New Spring Semester Courses in 2021
Our ambition at the D-MTEC MSc and doctoral programmes is to offer a practice-oriented education involving real-life examples that will prepare our MSc and doctoral students for their future careers. In line with this goal, six new courses have been launched this Spring Semester. They cover topics such as New Technologies in Banking and Finance, Machine Learning and Sustainable Mobility.
New Technologies in Banking and Finance
Technological advances, digitisation and the ability to store and process vast amounts of data have changed the landscape of banking and finance in recent years. The D-MTEC elective course “New Technologies in Banking and Finance” (363-1153-00) unpacks the technologies – such as distributed computing, machine learning, and analytics – that underlie these transformations. The course also reflects on the impacts these new technologies have on the financial world, and examines them from a change management perspective.
A special feature of the course is that it integrates expertise from across ETH departments (INFK, ITET, MATH, MTEC) and industry. Dr Bastian Bergmann of D-MTEC and Dr Philippe Mangold of Credit Suisse will organise and host weekly sessions with different speakers. Mike Dargan, for example, Group Chief Information Officer at UBS AG, will share insights into how recent technological developments are driving transformation in banking. In addition, Pascal Romann will lead an interactive half-day workshop on how to work and interact in the vibrant environment of today’s banking and finance world. The course is open to MSc and MAS students at D-MTEC.
Machine-Learning Applications and Society
Machine-learning models are widely used in many sectors of society (e.g., healthcare, financial services, job-markets, the judicial system). The research domain of interpretable machine learning (iML) aims at designing and testing methods that allow users to understand machine-learning models and their outcomes, while assessing and managing the risks stemming from their use.
The interdisciplinary seminar “Machine Learning Applications and Society: Interpretability, Explanations and Trust” (363-1146-00), offered by Dr Andrea Ferrario, will familiarise students with the latest advanced ideas from the interpretable machine learning (iML) literature, as well as with relevant applications from the human-computer interaction (HCI) research domain.
This seminar will provide unique insights into a number of cutting-edge research papers that have emerged as important contributions in the interpretable machine learning research domain. The methods presented in these papers are becoming standard in industry, where practitioners apply them to data-science projects.
Managing the Transition to Sustainable Mobility
Addressing current societal and ecological challenges such as climate change will require a major transformation of the mobility sector. Drawing on case studies and insights from the academic literature, the innovative course “Managing the Transition to Sustainable Mobility” (363-1150-00), offered by Dr Jörn Hoppmann, will provide an overview of the required changes, and discuss the measures that will allow individuals, organisations, societies and policymakers to successfully manage this transition.
Technology and Organisation: A Social Practice Perspective
In a brand new seminar for D-MTEC doctoral students, “Technology and Organization: A Social Practice Perspective” (364-1147-00), offered by Dr Eugenia Cacciatori, participants will explore a socially grounded perspective on how technologies are adopted and used, in particular in relation to problem-solving processes, knowledge flows, and the power dynamics of organisations and industries. The seminar will familiarise participants with an important theoretical perspective that is currently influencing technology studies in organisation theory and information systems.
Technological Innovations and Sustainability Transitions
The course “Technological Innovations and Sustainability Transitions” (364-1154-00), offered by Dr Jochen Markard, will provide D-MTEC doctoral students with an introduction to sustainability transitions. Sustainability transitions are fundamental socio-technical changes – in sectors such as energy or transport – that aim to foster more sustainable modes of production and consumption. The course will examine contemporary and historical examples of transitions, as well as key concepts and frameworks for studying them. Participants will discuss the challenges faced by research, management and policymaking.
Decision-Making under Ambiguity and Unawareness: Theory and Applications
The course “Decision-Making under Ambiguity and Unawareness” (364-1157-00), offered by Professor Adam Dominiak, is aimed at D-MTEC doctoral students. Professor Adam Dominiak currently holds a position as Guest Professor at the ETH Risk Center (until July 2021). The course will review recent advances in modelling decision-making under conditions of ambiguity and unawareness. Ambiguity refers to situations with unknown probabilities of states, whereas unawareness refers to the lack of knowledge of all payoff-relevant contingencies. Participants will study models that accommodate both phenomena within economic theory, and apply them to insurance problems and speculative trading.
Are you interested in learning more about MSc MTEC courses? Browse the full Course Catalogue for the 2021 Spring Semester of the MSc MTEC programme at ETH Zurich.