1st Academic Year

Introduction to IS Research

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 specialized problem-solving skills, being able to analyze and synthesize a research case. They shall take responsibility for 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, Introduction to research methods in IS, Basic concepts and theories in IS, Literature reviews, and writing style.

Foundation for Transforming Digital Health

The main objective of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to 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, students will evolve their understanding of the skills and competencies needed from information systems professionals to solve real-world problems. Students will explore digital health challenges across different domains, including clinical care, public administration, and regulation. The course will put special emphasis on the Norwegian context, its unique solutions and challenges, but also introduce essential international perspectives. The students will be introduced to central ethical and legal aspects of digitalization in the health sector.

Health Systems and Platform Dynamics

The main objective of this course is to introduce students to large-scale information systems; how these are designed, deployed, and evolved in organizations and markets. The course provides students with 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 emphasizes 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 infrastructures and platforms.

Ethics, Sustainability, and Society

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 modern society. The central topics include the role of ethics in responsible innovation and IT development; 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.

Designing Healthcare Technologies and Services

The main objective of this course is to introduce students to methods for designing and implementing healthcare services and technologies 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 is especially relevant for students with professional experience who wish to strengthen their ability to contribute to innovation and change in the health sector.

Driving and Implementing Change in Healthcare

The main objective of this course is to provide students with 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.

Research Methods

This course is intended as an 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.

Proposal Development

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).

2nd Academic Year  

Elective Courses

In Master in Information Systems: Digital Health students can choose elective courses in the 3rd semester, adding to a total of 30 ECTS. Students are given information regarding which elective courses they may attend in good time before having to choose the elective courses.

Master Thesis (30 credits)

The aim of this course is to provide the student with an opportunity to develop systematic understanding and critical awareness on the solution of a relevant problem in the student’s focal area. Students will gain advanced knowledge of the research process at master level in information systems, including a deep knowledge of selected theories. They will acquire specialized problem-solving skills, being able to plan and conduct the steps in the research or development process at a high methodological standard. They shall take responsibility to conduct a well planned and executed project at master level.

On a more detailed level, the student will, based on observations of the industry and the existing body of knowledge, develop a research question. Students will also be able to connect their Master Thesis work to one of the ongoing research projects at School of Economics, Innovation and Technology. Furthermore, the student will conduct an extensive literature review in order to map what is already known about the chosen research question. Building on this, the student will carry out the research. This usually includes collecting his or her own data, which can be done by means of surveys, interviews, experiments, observations, and more. The data are to be analysed in a thorough manner before conclusions can be made. Lastly, the student has to reflect on ethical issues, limitations, future research and the value of the contributions of the conducted master thesis.

Study program MDH

Master in Information Systems: Digital Health