Information Systems - Digital Health

The course provides an introduction to the IS research field. Students will gain advanced knowledge of the key concepts and theories of IS research. They will acquire specialised problem-solving skills, being able to analyse and synthesize a research case. They shall take responsibility to a literature review of a specific IS topic.

Central topics include Information Systems as a research field, IS development, IS innovation, IS as sociotechnical and complex systems, Analytics and data driven decision making, Introduction to research methods in IS, Basic concepts and theories in IS, Literature reviews and writing style.

The health sector faces significant structural, demographic and economic challenges. Digital technologies have reached a level of maturity where, when implemented sustainably, they can significantly improve healthcare. As a result, digital innovations have the potential to disrupt established structures and practices in the health sector. Students will work collaboratively to develop their understanding of digital health as a multidisciplinary field and explore the roles of the information systems field within it. Through lectures and workshops, they will evolve their understanding of the skills and competences needed from information systems professionals to solve real world problems. Students will explore digital health challenges across different domains from multiple perspectives. The course will put special emphasis on the Norwegian context, its unique solutions and challenges, but also introduce essential international perspectives. Students will be introduced to central ethical and legal aspects of digitalisation in the health sector.

Digital health services are provisioned over systems and platforms that match users, professionals and providers while integrating artificial intelligence, healthcare technologies and services, and data analytics to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery

Students are introduced to large-scale information systems and how these are designed, deployed and evolved in organizations and markets. The course gives students an introduction to the IS literature on information infrastructures and multisided digital platforms and ecosystems. The course covers theories that explain the dynamics of information infrastructures and digital platforms.

The course emphasises collaboration with relevant stakeholders, systems thinking, and critical reflections. Students will gain the ability to critically assess and contribute to the strategic use and governance of digital health infrastructures and platforms. Based on the theoretical and practical insights of the course, the students gain competencies for planning new innovations of health system infrastructures and platforms.

The main aim of this course is to provide students with the fundamental knowledge of ethics and sustainability necessary for responsible innovation and the development of new information technologies (IT) in the modern society. The central topics include the role of ethics in responsible innovation and IT development; information privacy concerns, social, economic, and environmental impacts of innovations and new ITs; and how IT development and innovation can contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In covering ethical and sustainability issues, the course addresses the perspectives of various stakeholders at the individual level (IT developers, innovators, consumers, investors), the organizational level (commercial, public, and non-governmental organizations), and the societal level (local and regional communities, nations, international society). Group work on possible solutions to real-life ethical and sustainability challenges constitutes an essential part of the course.

The healthcare sector is undergoing rapid digital transformation. This course introduces students to methods for designing and implementing healthcare technologies and services based on real needs and system constraints. Students collaborate to explore how new solutions can improve healthcare delivery, workflows, and patient experiences. Through user research, concept development, and prototyping, they work to ensure that solutions are both relevant and feasible for healthcare environments.The course combines design thinking, systems understanding, and practical implementation. It will help students to strengthen their ability to contribute to innovation and change in the health sector.

Introducing new technologies and services in healthcare is not only a technical task, but also a complex change process. This course gives students the tools to drive and support implementation efforts in digital health. Students work in teams to develop strategies for change, using real-world cases and structured methods. Through workshops and applied assignments, they explore how to engage stakeholders, handle resistance, and adapt solutions to local needs and system constraints.The course combines systems thinking with practical implementation skills. It is designed for students who want to take a leading role in innovation and change in healthcare.

This course is intended as a master level introduction to research methodology and the research process. This introduction gives the students an overview of the basic concept, methods, and practice of research. 

Research is a cyclical process where new and carefully planned investigations build and extend on established work. The aim is to provide students with a fundamental understanding of research as a conceptual, empirical, and practical approach to gathering new insight and knowledge. The content provides a broad overview of how researchers work within the fields of economy, innovation, and technology. It presents students with relevant methods from these domains, along with their possibilities and limitations. 

Students will learn a systematic approach to empirical investigation, including literature search, research design and methodology, qualitative and quantitative analyses, and the presentation and evaluation of results. 

At completion of the course, students will be able to study and interpret existing research on a topic and suggest approaches to broaden or deepen knowledge within a given topic.

The overall objective of this course is to help students conceptualize and prepare a timely and relevant research proposal, and to nurture a sense of inquisitiveness and active participation in research. The course aims at offering insight into the process behind a successful research project. It has an applied approach that involves collaborative and reciprocal partnerships between the university (faculty, staff, and/or students) and external communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources. The research proposal forms the basis for the master thesis and the allocation of supervisor(s).