Course detail

Welcome to Stakeholder and user-involvement in technological innovation and implementation: Theoretical and practical aspects (2026)

Description:
Many Ph.D. students in science, engineering and health need to involve and engage with stakeholders and technology users during their research. This course presents both selected theories on the Human – Technology interface, and methods for facilitating and generating qualitative data on user-involvement in technological innovation and implementation.

Pre-requisite: MSc degree.

Learning objectives:

• Identify methodological and theoretical dilemmas and challenges regarding stakeholder and user-involvement in technological innovation and implementation
• Make qualified judgments regarding stakeholder and user-involvement in technological innovation and implementation
• Make strategies to handle conflicting interests research projects that involve stakeholders and users
• Choose theories and methods relevant for research applying stakeholder and user-involvement in technological innovation and implementation
• Present challenges and dilemmas in own Ph.D. project that regard stakeholder and user-involvement in technological innovation and implementation

The course is designed so that the two first days are split up into two sessions: One before lunch and one after. Usually a session begins with a lecture (90 minutes, including breaks) followed by discussions or group work.

In preparation to the fourth day participants are kindly asked to do a ppt presentation on dilemmas and challenges in their Ph.D. project regarding stakeholder and user-involvement in technological innovation and implementation (duration: no more than 20 minutes). The third day is allocated to preparation of the presentation, and we will use the group work and discussions during the first two days to qualify the presentations. Course participants are asked to begin reflecting on stakeholder and user issues in own project when reading the course material.

Criteria for assessment:
Reading the text material connected to the lectures, and preparing a ppt presentation on dilemmas and challenges of stakeholder involvement in your Ph.D. project, are mandatory activities for all participants.

Program:

Day 1, morning: Socio-technical understandings of technology. Lecturers: Tom Børsen and Petko Karadechev [Copenhagen CAMPUS]
Day 1, afternoon: Citizen Science. Lecturer: Eglė Butkevičienė, KTU [Copenhagen CAMPUS]

Day 2, morning: Participatory research. Lecturer: Petko Karadechev [Copenhagen CAMPUS]
Day 2, aftenoon: Action Reseach. Lecturer Lars Bo Henriksen [Copenhagen CAMPUS]

Key literature:

Selected chapters in:

Børsen, T., & Botin, L. (2013). What is techno-anthropology? In T. Børsen, & L. Botin (Eds.), What is techno-anthropology? (pp. 7-31). Aalborg: Aalborg University Press.

Botin, L., Bertelsen, P., & Nøhr, C. (2015). Techno-anthropology in health informatics: Methodologies for improving human-technology relations. Amsterdam, Berlin, Tokyo, Washington: IOS Press.

Kanstrup, A. M., & Bertelsen, P. (2011). User innovation management: A handbook Aalborg Universitetsforlag.

Kanstrup, A. M., Bygholm, A., & Bertelsen, P. (2017). Participatory design & health information technology IOS Press.

Important information concerning PhD courses: 

There is a no-show fee of DKK 3,000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before the start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start of the course.

For external PhD students: This course is a general course and is prioritized for PhD Students enrolled at Aalborg University. If there are available seats, PhD students from other universities will be accepted. You will be notified shortly after the deadline if you have been accepted.

To attend courses at the Doctoral School in Medicine, Biomedical Science and Technology you must be enrolled as a PhD student.