address sustainability and sustainable development through contemporary global challenges and examine business’s role in developing technological innovations to address these challenges.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module will introduce students to the significant role technological innovation plays in society. The module provides third-year students with relevant knowledge and skills to critically engage with technological innovation responsibly across a range of sectors as they prepare for the next stage of their career. Designed to engage students in debates and discussions about emerging technologies, this module challenges students to think independently and work as a team.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. understand the need for ethical questions about emerging technological innovation;
- 2. identify and explain some of the most cutting-edge technological innovations and the ethical questions they raise;
- 3. examine the different dimensions of responsible innovation, including the political, business, ethics and societal dimensions.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. recognise and explain the concept of responsible innovation and the challenges and opportunities it presents;
- 5. ability to critically reflect on new technological innovation from an ethical perspective;
- 6. select and justify a chosen course of action.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. skills to reflect, analyse, think critically, communicate and present an evidence-based and consistent argument (in both oral and written form) ;
- 8. work independently and in teams.
Syllabus plan
This syllabus list is indicative.
- Conceptual definitions of RI
- The ethics of technology
- Innovation governance
- Development and innovation
- Knowledge co-production
- RI and the environment
- RI and Justice
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | 132 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 10 | Lectures |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 8 | Workshops |
| Guided Independent and Group Study | 132 | Reading, research, essay writing, group work |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Project Pitch | Group presentation in workshops, 5-mins | 1-8 | Verbal |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 70 | 2250 words | 1-8 | Written feedback |
| Group Project | 30 | 10-minute oral presentation | 1-8 | Oral feedback from the class and oral and written feedback from the workshop lead |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay (70%) | Essay resubmission (2250 words, 70%) | 1-8 | Referral/deferral period |
| Group Project (30%) | Individual project report (1500 words, 30%) | 1-8 | Referral/deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
If you are referred/deferred in the module, you will be required to resubmit the failed or missing piece of work.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- Sarewitz, D. (2015) CRISPR: Science can't solve it, Nature, 522, 413-414
- Brunk, C. G. (2006). Public knowledge, public trust: understanding the ‘knowledge deficit’. Public Health Genomics, 9(3), 178-183.
- Burget, M., Bardone, E., & Pedaste, M. (2017). Definitions and conceptual dimensions of responsible research and innovation: a literature review. Science and engineering ethics, 23(1), 1-19
- Stilgoe J, Owen R, Macnaghten P (2013). Developing a framework for responsible innovation. Research Policy, 42 (9), 1568-1580
- Barnhill-Dilling, S. K., Serr, M., Blondel, D. V., & Godwin, J. (2019). Sustainability as a framework for considering gene drive mice for invasive rodent eradication. Sustainability, 11(5), 1334.
- Hartley, S., Smith, R. D., Kokotovich, A., Opesen, C., Habtewold, T., Ledingham, K., ... & Rwabukwali, C. B. (2021). Ugandan stakeholder hopes and concerns about gene drive mosquitoes for malaria control: new directions for gene drive risk governance. Malaria Journal, 20(1), 1-13.
- Stahl, B. C., & Wright, D. (2018). Ethics and privacy in AI and big data: Implementing responsible research and innovation. IEEE Security & Privacy, 16(3), 26-33.
- Venkatasubramanian, S., Bliss, N., Nissenbaum, H., & Moses, M. (2020). Interdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding Artificial Intelligence's Impact on Society. arXiv preprint arXiv:2012.06057.
- Lemos, M. C., Arnott, J. C., Ardoin, N. M., Baja, K., Bednarek, A. T., Dewulf, A., ... & Wyborn, C. (2018). To co-produce or not to co-produce. Nature Sustainability, 1(12), 722-724.
- Norström, A. V., Cvitanovic, C., Löf, M. F., West, S., Wyborn, C., Balvanera, P., ... & Österblom, H. (2020). Principles for knowledge co-production in sustainability research. Nature Sustainability, 3(3), 182-190.
- Hartley, S., McLeod, C., Clifford, M., Jewitt, S., & Ray, C. (2019). A retrospective analysis of responsible innovation for low-technology innovation in the Global South. Journal of Responsible Innovation, 6(2), 143-162.
- Fejerskov, A. M. (2017). The new technopolitics of development and the global south as a laboratory of technological experimentation. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 42(5), 947-968.
- Waller, L., Rayner, T., Chilvers, J., Gough, C. A., Lorenzoni, I., Jordan, A., & Vaughan, N. (2020). Contested framings of greenhouse gas removal and its feasibility: Social and political dimensions. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 11(4), e649.
- Corner, A., & Pidgeon, N. (2010). Geoengineering the climate: the social and ethical implications. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 52(1), 24-37.
- Stilgoe, J., & Cohen, T. (2021). Rejecting acceptance: learning from public dialogue on self-driving vehicles. Science and Public Policy.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
ELE
Key words search
Responsible innovation, technology, ethics
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 01/09/2001 |
| Last revision date | 27/02/2025 |
