Digital Transformation in Municipal Administration – Cooperation between Research and Teaching

 

 

 

How do you bring ‘Digital Switzerland’ to life, which was approved by the Federal Council as a strategic goal in 2016?
How does a digital Switzerland actually look like?
What opportunities does this open up for public administrations?

As the Competence Centre Design & Management (CC D&M), we pursue these questions within the framework of a cooperation agreement with the Municipality of Emmen. As the researchers at CC D&M support the graduate and undergraduate education at HSLU School of Art & Design, they try to involve the students in this cooperation as well.

Design researcher Dr. Bettina Minder (CC D&M), together with the Municipality of Emmen and the head of the BA Digital Ideation programme, designed a three-week module on the topic of ‘Digital Transformation in the Municipality of Emmen’. Using design methods, the students are to develop visions for the future; how the community can benefit from the digital transformation and develop innovatively. Their tasks include identifying those affected and decision-makers (‘stakeholder’ and ‘user’ groups) as well as articulating and visualizing their situations and resulting needs. The goal is to develop a better and more realistic understanding of the topic in order to show students future fields of work in which the development of innovative concepts for technology-driven societal change and social innovation are highlighted.