TEK1910 – Technology Systems: Perspectives

This course serves as a bridge from the "building" phase of a system in TEK1900 – Discovering Technology, Discovering Systems to a comprehensive understanding of system dynamics and behaviors across various scales. The course explores how technologies behave in the wild: in orbit, in hospitals, within national energy networks, and across international digital networks and the Internet of Things. You will learn how complexity, uncertainty, human decision-making, and environmental, social, and economic constraints shape system performance in counterintuitive, unpredictable ways.

Through a mix of theory sessions and hands-on exercises, you will analyze real systems from multiple domains, uncover why they succeed or fail, and practice applying systems-science principles to reason about large, interconnected technologies. By the end of the course, you will think in systems: critically, holistically, and with the ability to recognize and reason about patterns that cut across domains.

After completing this course, you will

• know how to think in systems, i.e., analyze technologies critically and holistically while recognizing patterns that cut across different domains
• be able to describe key technical, environmental, and social factors that influence renewable energy implementation
• know how to perform basic analysis using real-world datasets
• understand how to manage complexity and reflect on uncertainties, assumptions, limitations, and trade-offs inherent in system design
• recognize how the presence of a single person or a community/society within a complex system amplifies uncertainty and why engineering must account for human experience
• understand interdependence across infrastructures and the mechanisms of cascading failures
• know how to develop the ability to communicate technical solutions with an awareness of broader societal impacts

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

This course is open for admission to students on the bachelor's programme Technology Systems: Science and Engineering. Please refer to the programme description for admission requirements.

The course is organized into modules (see below) and combines theoretical sessions with hands‑on practical exercises. Throughout the activities, students will engage in work‑integrated learning, developing teamwork, communication, and problem‑solving skills, while applying a critical perspective across various technology‑systems domains.

Module I: Introduction

• How systems science helps us make sense of the messy, multi-scale technological world revealed in TEK1900, and why every technologist and engineer needs a theory of complexity

Module II: Space Systems

• Topics: definitions of outer space, spacecraft, and typical orbits; design challenges in extreme environments
• Practical: interactive quizzes, group work, and student experiments involving Kitsat subsystems, ground station communication, and measuring thermal behavior in a vacuum

Module III: Healthcare technology & systems

• Topics: introduction to biomedical sensors and their role in healthcare; understanding human factors in measurement (eg, how movement, temperature, skin tone, and sensor placement influence measurement accuracy); basic discussion of responsible handling of health‑related data
• Practical: Building a pulse-oximeter node by integrating a MAX30102 sensor with an Arduino to process SpO₂ and heart-rate data

Module IV: Energy Systems

• Topics: introduction to basic concepts behind modern energy systems and what makes them sustainable; understanding how engineering solutions interact with environmental and societal needs, behaviors, and constraints; practice how different variables influence the balance of an energy system
• Practical: a data-driven mini-project using real datasets and modeling tools (eg, RiskMeter) to examine how technical and social factors shape planning of sustainable energy systems

Module V: Security of Cyber-Physical Systems

• Topics: "systems of systems" thinking; how infrastructures, digital networks, and human behavior interact to form security-critical global systems
• Activities: structured analysis of real failure scenarios (cyber-physical outages) and scenario-based decision simulations illustrating trade-offs between robustness and risk

Module VI: Summary

• A synthesis of the semester with a focus on what systems science reveals about real-world technologies, and how to apply these insights as reflective, rigorous future scientists, technologists or engineers across various application domains

The course requires participation in theory sessions and practical exercises integrated into the 15-week module structure. The small simulation projects in the course modules based on real data or a real-world case must be completed and approved in order to sit the final exam at the end of the semester.

A final oral exam counts 100 % towards the final grade. In case of a large number of students the examination may be written.

Students who can document a valid reason for absence from the regular examination are offered a postponed examination at the beginning of the next semester.

Re-scheduled examinations are not offered to students who withdraw during, or did not pass, the original examination.