COM1 Communicating Business and Technology

• Topics

  COM1 will equip students with knowledge and skills needed for effective communication and comprehension on topics that are relevant for business and technology. The course will lay a critical foundation for the successful mastery of generic skills needed for the entire BEDS programme and for the students future career.

  COM1 will ensure a common core of knowledge of language and communication, concepts and terminology and the ability to read, speak, write and comprehend at the level relevant for a bachelor study. COM1 orients very closely to the course content of BUD1 and SOC1 in that concepts and terms taught in these courses will be focused on through a range of spoken and written exercises and activities.

  COM1 will train and strengthen skills in different genres of business/technical communication. This is achieved by means of a set of activities and cases - drawing especially on the curricula of BUD1 and SOC1. Students will learn how to pitch, present and discuss information relating to the BEDS semester heading "The firm and the role of technology in business". Students will also learn to write academic texts and business/technical reports (e.g., on an assignment given in TECH2), as well as genre conventions and audience assessment.

  COM1 will also enhance the students more general knowledge and skills in critical reflection, information literacy (the ability to reflect critically on the credibility and trustworthiness of different information sources), and awareness of language models used in AI and their benefits and challenges. Sustainability issues will be the focus of some of the case activities.

• Learning outcome

  Knowledge

  Upon completion of the course, the student will have gained knowledge about:

  • central concepts and terminology within business and technology
  • main characteristics of spoken and written genres relevant for business and technology
  • relevant principles for communication within business and technology
  • important strategies for professional communication and interaction

  Skills

  Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

  • give engaging and effective presentations on topics within business and technology
  • handle negotiation and meeting interaction in an appropriate manner
  • produce purposeful business/technical reports and academic texts

  General competence

  Upon completion of the course, the student will have:

  • experience with collaboration in groups
  • experience with case work within and across organisations
  • experience with communcation tasks relating to sustainability issues
  • the ability to assess an audience and adapt messages to an audience
  • the ability to critically assess information from different sources
  • the ability to reflect on own and others' efforts and to give constructive feedback

• Teaching

  COM1 is a course where communication and interaction are in focus.

  The teaching will consist of case activities, introductions to relevant topics, and written and oral tasks related to communication of business and technology.

  Participation in case activities during class hours will prepare the students for the elements in the exam portfolio (individual presentation, meeting interaction and a group presentation).

• Compulsory Activity

  Compulsory participation in 75% of lectures.

  Completion of a set of self-paced learning modules online.

• Assessment

  A portfolio consisting of two oral and three written assignments.

  The oral assessments consist of an individual presentation, a group presentation (3-4 students) and participation in a meeting/negotiation (4-6 students). The oral assessments will be recorded on video. The written assignments include a business report, a technical report (with TECH2) and a reflection text. The portfolio must be answered in English.

  All parts of the portfolio must be submitted in the same semester.

• Grading Scale

  A-F

• Literature

  A set of articles available through Leganto.