Lecturer(s)

O.A. Savi MSc

Entry requirements 

For 2^nd or 3^rd year honours students only. 

Recommended prior knowledge

Interest in science and technology.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the course the student is able to:

• Recognize various techniques that modern tech companies use, and understand how these techniques can be applied to aid scientific discovery.
• Weigh the costs and benefits of those techniques.

Content

If you would believe Uber, they’re disrupting the taxi business, and if you would believe Airbnb, they’re disrupting the hotel business. Their core business: data and algorithms.

Can we copy them, and disrupt the university business?

In this course, we’ll go beyond the buzzword disruption, and follow the ‘hype cycle’ to gain an understanding of how modern technologies may benefit scientific discovery. In this cycle, we’ll learn about various clever techniques, such as machine learning, A/B testing, and network analysis, and explore how these can be put to use in various scientific disciplines.

Can these so-called A/B tests for instance benefit education? Or are they already doing so, and how?

Naturally, if you think of Uber and Airbnb, you may worry that their disruptive innovation comes at a cost. You may worry about the poor social security for taxi drivers, or about illegal hotels that push housing prices. In our cycle, we’ll therefore discuss the possible costs of disrupting science, find out how to avoid those costs, and weigh costs and benefits.

During the course, we’ll meet both disruptive companies and disruptive scientists, and together we’ll try to make sense of what scientific discovery 2.0 may look like.

Class contents

• Lecture
• Company visit (TBC)

Assessment:

Research project and presentation.

Min/max participants

max.25

Schedule

Check Datanose for the exact information.

Study material

Registration

Registration is possible for 2nd year (of higher) students participating in an Honours programme from 7 December 2018 10.00 till 11 December 2018 23.00 through the online registration form that will appear on Honoursmodules IIS.

Placement will be at random. If there are still spots open after the application deadline, students will still be able to register.

For questions: please contact Honours-iis@uva.nl